1st Quarter

I can't believe how close it is to the end of 1st Quarter.  This year has gone by so quickly.  Here is what we have been working on since our last update...

Kindergarten has continued to work just with drawing materials.  There are so many options to use (pastels, oil pastels, colored pencils, markers, and crayons)  It take a while to test them all out and get familiar with how each one works.  We have also discussed how to use the texture plates and patterns.  These items can be fun to use and add some 'spice' to our pictures.

1st Grade and 2nd Grade have moved on to include paint as one of their choices to work with in addition to the drawing materials.  They have all review color mixing and how we can use crayons and watercolors to create a watercolor resist painting.  Most recently, we have been working on writing Artist Statements to accompany our artwork.  Every quarter we will be featuring a group of  KPS student artists and their artwork in the front office and the conference room.  We have some very talented artist and we want to share them with our school visitors.

Finally, I would like to explain what we are doing with all those clear plastic bottles that you are sending to the Art Room.  One of my favorite artists is Dale Chihuly ( http://www.chihuly.com/ ) and 2nd Grade is going to be creating Chihuly-esque sculptures for the commons.  One of these will act as a window covering for the commons to help filter the light and add a little color.  The other will be to create chandeliers to hang from the ceiling of the commons.  This will add some color to the commons and give the students a chance to work together to make a work of art that will stay at KPS long after they head off to Ray Miller next year.

Be sure to check out are Artsonia Gallery to see what we have created.  More artwork will be posted very soon!

Beginning of a New School Year

We are now a couple of weeks into our new school year.  For me it has been the busiest start of school that I have ever had, but it is also so exciting.  I have worried so much about how a new class of Kindergartners would handle coming into a choice-based classroom.  Would they be able to handle the freedom of choice or am I going to have to plan several activities to divide up their time.  To my surprise, the kindergartners are handling all the freedom and responsibility of choice like pros.  Even on the very first day of school they were completely engaged in their work.  (Usually I have to have 5 different activities just to keep them busy and working.)  They ran our usual schedule of an Art Talk at the beginning of class, moving on to work on our own artwork, and then finally sharing their artwork with the class just like my older students.  It just goes to show how when they make their own choices they remain more engaged in their activities.

For the first two weeks of classes all my students have been discussing how our choice-based art program works, the class rules, and our Tiger Pride Goals (Respect, Responsibility, and Best Effort).  1st graders and 2nd graders worked on portfolios.  I really want the students to examine their own work and reflect on how they did, write artist statements, and examine their artwork over a period of time.  I think it will be really good for them to see their growth and self-assess their work.

Last week we moved on to discuss the different drawing materials that are available in the art room.  All my classes really got into experimenting with the materials to see how they work.  It has been a lot of fun to see what they create.

Kindergarten kept on with the theme of discovery this week using drawing materials while my other classes reviewed Portraits.

Here is a glimpse at the fabulous pictures that my students are creating this year......

Food for Thought

“Every student can learn. Just not on the same day or in the same way.” ~~ George Evans

Another One of My Crazy Ideas...

I am working on another one of my crazy ideas that will take place this spring.  But before that can happen, I could really use your help.  We could use clean, empty clear plastic water bottles.  Like this....

I am not sure how many we are really going to need, but I have a feeling that we will need A LOT!!!

The Art Room is always a great place to recycle items you no longer need.  These are some of the items that we regularly recycle in a creative way....

magazines and calendars
leftover crafts from finished projects
leftover acrylic paint
tp and paper towel tubes
plastic containers
yarn
beads

Basically.....If you think we could use it we probably can.  My students find the most creative ways to use these items and if they can't use them we will find them another home.

When we can receive items that we can recycle and use in creative ways it really helps our budget and supplies stretch.  Thanks for all your help.

Whew! What a Week.

Even though the week was only 3 days long we were very busy in the Art Room.  1st and 2nd Graders were working on portfolios to store their artwork in for the year.  This way when it is time for the Art show students will have a variety of pieces to choose from to display.  Kindergarten worked on drawings.  It is always interesting to see where they are art when it comes to fine motor skills and artistic experiences.  They have some wonderful pictures that they created and you can check them out by visiting our Artsonia Gallery.

