Pete the Cat in his Art Shoes

Holy eclipse batman! What a busy week. We started off yesterday with a solar eclipse. My district delayed dismissal for one hour in order to have the students stay to view it. Great day but long day.
We also have curriculum nights this week. I am pulling double duty being a staff member welcoming everyone in the building at the beginning and then going into the classroom afterwards to be a mom and listen to what is ahead this year for my own kiddos.
With everything going on, I am so glad to have an extra set of hands in my room with a peer leader from the high school that is right next door. She is great!
I want to get into more of the lessons that I am working on right now and what I am planning next but for now, I want to share my new "friend" that is out in my hallway...

Pete has come to join us! 

I read Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes  to my first graders and reviewed the Elements of Art with them. Then, I gave them a copy of a converse-like shoe to then design for Pete the Cat. They turned out great and I am working on getting them out in the hallway now to show that "We are creating in our Art Shoes!" 

Hope everyone has a great week!

First week of School

First week down! The first week back is always a busy one but we are already off to a great start. I decided this year to start off all the grade levels with the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.

 I have always used it to start off kindergarten but I really want to make International Dot Day more of a school wide celebration. I want to encourage all my students to just try and to let them know that they are all artists. I love the meaning behind the book and it goes right along with my expectations for my classroom.

 I am going to have all my students create different kinds of artwork using circles or dots and use them to liven up the hallways. I am already planning my outfit for Dot Day :) and I would love to get them all involved too and encourage them to wear polka dots on that day. (That's my dream)

So here are some of the projects that we are working on...

I introduced first grade to Kandinsky showing them examples of his artwork. we discussed how he used color, line, and shape to create his paintings.

Then, I gave them each a 12 by 12 inch paper that we folded into fourths together. They opened them back up and drew concentric circles in each of the four sections. I had them take crayons to outline the pencil lines. We used tempera cakes (which I love!) to paint in each of the circles with different colors.

When I go to display them, I want to connect them together so that it looks like a large version of Kandinsky's Color Study, Squares with Concentric Circles.

With Fifth Grade, I wanted to connect it to the book but also use this project to review the Elements of Art. I also introduced them to the Op Art movement. 

They also began with a 12 by 12 inch paper. I talked to them about linear perspective (which we worked on in fourth grade so it was also a review). I told them they needed to start off with a dot on the paper which they could put anywhere. Then they had to draw ten lines going out to the edge of the paper. Then I showed them some samples of ways to do the next step. They could color the sections in an AB pattern. Or for more interest, they could make curved lines going on direction in the A sections and then make the curved lines go the other way in the B sections. Then they spaces could be colored in like a checkerboard. (My students are the greatest! I had so many take this and go into so many other directions too that I haven't even thought of. They were all so different. I love when that happens!) 

Next, we reviewed shape and form. I demonstrated how to use value to change circles into spheres. I have a class set of  SafeT compasses in my classroom which I love. The students think they are really neat too (once they get the hang of them)

I had them choose a construction paper color that would stand out against their background. They had to make at least five circles of different sizes using their compass. We talked about value and shading with colored pencils to turn the circles into spheres and used the element of space to determine where we should put the spheres once they were cut out. The smaller ones went closer to the dot they started with and the larger ones we closer to the edge of the paper. They were all very successful with this project and it is definitely one that I would do again. 

I will post more Dot Day lessons soon:)

Getting Set-up

WOW! What a whirlwind of a week! So many things happening and tons to do. I wasn't sure at times if I was going to have my classroom ready but I managed to pull it together. Here are some pictures starting with the hallway outside my classroom...

This is just the beginning of the hallway. There will definitely be more to come. I have the whole hallway to myself and I am right across from the cafeteria. It is a hallway with a lot of traffic flow so I try to keep it colorful and updated to show off the talented kiddos I work with. 

I have my bulletin board sectioned off in three parts. The first with the Elements and the Principles. The second is focused on expectations that we have as a school. Our mascot is a lion so we use ROAR. My grade level is even going to try and become more consist and all will use a four point system (one point for each letter) and the classes come to us. 

 This is the section of my board for the "I can" statements or learning targets that we are focusing on. 

These are the tubs I use to store all of the two dimensional work that my students work on. I have folders for each teacher that fit inside made from poster board that I fold in half and I use duct tape on the sides. I have found that is the method that has worked for me. 

On the other side of my board, I demonstrate lessons and use my art material people to help list of directions again quickly so that they can refer to them (which also cuts down on the many questions). 

These are just a few of them. I have just about every medium that I work it. Love them!

I have always had table numbers but this year, I went with table colors. I wanted to stick with the emoji theme so I found an emojicon that was giving the thumbs up and I made the paint brushes to add to them. I can't hang things from the ceiling because of fire code so I have them taped to the table. Hopefully, they stay! 

Now, that the room is seemingly ready to go, I will work on getting examples of first day lessons and beginning projects. Stay Tuned!

Back to Reality

Back to Reality! Yesterday was the first day of preplanning for the new school year. I haven't had much time in my classroom to work but I have my furniture moved around now and started working on labeling things and getting new supplies into containers.

 My school does a year long theme and this year it will be using EMOJIS!  I have so many ideas! I will be sure to post pictures of my classroom when it is finished but I have a little sneakpeak...

I have had a rug in the past, but it was time to retire it so I thought I would try out this foam mat instead. I will let you know how it works out. I use this for my kinders. They will start each class on the mat. This keeps it consistent for them and I feel like I definitely hold their interest longer than when I have had them go directly to their tables. I like to start their projects off with children's books, songs, and/or little clips of videos that discuss artists or the subject matter of the project.

I also got out this boarder that I found at the dollar store about a month ago. I wasn't sure where I was going to use it for sure but a teacher can never have enough border, am I right?! I decided to cut it down into pieces and use it as labels for all my containers.

It worked out better than I expected and gave me a new way to use all the border I have :)

More to come. Stay Tuned!