The Flip Side

Here is the 4th grade side of the "Box Wall Mural" that I told you about last post.  I held two after school art sessions- one for 3rd, and one for 4th grade.  My thought was not to prolong the insanity.  After yesterday's class, what I learned was divide and conquer- and BE SPECIFIC.  So, today, I grouped the kids before they arrived.  It was logical because every 4 boxes was one "Lion" and there had to be cohesion.  So, they had to sit by their partners to share paint and keep an eye on how their colors were matching up.  I tried to put a strong artist in each group, along with one that needed guidance, and a couple of mediums- and it worked well.  Those of us in the teaching world know that there are those who need to "Boss" and those who need to be "Bossed".  I x'd each box with colored markers to indicate the color scheme.  This helped a few students to stay focused.  I also allowed a couple of groups to sit on the floor which freed up table space (even though I about stepped on a few kids).  I am lucky enough to have a parent who will pack these up and deliver them tomorrow, and it will be on to the next crazy project. 

Box Wall Mural

Nashville is trying a really cool thing- to create a giant "Box Wall Mural" which will be displayed at The Hermitage (home of Andrew Jackson) for their fall festival in early October.  It is a community art project- people from all over the community, all walks of life and interests are creating boxes to contribute. It has caught the attention of the Guinness Book of World Records!  Because of the cost involved ($5 a box) it was initially something I felt was prohibitive for my elementary school, but, we got a donor!  So, 32 boxes and an after school art day with 30 (yes, 30) 3rd graders, here's the start.  We are to design the front and back, so tomorrow, we go at it again, only with the 4th graders.  I painted in the design, and then broke it back apart for the kids to paint- I also gave them a "map" by putting colored x's on the parts- so that even though there are slight differences in color and application, the general design is coherent.  Can you tell that we are the Hermitage Lions?  Tomorrow AM, I will sneak in early, and trim up the black lines again, but all in all, they did a great job.  And I am writing this with my feet up in my jammies- I love my kiddos, and I want them to have a variety of art opportunities but MAN, it makes for a looong day.

Youth Art Month

OK, sometimes I crack myself up.  My lesson for the kindergarten students was that we looked at "Where the Wild Things Are" and then we created our own wild things.  As I assembled them into a monster island, similar to that that in the book, I got the idea that it was Youth Art Month, and that there was an opportunity for advertisement here.  My students had no idea that I would use their wild things to create my Youth Art Month display, but I don't think they'll mind. I created the signs in the hands of the wild things, along with the backdrop for all of the Wild Things.  They were just delighted to get to dig into the wiggly eye box.