Stamped/Painted Patterns

I gave the K's each a small piece of cardboard which they dipped in black paint, and we talked about finding the side with the bumps (the corrugation).  They were to fill their entire paper with patterns. (The previous day, we had drawn patterns both on the smartboard and on their papers, in order to check for understanding).  After stamping their patterns, and letting them dry, they used tempera cakes to fill in the spaces.  We did talk about color as a pattern, but they were so excited to paint, that they didn't all remember, or have the control to do that.  I think the results were great. And, the kiddos got some really rich colors out of the cakes.

Still Life

Done by one of my more advanced students- my challenge was the bowl of shells.

Drawing by the same student for comparison.

Ahh, the dreaded still life. It's not that I don't see the value, but it is hard to jazz it up for the elementary crowd.  We started with just a basic drawing.  The 2nd graders just blew through it, without much concern for my oh so careful directions/instruction on scale/proportion and size.  So, I considered that a warm up, and we did the same still life again, only using a very simple view finder.  I introduced it as a tool, and asked that the students try it- even if they never used one again, just to have the experience.  Since the drawings were much bigger, and much clearer the 2nd time around, I broke out the tempera cakes, and let the students paint.  We then compared/contrasted our two finished works with a simple questionnaire, where I asked questions like which was easier, which was more challenging, which was more fun, etc.  I think they got the idea of a still life, and we are all ready to move on to the next thing.  On a side note, I have been working on challenging the more advanced students, so when I set my still life up, I included some harder items, which were strategically in the view of the students in need of a challenge.  I also know that I need to put things in place for the ones that struggle.  An example of this was that I put blue tinted water in the bottles, to make them easier to define.

Self Portraits with Expression

I am in the middle of a unit on Facial Expression/Emotion with my 1st graders.  We modeled and drew facial expressions, we made "Angry Bird" pinch pots, and we just finished up our Self Portraits.  I gave them a full paper (12x18) and instructed them on a head and shoulders portrait.  It was of course to look like them, since it was a self-portrait, and they had to use their facial expression to show one of the feelings we'd been talking about.  I let them paint with tempera cakes, and we outlined with marker after, which gave them a clearer, more finished look. 

Kindergarten Pumpkins

If you've been teaching for any amount of time, you know that the pumpkin lends itself so well to the art room at this time of year.  It's easy enough to draw, the kids have likely visited the farm or pumpkin patch, and it translates to Halloween or Fall- whichever way  you prefer to go.  I had my kiddos use black paint only to trace a pumpkin that they had drawn on the 1st day.  On the 2nd, I gave them other colors, and we filled in.  I used tempera cakes, as my kids are still learning the painting routine.  They are so bright and cheerful- I'll have to post a few more, but here's a couple.  On a side note, I read them "Spookley, the Square Pumpkin" which I understand is a cartoon movie now, but the book is so sweet.

Spring/Stamping-Kindergarten

I am starting a lot of sentences with "I saw this thing on Pinterest" lately.  Well, in this case, I remembered I saw it, and I'm pretty sure it was on Pinterest, but I did not pin it (I was sure I had).  The center of the flower is stamped with a cheapo net bath "Pouf" which can be found at Wal-Mart 2/$1.00.  Then, we used Tempera Cakes to paint the rest of the details- the flower/stem, etc.  I had plates set up with some yellow and some orange, that naturally mixed when the kids stamped.  I am trying out the Tempera Cakes this year- other art teachers rave.  I am not so sure- they seem like watercolors.  Any thoughts on helping the kids achieve brighter colors?  That aside- I think these are pretty springy, and a nice attempt by my kids at a project that none of us had ever tried before.  Some may even make their way into the art show.