Underwater Seascapes: Grade 1

This project started out as a lesson in TEXTURE. Students learned the difference between actual texture and visual texture. Students created textured paper using crayons, various textures and paint. Students were excited to learn about a whole new world underwater. Many students already had a lot of knowledge of what exists in the ocean. Students used the textured paper to create coral and creatures. Books with images were used as a reference.

Pre School Summer Sunsets

As the school year comes to an end the youngest students are learning about the next season of summer. Students learned about the shapes that make up a sailboat and sun. We talked about the horizon line and the reflection of the sun in the water. Students drew the specks of diamond reflections from the sun that appear to twinkle in the water. Students created crayon-resists and practiced blending colors wet on wet to create a beautiful sunset. 

Art Show at Spring Concert

May 12th was the Spring Concert for grades K-6. Students sang in both the choir and played in the band. Outside the theater in the foyer student artwork was on display! 

Facts about Art in Education: 

• "Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school attendance."
• "Multiple studies have concluded that curricular and extracurricular art studies and activities help keep high-risk dropout students stay in school."
• "The No Child Left Behind Act clearly mandates The Arts (music, art, foreign language, etc.) as a core academic subject."

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-arts-education

Shoe Print Medallions

2nd & 3rd Graders learned that texture is one of the Elements of Art and can be visual (in drawings or paintings) or physical. After students felt many different textures in brown paper bags and used adjectives to describe them we started the project shown below. Students explored the textures on the bottom of their shoes, rolled clay into a ball and applied an even amount of pressure with the palm of their hands. Students then created a hole using a straw and carved their names on the backside. After the air dry clay dried students painted on a gold acrylic to really make the different textures shimmer!  

Pre-K Flowers in a Vase

These delightful masterpieces were created by 4 Year Old Pre School students. Students were given a piece of paper with a vase drawn in pencil, then traced the vase, colored it in crayon and drew green stems inside their vase. Then students used a cork to stamp yellow circles on top of each vase and painted in their petals. 

Sculpture 101: Grade 4 Creatures

Many of these students had very little prior experience creating 3 dimensional art. I introduced the project and we all discussed what a "challenge" was and what it took to "succeed" in a challenge. We decided this project required a positive and adaptable attitude that was not afraid to take risks. We enjoyed this challenge and as you can see below each student's personality shows through in their work!

Materials used: 

Elmer's Paste 

Newspaper

TP rolls

Air dry clay

Acrylic Paint

Yarn 

Googly eyes

Beads

Glue

Drink umbrellas

Corks