Pumpkins

           Kids in prek created pumpkin using red and yellow model magic. I began the class by acting all upset that I had not ordered orange to make pumpkins but instead got red and yellow. Kids quietly watched as I 'accidentally' mixed the two colors and magically made.....ta da.....orange!! we then rolled into a ball and added up and down lines. This class I teach in Spanish. All kids, except two have Spanish as their home language. The classroom assistant helped me glue these on cardboard with their names. 

Kids for a chance to mix, mix and mix their colors. Model magic is just the right toughness for pre-k, took each child between 6-8 minutes to fully mix the two colors. If you choose to do this lesson the ratio is 3:1 Yellow to red. Red is too strong and if you use them in equal quantities the result will not be orange....it will still be red. 

Fourth graders practice drawing parrots, our school mascot, in preparation for printmaking

You               One fourth grader's printmaking design will be chosen to be in the back of the yearbook this year. We began with a discussion on what makes an expert? I knew from having done this project (or similar) that kids this age are very hard on themselves when they don't produce a perfect drawing. Even in following a Youtube tutorial they were getting quite upset that their drawing was not like the one in the tutorial. They were being very hard on themselves. The next set of 4th graders I gave markers, the permanent kind. Kids relaxed a bit knowing their mistakes could not be changed. I also have tons of quotes about the value of mistakes posted all around the art room. 

One child who would not even begin drawing, I placed him at the old projector a mom gave me last year. He was so excited that he was able to produce his drawing. I know tracing is looked down upon in general; even I don't generally allow it. But in this case, the child was not making even one mark. This was one way to get him drawing. 

My next assignment was going to be using their sketches and then making skinny versions of them, thicker versions of them, mixing and combining features from various birds. The idea behind this exercise would be to allow the young artists to mix and match their favorite features and in this way really making a unique parrot, not just a copy they copied off of google images or youtube. 

We use a basic composition book as a sketchbook, they are affordable, durable and not as intimidating as say a real sketchbook might be. 

Here, this child started playing around with changing wing placement of the bird and changing the style of the feathers in the wings. My next week's lesson already being discovered by a select few of kids who are way ahead of me already. 

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3-D face sculptures inspired by joyce Owens

Joyce Owens is an artist from Chicago who both paints and creates these amazing 3d face sculptures/ assemblages/reliefs. See here work HERE. Children were shown her work in class and seeing as we have been working on identifying parts of our faces (see those lessons HERE and HERE) this was the logical next step. 

These faces took three 35-minute lesson.

1. Glue on base parts

2. Use 6 colors, red, yellow, blue, black, white and brown to paint the entire face. 

3. Continue painting, this time, with thinner brushes to detail. 

The recycled materials ranged from corks, cut up toilet paper tubes, raffia, too-short-to-use colored pencils, tape rolls, popsicle sticks, cut-up cardboard. 

 Finished works hung in the hallways. Teachers hot glue a loop in the back with some yard to make it easy to staple on a bulletin strip or board. 

If you would like me purchase my powerpoint presentation for this unit please send $5.00 via PayPal to Miriam.Cutelis@yahoo.com and specify what language (Spanish or English) you would prefer and which email you'd like the presentation emailed to.  Once I share the presentation with you via Google Docs you can copy and change, add or delete any slides to fit your needs. The presentation will be sent to you within 24 hours of purchase.

Second grade quilting unit