5th Grade: Cities

In 5th grade I taught some interesting facts about NYC, such as why NYC taxis are yellow, that NYC used to be the capital of the US, and how many NYC subway system musicians have performed at Carnegie Hall.  

The first day we worked on creating a unique background using watercolor. The next day they used various colored paper, marker, and colored pencil to collage a city.

3rd Grade: Turtles

In 3rd grade I showed a powerpoint about turtles.  I explained many interesting facts, such as how the leatherback sea turtle can be 2000 lbs, and how the snapping turtle can reach 200 lbs and has a worm-like appendage on its tongue that helps lure unsuspecting fish.

The first day I demonstrated how to draw a turtle.  After they picked which shade of green paper they liked best, they drew their turtle with pencil and then outlined it glue.  The next day they took chalk and filled in their turtle. I encouraged them to consider coloring their turtle different than what they would normally do. I also demonstrated how to mix and blend the chalks.

2nd Grade: Henna Hands

In 2nd grade we talked about henna: what it is, where it comes from, what it is used for, and how long it stays on the body. 

I showed them various images of henna. I also printed out, cut, and laminated many images which were used as visual references for the kids as they drew. The first day, they traced at least 4 of their hands, drew different henna designs, and outlined it in permanent marker.  Then they took liquid glue and traced their hands to make a barrier.  The next day, they used watercolor to paint their background, making sure to avoid their hands.  The glue strip helped keep the paint out.  While the paint was still wet, I came around with salt, which created a unique texture.

1st Grade/Kindergarten: Puppets

In both kindergarten and first grade we talked about different types of puppets as well as what a puppeteer is.  I then showed a few images and then they watched a short music video with the Muppets. 

I demonstrated how to create a puppet, simply by drawing on colored paper, cutting it out, and taping it to a popsicle stick.  Each student was allowed to create 3 puppets. 

1st Grade: Picasso Silly Faces

In first grade we talked about Pablo Picasso and Cubism. First, I asked for a volunteer to stand up.  After I drew him realistically on the board, I then drew him with Cubist influence. I explained that Cubism is simply creating a picture by moving around and rearranging shapes to make it look a bit unusual. I then showed a few examples of Picasso's portraits, which the students thought were hilarious.

The students were given a piece of paper and crayon-like sticks (which I still have no clue what it's called) to draw their crazy self-portraits.  They then colored in their pictures with chalk.

1st Grade: Hot Air Balloons

In first grade I showed a YouTube video on hot air balloons. Then we talked about how hot air balloons fly. 

Each student received a large sheet of paper. Then step-by-step they drew their hot air balloons with black oil pastel as I demonstrated on the board. They then filled in the spaces with shapes and lines using colorful crayon. The next day I encouraged them to fill their hot air balloons with colorful watercolor. 

Senior Citizen Fun

I've been hanging out at Clement Manor retirement community since January, mostly helping to facilitate art projects and crafts with individuals who are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. One of the things I first noticed about this demographic is that it takes quite a while for someone to finish an art project.

A particular lady came to the art room who had a vocational background in graphic design. I was blown away the focus and imagination she had in creating this painting!

Kindergarten: Pigs

In Kindergarten I read the book Birthday in a Bathtub. I had the kids pick out their favorite part of the book and share it with either me or their neighbor. 

The first day we drew our pigs together (I demonstrated on the board) and they outlined their pig in black oil pastel.  The next day, they painted their pigs with pink, blue, and green. A couple requested yellow paint to paint their sun.  The final day I had them add details with a white oil pastel then oil line in black paint.  The black really helped the overall painting look finished and picture frame ready!

3rd Grade: Georgia O'Keefe Flowers

In 3rd grade we talked about Georgia O'Keefe, how she was from Wisconsin, painted plenty of flowers, and lost her vision near the end of her life.  

