Lichtenstein Inspired Fun

Who doesn't love Pop Art?  Fifth graders really love it when we talk about Pop Artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.  We took some notes on the two and used a file that you can download here (look for the one that says Pop Art Notes).  Students then planned out their own comic book style paintings, (I had them come up with 3-4 ideas sketched out in their sketchbooks).  One of the things I was looking for was that center of interest person with a speech bubble (it didn't have to be a self portrait, but many students did draw themselves).  I gave each student a 12 x 12" white paper, and had them draw them with pencil and trace them with Sharpie.  I tried to get them to have equal parts black and white on their papers before adding tempera paint.

We spent several class periods painting--I had them use the other end of the brush for the Benday dots. I did only give them primary colors + turquoise, black, white, peach and brown.

These are really brightening our hallways!

Sometimes I Just Don't Love It

My kindergarten classes need some extra cutting practice this year, so I decided we'd make lions (and later "hide" them in some tall grass).  I don't love them.  They're kind of . . . eh.

I'm not really big on directed drawing much with kindergarten, and this lesson feels a little too factory/assembly line.  We still have work to do, of course, adding our tall grass and maybe coloring a background. I just like a bit more personality.

Who knows? Maybe they'll be amazing, but so far, I'm not sold.  I'm open to suggestions on ways to make them more interesting while keeping the cutting/gluing practice part in tact.

I also decided today that the years I spent waiting tables were NOT wasted.  All that balancing of drinks and platters sure does come in handy when painting with fourth and fifth graders! And I'll post about my fifth graders' Lichtenstein paintings soon--we're nearly done with them.

Texture Monster Building Fun

As promised, here is a post about my latest second grade lesson.  

For the past several years, I've started second grade out by talking about texture.  We write this definition in our sketchbooks: texture is the way something feels or looks like it would feel.  This year, after defining texture and drawing as many things as we could think of that have texture in our sketchbooks, we spent the next class period fingerpainting.  I have this huge box of donated paper that feels like fingerpaint paper to me, so that's what we use.  I was in my first-weeks-of-school-how-do-I-even-function funk at that point, so there's no photos of this step (plus the whole one adult/25 fingerpainting second graders thing).  My fingerpainting expectations are these--one paint hand, one clean hand.  And 3-4 paper towels per student.  I put a blob of paint on the middle of their paper, remind them "one paint hand, one clean hand" and move to the next student.  Students paint away with one hand, wipe their hand as clean as they can with the paper towels when finished then wash their hands while I put their papers in the drying rack.
The following class period I gave them back their dry paintings and had them feel the bumpy texture and cut the white off.  These blobs are the bodies of their texture monsters.  I got out the scrap box and random papers and demonstrated different ways to make texture with paper.  We talked about how monsters aren't real, so anything goes as long as it had texture.  When I turned them loose to work on their own I got this wonderfulness:

So scaly and pokey!

 So we spent a few days working on our monsters, and the final work day, we added speech bubbles:

And then I hung them in the hall.  I love that they're all so completely different and unique.  So adorable and wonderful!  SO hard to hang on that little tack strip:

Speaking of the halls, I also hung up some color-mixing clowns that first grade did:

So much fun!  Every school needs more kid paintings!

Sometimes You Just Forget

With the school year well under way, it's just amazing to me how fast my day goes.  Every minute is busy, and the students are so funny and interesting and exhausting/exhausted (I just love those exhausted kindergarteners the first weeks of school).  My schedule is sooooo much easier than the past few years (when I had adaptive art or traveling to another building, then plan time, then eight classes with a 20 minute lunch).  This year I have my plan time with my lunch, giving me time to regroup and focus.
As for projects, I'm doing modified sketchbooks this year (half the size) with sixth grade from a lesson I blogged about last year.  Fifth grade started a unit on Pop Art, so we're having fun with Lichtenstein and Warhol (I'll blog on those as we're working, so look for some posts), fourth grade is working on Emily Carr landscapes, third grade is busy with their cave "paintings", second grade is studying texture and making monsters that are looking AH-MAZING (blog post coming soon for that one too), first grade finished their Gertrude McFuzz birds and are drawing clowns to paint next, and kindergarten made their glasses, and now they're practicing gluing lines like Mondrian (which I don't really have the greatest post for, the lesson is barely mentioned).
Maybe it's teaching so long, maybe it's my schedule, maybe it's not being pregnant ('cause I've done enough teaching while pregnant), but whatever it is, this year has been delightful so far.  Fun and interesting and FUN. Perhaps it's a combination of better schedule/not being pregnant/no more babies up in the night AND experience?  I'll take it!!!!

Sweet SIXTEEN!