What I love most about working with students this age is they are fearless and not hard on themselves if their picture is 100% realistic.  They are free to explore and create whatever they want.

I have yet to meet my Monday and Tuesday students so I am really looking forward to this week.

The last thing I have to share about this week is some sad news about our markers.  I personally don't love markers for every project, but I know that my students love them, because they are so bright and colorful.  While it was only 1st and 2nd grade using them last week they have just about depleted one brand-new box of markers.  While I still have some other markers, I didn't expect to go through a box of markers the 1st week of school!  So R.I.P. you beloved and beautiful markers....

I have yet to meet my Monday and Tuesday students so I am really looking forward to this week.

Day 1 of a New School Year

Day 1.........

What can I say, but where did the day go?  It went by in a busy blur.  I was amazed how my 1st and 2nd graders remembered our routines and got right back on track.  And as always the Kindergarteners are hard to keep up with.  They have so much energy and so many questions.  Usually to keep the Kindergarten classes busy the whole 50 minutes I have to plan several activities during that time.  However, I ran the normal routine of coming in and getting started with our Art Talk, then going to tables and working on art, and finally coming back together to share and discuss their art.  They were engaged in the art making and our discussion the whole time.  I was really impressed. Even for Kindergarten on the first day of school, our Choice-Based classroom really works!

I think we are really going to have a lot of fun this year.  I plan to start off slow when introducing or (in the case of my older students) re-introducing our art supplies.  I want to make sure that all my students understand our routines and know what is expected of them for the year before we get too many supplies out.  This slow introduction of supplies (drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture supplies) was stretched across 1st semester for all my students.  This plan may get changed pretty quick since the 2nd and 1st grades are falling back into our routines so well.  (Kindergarten will stay with the longer plan and have more access to additional supplies as the year moves on.  They have a lot to learn their first year when it comes to discovering and using all the different types of supplies.)

Look for another update on Friday to see our artwork from this week!

1st Grade Art Show

Yesterday was the 1st Grade's Art Show.  It started off a little slow in the morning,  but had quite a crowd in the afternoon.  I know that the students were really excited to see the pictures they selected for the show hanging up in the gym.  To see the students' work from the show check us out at www.artsonia.com and search for Kirksville Primary.

A lot of catching up to do....

Since my last post, I have met 7000 fellow art teachers, trekked the streets of NYC, spent too much time in an airplane, reorganized/cleaned an art room, and started preparing for an art show; all this in addition to what goes happens on a regular day in the art room.  The thing that I perhaps love the most about my students' art is hearing all the stories that my students attach to their work.  When they talk about their pictures their faces light up and they become so animated.  Here are a few of the stories that have stuck in my head.  I wish I could remember more of them.

 This collage was inspired by a video on Henri Matisse that my students viewed while I was gone to my conference in NYC.  The video was short (just 10 minutes), but this student loved the shapes of Matisse's cutouts.  In the lower corners of his picture you can see a boot on the left and a shoe on the right.  After making the rest of the picture these happened to be two left over shapes that looked like footwear.  Adding the laces to the shoes was the perfect finishing touch.

This sculpture was originally started as separate projects, but as the two boys worked near each other the projects merged into one.  We are witnessing a ghost hunt in a very haunted jungle!

This student was the 1st and for a while the only student in his class to work on a project like this.  (Since then his project has inspired others.)  This project started when he found one of the sticks and thought to himself that it could be used as a mast for the sails; it grew from there.  With a little help, he was able to create a fantastic pirate ship on the high seas complete with a shark following the ship.

This Lego creation depicts a shark chasing after a yellow boat.

Even though my memory does not help me to remember all the stories about my students artwork, you can still learn a lot from your child when they bring their projects home.  You will be amazed at what they will remember and share with you about their project.  Here are some additional works of art that I am sorry to say, my memory is a little foggy on the background stories.  That doesn't make them any less wonderful to look at. So enjoy!

 These are biodegradable packing peanuts.  When dampened they stick together.  They make such wonderful sculptures, but after 2 classes my stash was reduced by half its size.

Whew!  I think that catches us up.