This project was inspired by two separate projects-a 2D watercolor flower and a 3D paper flower. I decided to combine the ideas.My challenge to the students was to draw a large flower on their paper. I printed off several examples of flowers (including a venus flytrap) and had them either choose one to copy or create their own flower. Then I had them outline and decorate their flower using crayon (to act as wax relief later on), then they used watercolor to paint.  The final part was gluing 3D fllowers on their image.  I demonstrated how to trace circles, correctly cut the petals, and layer the paper.  They had the freedom to use whatever colors, layers, and amount of flowers they wanted.

4th Grade: Owl Pillows

Near the end of the year, I asked the 4th graders what they wanted to do as one of their last art projects.  They mentioned several ideas, a few included owls and pillows.  I combined those ideas. 

For the lesson, we talked about 3 interesting facts about owls: they're nocturnal, silent flyers, and have crazy head-rotating abilities.  Then after a demo, they set to work. 

First they took two pieces of brown paper (I provided 2 shades to choose from), used a pencil to draw an owl shape, then cut both pieces simultaneously. They then painted their owls.  The next week, they stapled their owls half way, stuffed it with newspaper, then used marker and paint to add or finish any details.  I had to emphasize to the second class to paint after they finished stapling, as the first class got plenty of paint on the staplers.

5th: Necklaces

I gave each 5th grader a ball of clay and the freedom to make any type of necklace of their choosing.  It was fun to see the variation.  After firing, they used watercolors, colorful string, and beads to decorate.

Unscheduled Creativity

It's always a challenge trying to keep kids engaged throughout the entire one hour period.  What takes 20 minutes to finish the assigned project can take another 50 minutes.  I always keep open-ended project options available for those who finish their projects early.  Usually this can include a drawing prompt (ex: draw an animal you have never seen; invent your own angry bird with special powers), cut up paper, paper scraps, open-ended coloring worksheets, and sketchbooks. 

It always amazes me the things that these kids can come up with.  I've finally started taking pictures of their creations.  Sometimes it seems like this time of self-directed creativity is more beneficial than the structured projects I assign.

Stump the Student: A game where one student is chosen to draw a shape or line on the board, then two students are chosen to work together to create something out of it. The game helps encourage teamwork, creativity, and the skill of being able to make masterpieces out of "mistakes."

 

 Some sketchbook artwork.

 Many of the kids love making body armor or extensions.

This group of students put on a puppet show.

3rd Grade: Aboriginal Fish

In 3rd grade we talked about Aboriginal art, specifically how animals were depicted as having elaborate patterns and shapes drawn inside.  

The first day I had them draw and cut out a fish from thick tagboard. After creating interesting lines and shapes inside their fish with oil pastel, they took tempera paint and painted it so no white showed through. The next time we met, I had them do the same to the other side, then wrap string around it if they so desired. A couple of them were frustrated because their names showed through from the first day. I created a challenge for them to somehow disguise their name using lines and shapes.  They were pretty excited about this, and tried to stump their classmates. 

2nd Grade: Tissue Paper Flowers

The 2nd grade teacher and I consolidated lessons in celebration of Mother's Day.  She would have the kids use Mod Podge and tissue paper to decorate a glass vase.  I would teach the kids how to create tissue paper flowers to put in the vase. 

Here were the steps I taught: Stack 4 pieces of tissue paper.  Fold accordion style.  Fold in half.  Insert pipe cleaner. Tie. Staple. Fluff.  I instructed them to create no more than 3 flowers using red, salmon, and baby blue tissue paper.

A few common trip ups: Instead of folding accordion style, a few kids rolled and folded which made the "fluffing" process difficult.  A few kids stapled so that the staple ended up perpendicular, instead of parallel, to the pipe cleaner.  This again made the fluffing process a challenge.  For some reason some kids didn't understand how to fluff by separating the sheets of tissue paper until I showed them individually a second time.

I encouraged the kids to be creative by mixing the colors within the same color and using different colored pipe cleaners.