2016-2017 Classroom

Ok! So it has been a SUPER long time since I have last posted! However, I am committing myself to stay updated with posting this year! So anyway... First day of classes! Yay! And everything is going really really great so far! I have some new rules and procedures (post about those later!) and the kids are responding very well! I have also made a bunch of changes to my classroom this year! Here are some pics of my room this year: 

                                   

This is my door. I used paint chips for the sun rays and I wrote quotes by artists on the inside! My door is at the very end of our long elementary hallway and faces the front entrance so I always try to make it colorful for the students and parents.

I had our supply manager in the resource room save empty copy paper boxes for me to store artwork in this year. I have a small classroom with not much storage so it worked great! I covered the lids with cute contact paper and labeled the boxes for each class. 

Artist of the Month: every month will feature a new artist and will come complete with a PowerPoint of information and artist trading cards the kids can collect! 

                               

Our supply center. Before, I kept the supplies in cubbies but most of the smaller children could not reach them half the time. Also, you can see our art jobs above. The colors match a colored crayon on the backs of their chairs. 

Art around the world! This shows where the artists and art we are studying this year are from. I found the huge map at a thrift store! Score!!

Saw this idea on Pinterest! This board will display each grades' project, vocabulary, and goals.

                                

The numbered banner is our Free Day behavior chart. Each class has a clothespin at the bottom and they get to move their clothespin up each day if they have a great class that day. When they land on Free Day the class will get a special activity or project the next class for a reward.

                              

                              

                              

3rd Grade- Animal Silhouettes!

This was a fun project that I originally saw on Pinterest and had to try! It combined shapes, texture, and pattern. However, this project took the kids FOREVER (like over a month) to finish because they were so meticulous about everything. But the kids loved it and the hard work and time payed off in the end.
We started by talking about patterns and textures. We talked about different animals that had different patterns and discussed why God could have made them that way. Then each student picked an animal to focus on. I had previously picked around 10 different animals and printed out black and white copies of their patterns for the students to use as references. The students used the photos to draw the animal pattern, covering their entire papers with it, then coloring with colored pencil. I encouraged them to color in a way that showed the texture of the animal as well. The last step of the project was to add the black silhouette of the animal on top of the drawing. I had made stencils of each animal and as the students finished with their patterns, they would come get the stencil from me and use it to make their silhouette on black construction paper. Check them out!

4th Grade Matisse Name Collages!

This was a great project to help practice geometric/organic shapes! Each student was given a large sheet of black construction paper. On the first day, we talked about geometric shapes and looked at paper collages by Matisse. The students then had to use scrap paper to cut up and glue down geometric shapes onto their paper.

The next class we did the same thing, now adding organic shapes to the paper. Last, students cut out their names with the scrap paper and glued them down. They turned out really colorful and abstract!

Biblical Integration: We discussed how Jesus got His name and how names were important.

1st Grade Cubism Self-Portraits!

The elements of art focus for this project was shapes. The first day we talked about and practiced geometric and organic shapes on the board and looked at some images of Picasso's portraits. The students pointed out geometric and organic shapes they could see in the images and we discussed how the facial features a funny and not correct. Each student then got a sheet of colored construction paper and used black crayon to draw their face shape, neck, and shirt. They then added their hair and colored everything in using crazy colors and patterns.

Next class the students each got 4 squares of construction paper, all in different colors. They used black crayon to draw a different geometric shape on each one, then they cut them out and glued them down to where they wanted them on the face. The last day, I showed the students how to draw eyes, noses, and mouths that faced different directions (like Cubism) and they chose how they wanted to draw each part. Once they had everything done, they could color in the parts and add details and patterns to the shapes as well. They turned out very Cubism-ish :)