Taking a Closer Look at Nature with First Grade

Looking up from a bugs view

Looking up at the trees 

Trout Lily 

 First grade students are taking a closer look at nature. First graders have been observing gardens and forests from a bugs view and using their imagination to create a mixed media piece of art.

cantaloupe in a raised bed garden 

great use of overlapping and tons of forest critters

overlapping and lots of color

This student just started but already off to a great start!

Second Grade Gnomes and Bird Nests

Second Graders learned about how to bring a fairy tale to life in this lesson about Gnomes.  I got the idea from Cassie Stephens.  The kids loved it!  They were studying fairy tales in their ELA classes so I thought I would incorporate that into art.  The Brothers Grimm were from Germany and so is the legend of Forest Gnomes.  After a brief history of gnomes and Germany's Black Forest, second graders made painted papers to use for their forest.  They made a forest collage with these papers and created their gnome from a paper roll.  Their gnome needed to have an occupation or a hobby to show off in the Black Forest.  Below you can see some of their ideas!

Gnome Bulletin Board Closeup

Gnome Bulletin Board

Teacher Gnome

Teacher gnome has her papers to grade in one hand and her pointer in the other.

Spider Gnome

This Spider Gnome is complete with its own web, newspaper headline and Peter Parker's camera.

Bakery Gnome

This gnome is a baker with cake and spatula in hand.

Another view of the board

Japanese Gnome

Japanese Gnome is in his canoe with a Japanese flag.

Second Grade also took a closer look at the forest to create bird nests using similar techniques to the gnome collage.  

making branches

cutting eggs for nest

nest at night

blue sky nest and eggs

I love the overlapping tree and sun in this one!