Sixteen years of teaching this year! How did that happen so fast??? I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!  The 2015-2016 school year is under way here, and I had planned on being back at blogging before now, but ya know, LIFE happens.  And new internet filters at school.  That block E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, so here's to hoping that that gets fixed sooner rather than later, because if I can only blog from home, a lot less blogging will be happenin'.  Just keeping it real/honest!
Sooooo, one would think that after this many years I'd have some sort of handle on this art teachin' thing, but alas, I overslept the first day of school (by 20 minutes) and had decided late the night before to change much of what I'd planned, meaning I had to cut loads-o-paper and change everything out at the last minute. Why would I do that?  I blame Arts & Activities.  Anyone see the collaborative lesson in the September 2015 issue? LOVE! You can see the lesson specifics in the magazine (and I changed it a bit, giving students a circle to color and then cut), but here's some of my student work:

Sorry for the wonky angle, I was in a rush.

I'm still on the lookout for a great display area for our collaborative piece (maybe the cafeteria).  I do have to say that it worked perfectly with my 2nd-6th graders: it took up the exact right amount of time after my first-time-in-art schpeal that I give 21 times (once to each class).  OK, I'm lying--I don't give the schpeal anymore, it's on a Smart Notebook file and all I do is press a few buttons have the students press on the Smartboard to hear my voice.  I'll try to get a photo when it's all up and glamorous looking.

I had also planned on blogging about the last bit of kitchen renovation I did, but the aforementioned LIFE (and some summer laziness) got in the way.  I didn't take a "before" photo, but picture blue mini blinds circa 1989.  Now add faded, sticky and dusty to that mental image.  Got it?  Today that same window looks like this:

Or like this:

That's a beautiful roman shade, friends!  Using the gross innards of another set of 1989 mini blinds (I would've used the blue ones but didn't think of it until long after they were trashed and I'd started buying supplies and got a bit of sticker shock).  If you can sew a rectangle, this is an easy project (thank you YouTube!) Here's some photos of the project in process (most without words because PICTURES and ART TEACHERS):

Sticky-back velcro on the top

Cutting only the bottom to get all the blinds off
(but you need the string parts).

Didn't want to look at faded pink from my deck, so a paintin' we did.

Backed with white heavy-ish fabric.

You're welcome for the photos of my carpet, too!  

It's going to be a great school year, the sixteenth year has to be SWEET, right?! It's like a teacher law or something!

TGIS

Seriously, Thank Goodness It's SUMMER!!! We all deserve this time off to rest, relax and enjoy some family time.  While I do love my job, my own family is what I try to center my world around.

Awww, aren't they the sweetest???

We've all seen the little jokes and blog posts about teachers using their summers to catch up on all the things they can't fit in during the school year--things like doctor's appointments, cleaning, sleeping, having fun times with friends.  I've got to say that cleaning holds zero interest for me (doesn't it just get dirty again?!) And because I have a two year old (and a four year old), nothing in my house is free of grubby little fingerprints for long.  So what's a girl to do?  Paint all the cabinets in her kitchen white of course!  Because that's not totally going to drive me bonkers.  But it needed to be done, I was so over my cabinets and kitchen:

From this . . .

To this (slightly different angle).

From this (note the torn-up-by-the-baby mail on the floor)

To this.

I'd painted the walls from a pottery-barn brown to red during the school year.  Next I'd like new quartz countertops and and an apron sink and new range hood.  What I can afford is to make new window covering for the window over the sink that was sporting faded, sticky blue mini blinds from 1989.  So anyone up for a fabric buying trip?  I need someone with me, it's like my drug of choice: fabric!!!!
I'm also spending my summer trying to lose the pregnancy/pregnancy/baby/pregnancy/pregnancy/baby weight.  My oldest is 19, and I know I'm not carrying any weight from that pregnancy, but my youngest is two, so my "pass" of "I just had a baby" is pretty much over.  Weight loss (or in my case, attempted weight loss) is boring compared to before/after photos of a kitchen, amIright????
So that's my summer so far, what are you all up to?

Really LOUD Potlatch Party

I've made totem poles with fourth grade many, many times.  The cafeteria staff saves those big cans for me and runs them through the dishwasher and we papier mache them.  Problem is, TIME.  Is there ever enough???? At state conference this spring I ran across this lesson at the United Art and Education booth. Here are (is?) some of my fourth graders' work:

Same idea--used the cans (ran through the dishwasher) and I covered them with brown craft paper.  We used thicker paper first to make our patterns, and then traced them onto cardboard and cut them out (lots of whining here about how hard it is to cut cardboard).  Finally we used the regular playcolor sticks to paint the pieces and glued them on.

Each student had a can of their own, and the last day they had art we raised our totem poles and had a traditional Potlatch party! The last day of art for the year is a little wild anyway, so why not just roll with it and let it get loud? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, that's what I say!

That magical year when I feel like "oh, look at all the time I have with fourth grade" I'm sure I'll go back to the papier mache way, but until then, this lesson was a total success!