Broken Clay Transformed

When it is time for my students clay artwork to be fired in the kiln, I always know that a few will not make it out in one piece.  My students look forward to working with clay and learning new techniques.  They spend many class periods perfecting their work.  I always try to remind them about the potential for an air bubble to form in their clay if they make something and roll it back up.  

Even with all the coaching and reminding, something always breaks in the kiln.  I know this is frustrating for my students; to work for many class periods on something only for it to emerge from the kiln in pieces.

Below is one way I try to salvage the hard work of my students.  In fourth grade we made face jugs:  These two student's jugs did not survive the kiln.  Instead of throwing them away I had them glaze their jugs like everyone else.  After the glazing process is complete, the students arrange their pieces on a piece of mat board and glue them down.  The result is a completely different piece of art!  These students, even though there jug was not in one piece, left the art room with smiles and were very proud of their creations!



Feathers for Lunch

Third graders read the book Feathers for Lunch by Lois Elhert.  The story is about a cat that gets out and discovers different birds but all he catches is feathers for lunch.  Elhert's illustrations are wonderful! She also labels all the birds and has each one's call written beside it.  She also includes plants in her book that she labels as well.  At the end of the book each bird is identified along with facts about it.  

We drew our favorite bird after reading the story.  The next day we learned how to make a bird using Model Magic.  We learned about how to make forms (cylinder, sphere) and about using an armature (toothpicks to help the legs stay straight).  The students had a great time with this!

Crazy About Quilts

Students in fourth grade study North Carolina.  Quilting is one of the arts of our state that I like to incorporate into art!  The students used skills in measuring, design and pattern to create these quilt squares.  They were combined to create a class quilt!

Fourth Grade Quilt Collages

I wanted to work with quilts in third grade as well.  We concentrated more on measuring with this quilt.  The log cabin quilt is a pretty easy pattern to follow because it consists of one-inch strips of different lengths.  Third grade also created their own patterned paper for these collages using paint, stamps, and drawing materials.

Third Grade Log Cabin Quilts













 





Jackson Pollock, without the splatter!

It is important for our students to learn about American artists.  Jackson Pollock was one of the first artists that came to mind, but who really wants to set their kids loose with a paintbrush and permission to "splatter paint"?  My classes are only 30 minutes long, not quite enough time to clean up a splatter paint mess!  I found an idea to use marbles to create the splatter paint effect.  The results are much less messy and much more like the work of Pollock!

Here is the link to the Jackson Pollock Marble Lesson:

http://www.storyboardtoys.com/gallery/Jackson-Pollock-lesson-plan.htm

Kindergarten Monsters!

To inspire the imagination of my kindergarten students, I started a monster unit.  We started with two great monster books: There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer and There Was an Old Monster by Rebecca, Adrian and Ed Emberley.  We have worked on drawing monsters, our bedrooms with nightmares in them, clay monsters, and below are shoe texture monsters!



Monster drawing: There Was an Old Monster



Kindergarten Art Centers

I have a kindergarten class that has 29 students.  This is actually 1 class combined with 1/2 of another kindergarten class.  This can be a very challenging class, trying to do whole-group instruction.  I decided to try art centers, something kinders are accustomed to in their regular class.  Two centers are self directed and at one center I teach the art concept I would like the kinders to learn.  This way I am only teaching at most 10 kids at a time.  So far, with my new behavior plan, this has worked pretty well.  Next week I will switch up the centers and try a few classes with whole group instruction.


Kindergarteners working in art centers

Apple Prints done in Art Centers



New School Year

This year has presented many challenges for me.  New classroom, new principal, new schedule.  The schedule has been a big adjustment.  I teach 12 classes back to back everyday...Needless to say, the art room can get a little crazy with this schedule.  Behavior has been an issue with my classes like never before.  This may be because of the class combination, or my sudden lack for enthusiasm for yet another class coming into the revolving door of the art room (sigh)!  I have worked out a system, after much research from other blogs, that might work for me.

I wear behavior cards on my apron so my students know where they stand!

At the end of each class I put either green, yellow, or red beside the class for each day they are in art.
If they have a majority of green days they earn an art reward day!