Big & Bold Self-Portraits by Ks and 1s

For the past two weeks the kinders and first graders have been working on their big and beautiful self-portraits using chalk and/or oil pastels. These can be very messy materials but the children have persisted - despite fingerprints, smudges, and pink, chalky shirtsleeves.

Third Grade Mixed-Media Animal Habitats

This project has been a long time in the making! It came about somewhat organically, which is one thing I really love about it. After our last project, I brought in some "how to draw" animals sheets for early finishers to work on.

Kindergarteners Explore How Shapes Make Pictures

This year our kindergarteners completed a drawing project in which they used shape stencils to create a picture or design. First, they worked collaboratively, exploring how to use the stencils and experimenting together to make pictures:

Second Graders Learn How to See Like an Artist

Second grade learned more about how to draw from observation this year - which means there were actual objects on their tables and they drew them as best they could by paying close attention to what they saw. 

Kandinsky Sights & Sounds!

One of my favorite lessons do to at the beginning of the school year for kinders or first graders is based on the processes and artworks of Wassily Kandinsky. I talk to the children about Kandinsky and his sensory condition (called synesthesia - a mix-up of sensory processes - Kandinsky saw shapes and colors when he heard varying sounds). We look at some of his paintings and discuss the various lines, shapes, and colors that we see, and the children talk about what these elements make them think of.

Show Me the Depth! - Freeform Landscape Collages.

Second grade learned all about foreground, middle ground, and background, and then they did a quick collage exercise using this printable from the Getty Center's Art Ed dept.

From Plein Air Drawing to Plasticine Landscape Bas-Reliefs - Voila!

I am super excited about this project that my first graders just completed. They started out by experiencing plein air drawing on our campus, and then turned their favorite drawing into a plasticine landscape bas-relief.

Kindergarteners Make Tiny Thumbelina Figurines in Clay - Photo Shoot Immortalizes Them

I try to incorporate relevant life experiences as well as other school curricula with my art curriculum. Each grade at my school does a play each year and last year the kindies did "Tiny Thumbelina."

2nd & 3rd Graders Take Creative Risks and Think Like Artists!

For a collage project last year I wanted to challenge my students - well, that's something I always try to do - but this time I really pushed them out of their comfort zones!

Wooden Cubist Face Sculptures - Goofy & Fun!

Once my second graders finished their Spain-inspired artworks, I had all of them work on these Picasso-inspired cubist faces made with wood pieces and tempera paint.  

You Can Think Like an Artist!

I created this design in Illustrator and had it printed on canvas to hang up in my art room at school:

We refer to it often during lessons, and students will sometimes point out how we are thinking like an artist when I forget. Its been a great tool this year, as I am really working on teaching my students that art is not just about how real you can make something look. There is much more to artistry than that, and I think they are starting to really get it!

Third Graders Are Masters of Japanese Ikebana!

Oh boy, what an amazing undertaking! I was looking for something challenging and interesting for my third graders to do this year, and was inspired by this post for Ikebana in the art room. After sitting down to plan it I realized this project would take AT LEAST ten weeks to complete because of all of the steps involved, but I was resolved to go for it because I figured it offered an opportunity for a variety of skills to be learned and materials to learn how to work with. My fear was that perhaps the students would get bored and complain that they were tired of working on the same project for so long, but I found the opposite resulted. Students were very engaged in all of the steps and I feel this project was an excellent opportunity for them to practice focus and commitment to a goal.

Second Graders Demonstrate Their Learning Through Art!

This little sculpture is really small, maybe two inches tall, and it is so sweet!

This year for International Day my school decided to assign each grade a country to research and present to the rest of the school, along with a day of celebration with dances and foods. I wanted to incorporate this research into my art class and second grade art presented the perfect opportunity because the timing was right in their art curriculum.

Mona Lisa, Kindergarten Style!

My Mona by Mariah

In kindergarten art this year we learned about the Mona Lisa by reading book Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp. 

Kindies Complete their Commemorative Clay Plaques

Each year at my school the kindergarteners each choose a Mother Goose nursery rhyme to memorize and perform on the school stage. They can dress up if they choose but the goal here is for them to begin to learn public speaking skills. They are so proud of themselves, the parents are too, and this year I decided to have them create plaques to commemorate their experiences.

Second Grade Fall Leaf Art Investigations

This fall my second graders were "art investigators". I brought in a variety of autumn leaves and encouraged my students to look closely at what they saw. Looking Closely is one of our ways of "thinking like an artist" that we talk about often in my classroom. 

Super-Sensory Model Magic Secondary Color Mixing

Providing my 2nd and 3rd grade students the opportunity to learn about how to make secondary colors out of the three primaries using hands on mixing and mashing of "clay" was a blast. I've never seen so many smiles and excitement!

Free Draw Selfies Make Me Smile

My students have been working furiously on completing their monochromatic self portraits inspired by Cassie Stephens. Thanks to her I have one more collaborative artwork to create that each student will be contributing to. Several of my classes' teachers have mentioned that they like their students to do self-portraits in the beginning of the year and I thought it was a great idea as an opportunity for me to get to know them as well as assess their skill levels since this is my first year with them. More on that later…

Our International Dot Day Collaborative Mobile is Complete!

Looking up from below

Our first art class project for all of the grades I teach at FCDS was based on the book "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds. After some thought I decided this would be a great introductory project that would give each student the chance to express him/herself as an individual and then also combine their work with others in the spirit of collaboration which we all know is a valuable "21st century skill". 

Yay For Me! Foothill Country Day School, Here I Come!

I am thrilled to report that I will be starting a new art program at Foothill Country Day School in Claremont, CA this fall! I have been hired to work with the K-3 classes incorporating art history, field trips, and core curriculum into their already wonderful art program. The campus is beautiful - filled with lots of nature, water features, and green space. I am so looking forward to spending time on the campus and working with the K-3 teachers and staff. During the interview process I had the privilege of teaching a demo lesson to one of the kindergarten classes and the students were engaged, eager, and creative - it was such a joy! I'm looking forward to a fun year and am ready to meet this challenge head-on!