Favorite Projects of 2nd Quarter - Part 2: Holiday Inspired Projects

December Projects Inspired by the Holiday Season

Abstract Trees

Poinsettia Painting

Santas in Pajamas

I generally just continue with my normal lessons during the month of December, however I do love all the excitement the kids have for the holidays. So if we finish with projects the first of December, I will connect the concepts we have been learning about, or will continue to explore in the new year, with something holiday themed.

These are a few of my favorites this year:

Santas in Pajamas - (1st-3rd grade ELL class)

This was actually a formative assessment. I needed to know where their knowledge was on shape and pattern so that I would know where to focus the learning after break. 

We quickly reviewed what a pattern was and students colored a paper with whatever pattern or patterns they could come up with.

They then cut the patterned paper into a large triangle and five smaller triangles to create Santa's clothes and a circle for his face. I asked these students if these shapes were geometric or organic shapes as they worked on this. Students added some facial features, cotton balls, buttons, and anything else they wanted to complete their Santas. 

They did look at me strangely when I started singing "Santas in Pajamas are dancing round the tree..." in the tune of Bananas in Pajamas.

 

Poinsettia Painting - (5th Grade)
5th grade students had been working on color theory. One of our objectives for this grade level is for them to understand what complementary colors are and use them in a work of art. The poinsettia sponge painting is perfect project for this. After discussing complementary colors we used sponges and red paint to create the flowers. The sponges were cut into a petal shape.
*In one of my buildings my bag of precut sponges disappeared and I was forced to sacrifice some sponge friends - :( sorry giraffe and donkey!

Students added the complement of red (green) to the background of their flowers. They could put some green in the background, paint it all, paint leaves, it was up to them as long as they showed the complementary color pair. Some details were added to the center and they were done! This is an easy and fun one day project. The results are beautiful and the students understand the contrast that complementary colors present. 

If time allows, I usually follow this art class with one where they can experiment with the other complementary color pairs. What happens when the two colors are mixed? Create a mini painting using another two complementary color pairs.

See more of these in one of our Artsonia Galleries!

Abstract Trees with Geometric Shapes - (3rd and 4th Grade)

This project followed our color lesson so we were able to extend our color discussions to talk about contrast. We looked at the color wheel and identified colors that would stand out when put close to each other. We also discussed the difference between Abstract and Realistic Art and Geometric shape when drawing out our picture.

Students were thrilled to learn they would be using markers to color in these designs. I guess I don't use them very often in our lessons. 

These took a couple art times to finish and students really enjoyed working on them. 

 See more of our Abstract Trees in our Artsonia Gallery!

 

Directional Lines and Pumpkins

By the end of Second Grade I want my students to be able to describe and draw directional lines.  I want them to be able to tell you which way a horizontal, vertical, and diagonal or oblique lines goes. I also want them to be able to use these different lines in an artwork. 

This year we are learning and practicing this knowledge by painting pumpkins. Not just ordinary orange painted pumpkins - but pumpkins filled with lines. 
Students had fun mixing colors as they painted. They used horizontal lines in the background and vertical and diagonal lines in the pumpkin. They were able to be as creative as they wanted. Some added lots of lines and different colors while others kept is simple and limited their lines.

Here are some works in progress:

2nd Grade Oil Pastels & Watercolor Birch Trees

I loved the beautiful results from this project! 

The students and I discussed the lines we saw in images of Birch trees. They compared the texture and color of Birch tree bark with that of other trees.

The project started by drawing the birch tree trunks using black oil pastel. We talked about the use of overlapping to make some trees look like they were behind others. They colored in the trees with white oil pastel letting the black and white blend a bit into grey.

We had a discussion about how an artist can add interest and uniqueness to their artwork by changing things from how they look in "real life." I introduced the term "Artistic License" to them and told them they each had one to be creative with. I encouraged them to add other colors into the bark of their birch trees if they wish to do so. Many used different colors of oil pastels to blend into the white and black of their trees.

The last step in the project was to use primary colors of watercolor to paint in the background. We were reviewing how the primary colors mix to make secondary colors, so I encouraged them to mix them together as much as they wanted to.








This is one of my favorites! See more student works in our Artsonia gallery - http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=561263

Hands Up for Creativity! A handy way to review line quality

I'm about to enter the last week of the first quarter and just now getting around to blogging about one of my first projects of the year! Keeping up with 3 schools can be a bit hectic...but lots of creative fun is happening in my Art Rooms and I get at least one hug a day thanking me for it.

This year I decided to start the year by doing one line project with all my 1st graders and 2nd graders and another project with all of my 3rd - 5th graders instead of my usual different project for each grade. Of course my 3 classes of 2nd/3rd grade splits through a monkey wrench in that...so some 3rd grade students did the younger one.  My goal was to introduce, discuss, or review (depending on the level) line quality to all my students, while keeping the craziness of the first couple weeks of school to a minimum. There always seems to be schedule changes, students moving from one class to another, or waiting on numbers to settle before possibly getting another teacher, splitting a class, or even unsplitting a split class these first couple of weeks. So I thought less planning and prep would come in handy...and it did!

I called the 1st/2nd grade project "Hands Up". I got the idea from a Pinterest post and adapted it to fit what I wanted. After discussing Line as an Element of Art, students traced their hands and arms. We drew as many different kinds of lines as we could think of on the Smartboard (or under my document camera in one of my rooms). Students used crayons to design their hands/arms with lots of lines and colors. I insisted they use white at least once.

The next class we talked about the crayon-resist method. Students had fun painting watercolors over the crayon. When dry they carefully cut the hand and arm out.

At each of my buildings I displayed all of these creative hands together radiating out from a bright orange and yellow spot. The display was quite striking all together!