Speed Bead Painting ;)

So clever!!!!!!!!

 

Color Wheel Mixing colors game

 

We have been integrating our color investigations throughout the last months. This color wheel game included painting wooden beads that would eventually be strung on the mobiles we are currently making.

 

I wanted the kids to work backwards with their color mixing. When we made our color wheels we already had the colors in mind that we were trying to create. This game had the kids spin two colors and mix those together just to see what happened. I was worried that we would make lots of brown but believe it or not, brown wasn't that prevalent-yay!

 

I had two kids come up at a time and spin the wheel once each. We painted one bead the first color, then another bead the second color and then mixed the two colors together to make the third, invented color. Eventually I referred to the spins like addition problems because that seemed to click for the kids easiest.

 

I recorded each student's spin on the whiteboard because I didn't want to rush a child that may need more time.

 

We sure made some beautiful beads and learned a lot about how colors interact along the way!!!

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
      

Wood Block Printing with middle school classes

I'm not going to type much tonight- hoping the pictures speak for themselves.....but I want to note that wood block printing is LABOR INTENSIVE and, for most sixth and seventh graders, it is a huge safety responsibility due to working with chisels.

I loved watching them struggle through the frustrations of carving- I hope they learned a teeny, little bit about how to persevere.

I loved even more seeing their completed prints and knowing how much effort they put into it.

At the end of the project they edited their prints and matted them for completion......nicely done middle school!!!!

 

 

 

Stop-motion animation with Poms Poms completed

One of the most amazing things about teaching kids how to tap into their creativity is witnessing the progress of what happens while they make art.
I wish that when you watched this video you could hear their voices when they said things like "Let's throw French fries on him!" when one of the pom poms broke and they took the little broken yarn pieces and added them to the video. Or that you could see them discussing with their peers what was going to happen next in the movie. I was amazed at how quickly they personified the pom poms as they morphed into little characters.
I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!!!

Pom Pom stop motion!!

It's been a busy month in the art room! We integrated a fundraising project into our regular color theory unit and got lost in the love of pom pom making.

 

Pom poms....my goodness I can't seem to get enough of making them! I have personally been crazy obsessed with making them since last spring. My three kids have caught the fever as well so they begged me to teach it during art. I bought a slew of Clover pom pom makers (trust me, Clover makers are the only way to teach a room full of young people) and an ever bigger slew of yarn and we got to work! It takes a bit for the kids to adjust to it but they catch on quick! I love that the kids are required to work with a simple contraption and that the yarn can take on such a transformation.

 

I have much more to share about pom poms but for now here is the brief beginning of the pom pom stop motion animation we have been fooling around with during classes. Not all of the kids want to participate but if they have done stop motion animation before they are jumping at the chance ;).

 

I love turning these little, fluffy nothings into characters. They crack me up!

 

Enjoy!!!!!

 

Middle school- hand binding with the Coptic stitch

 

 

 

I love middle school!!! These sweet kids were so persistent and expressed such great team work as they decorated, made "signatures" (that is what a group of papers is called in book binding), punched a ridiculous amount of holes ;) and eventually learned how to sew the ancient Coptic stitch to bind their art journals. I think the images speak for themselves with how beautiful they turned out. This project was tough and we jumped right into it the second week of school but they were really positive as they learned!

 

 

An unfinished journal with six signatures ready for binding.

 

I thought about these all summer- art journals!

 This year we made Art Journals and the students became book designers using colored tapes, patterned paper and circle stickers. I wanted to assess how they handled basics like glue sticks, scissors and peeling/sticking tape. I also challenged them to invent an envelope or pouch to hold the "art cash" that they will earn throughout the year. Some kids folded a journal page into a triangle, creating a sleeve that they reinforced with tape to hold their art cash- clever!!

The students will use their art journals very similar to a sketchbook but not just for sketches. They will record brainstorming ideas, self-reflections, sketches and keep written responses in them.

We had a great time designing with the tapes and I realized that I have lots of kiddos proficient in the language of duct tape design ;). I can't wait to see the journals full of ideas and reflections from class!!!

 

 

Back to school- portfolio time!

 

 

 

I can't believe that we are going into the fifth week of school already!!!

 

We rolled out the year with our usual portfolio making. I remind the kids to tell me all about themselves with their drawing on their portfolios. It's pretty cute to see what they are interested in outside of school. It's really nice because I learn so much about some of my quieter kids that I normally don't have the opportunity to find out about them- like if they enjoy their dance class or playing lacrosse or cooking with their mom.

 

My partner, Mrs. Slats, built incredible storage for the portfolios this year made out of pallets. She stained and painted them to match our walls and covered the top with fabric so we have even more workspace at the front of the room. Each class has a section just for their portfolios. This is a big upgrade from the plastic bins I stuffed them in the past years ;). Heaven!!

 

Here are some photos of the kids working.