Finally, the Art Fair

In case I haven't said it often enough: I've been at my current school/district for six years (ie, this is the sixth year) and this is my fourteenth (!) year teaching.  I, like most art teachers [probably] have a love/hate thing going on for the art show, or as it's referred to at my school, The Art Fair.
I keep EVERYTHING the students make all year, and then about 6 weeks before D day, I pass it all back, and students 2nd grade through 6th grade choose their two best that they want in the show.  K and 1st just sort it into a "folder" (folded piece of 12 x 18 paper) and I choose their two best.
Then, it's all displayed like this:

Kindergarten work

First grade.  The little white things in the middle
are their names (I have the secretary print them for me on address labels).

I also try to put up other stuff around the building:

Sixth grade origami dragons in one of our office areas.

This class decided to combine theirs to make long dragons--
the other class did not, so you'll see a giant difference in a moment.

Super-long 3 headed dragon.

Another office area: dragons and Chinese lanterns.

I'm sure the secretary will be THRILLED to know her picture is on my blog!

I've done the Art Fair this way since I've been here (artwork on black paper outside student classrooms) but at my old school (which was about a third of the size) I hung everything salon-style floor-to-ceiling (on black paper), and all mixed up.  A kindergartner could be next to a third or fifth grader.  I loved that parents HAD to look at everything to find works of art from their child.  With 1000+ students, it's not so do-able.
Anyway, more from the Art Fair:

Fourth grade: they choose it and glue to the black paper themselves.

More fourth grade.

Happy Art Fair/Art Show time to all!