The Artsy Fartsy Art Room: 2013

Friday, December 27, 2013

Scarecrows!

It is very frustrating when a class misses because it pushes everything back a week and sometimes that class misses a second time and then if I'm absent...this project should of been done at all 3 schools mid-Novemeber but alas, didn't get done until mid-Decemeber!

Nothing like hanging up a fall project with a foot if snow on the ground! However, I did get these up for the kids to see before Christmas break!

For this project, we looked at many different images of scarecrows and compared and contrasted them. Our discussion led to the idea that scarecrows can look very different but there are aspects that identify them as scarecrows. This idea really lets students explore their personal creativity. I saw many students take this project far outside the box and it was amazing! I had scarecrows on the moon, criminal scarecrows, super hero scarecrows, and modern scarecrows with mohawks and Ipods! Of course there was classic scarecrows, but the detail they added was thought out and problem solving was very evident. Our other concept was backgrounds and creating a clear setting without distracting from our very awesome scarecrow subjects. Got the idea from this Pinterest post.

Jefferson Elementary....

Kennedy Elementary...

McDill Elementary...

Monday, December 9, 2013

OWLS!

My kindergarteners were begging me for a first paint project, and how could I resist those adorable little faces!

This owl project I dreamed up seemed like the best answer! My goals for this project were to introduce paint and the concept of what happens when you mix two different colors of paint. Another goal was introducing different cutting strategies (like if you fold the paper or stack pieces and cut once you get multiples of the same). Needless to say, this was a success! I didn't run into any problems with the project and all of the kiddos seemed to really enjoy it.

McDill Elementary...

Jefferson Elementary...

Kennedy Elementary...

Keeping with my idea of themes across grades...my 1st graders also did an owl project. My inspiration came via Pinterest through this post. My goal with this project was introducing 2D vs 3D. Our owls were done with patterns because the owl wasn't the main concept (and I knew many would struggle with the size) that is why many of these look alike. The only problem I ran into with this project was that the toilet paper rolls (our holes in the trees) needed to be hot glued and first graders cannot do that on their own. It was also difficult to introduce 3D when students almost immediately think of 3D movies. I have learned to work with that connection and talk about how it looks like you can reach out and touch it and expand off that...

McDill Elementary...