In the Art Room... #22-Back To School!!

I'm alive over here! I just  wrapped up the first 4 days of the school year. 

Here's a peek at what I've been up to and what my room looks like this year. I've been wearing dresses all week so I'm without pockets which means I'm without a camera. I will work on this next week!

Every teachers's thoughts on Labor Day! 

A shirt I made for our Superintendent's Day. I'm not a fan of hugs to begin with so belly rubs are definitely out. The message was well received and unwanted belly rubs were avoided. 

 

A few shots of the art room! It's huge, amazing and full of storage. 

We're continuing with the same job routine as last year. I reviewed jobs on the first day of art by making a rainbow kickoff project (pics coming soon!) 

Monthly jobs, printed, glued to construction paper and laminated. I use overhead markers to write the jobs on them. Dry erase are a huge pain to get off! You can get your own set of job charts, chair shapes and bin posters (below) over at my TeacherPayTeacher site. 

Supply bins are kept on the counter. No matter what I do and try these bins are distraction on the tables. Well, anything on the tables is a distraction really. 

Gave the bins another coat this summer. Spray painted pencils and a few scissors so everything coordinates now!

Front and backs of all the chairs are have a shape sticker. It's how I assign students to pick up and cleanup.

I moved my "I can" chart from the chalk board to a window. I can print statements or write with a dry erase marker now.

A sample of what we did this week. We are spending the first day of art making a piece for the school wide rainbow project. Every table is assigned a color, every grade a mini project. 4th graders worked collaboratively on a "pipe" project with table mates. I loved seeing them work together on this! And every student in grades 2-6 filled out a student info form on the iPads. This saves me countless hours of typing students names for my grade book and checklists (learn how to make your own form here).  I'll type the kindergarten and first grade names in. I use this kickoff project to review rules and jobs. You can get your own copy of my rules for free at teacherspayteachers.com!

Spent Labor Day upgrading seating charts and checking out my class lists. I use the Staples brand flags. They are super sticky and last from year to year. Plus they are colorful. It makes seating charts a little more exciting. Read more on why seating charts work and how to make your own here.

First day of school and there was NEW construction happening! Traffic was backed up quite a bit. Ugh. 

This book was in a giveaway pile for students. I couldn't help but laugh, email our faculty and contemplate a book study. 

Even though we had insane humidity I managed to walk the dog and squeeze in a run/walk (at 22 weeks pregnant) on Wednesday! My feet were killing me afterwards but I slept like a log. Hoping to get a run/walk in a few days a week for as long as I can. 

So there it is! The start to my tenth year of teaching!!! How did your week go?

In the Art Room...#16-Final Countdown!!

The end is near! We have 6 art classes left, we are finishing up are last project and beginning our final projects of the year. 

4th graders are on the final day of their recycled crayon project. I have the good fortune of having a stove in my room. It's basically a giant crayon maker. I have collected several shaped tins over the years and students melt crayons in those. We come up with a company name and work in some color theory so our crayons don't color brown. 

The rest of the students are finishing up projects and starting their last ones. I try to save the best for last so students remain engaged in the projects until the end! 

3rd graders are adding the finishing touches to their portraits. We used iPads to search a background. Students could put themselves anywhere as long as it had a horizon line. The are getting so creative with these. This student is using oil pastels and and then watercolors to create outerspace.

During the half days I had students make mandalas and watch a time lapse video of Buddhists monks making one. 5th graders were really into this and wanted to make them out of sand. I had colored sand so we spent another day making them out of sand and glue. 

4th graders are on the final day of their recycled crayon project. I have the fortune of having a stove in my room. It's basically a giant crayon maker. I have collected several shaped tins over the years 

Once the 5th graders were done with mandalas we started designing our stamps. 5th graders use safety cut linoleum to create a letter stamp (first initial of their first name). We learn about printmaking and fonts & typefaces. 

This first grader thought his scrap paper was hilarious. So did I. 

Kindergarteners are finishing up their life size portraits. I love how they transform themselves with the Playcolor Tempera Sticks. The colors are so rich and bright, they look amazing! 

Whew! So there it is, a week in the life of an art teacher (who forgets to photograph most of our projects.) 

How many more weeks do you have? Have you started the final countdown? 

Clay Projects for Elementary- Primary Ceramic Wall Hangers

In case you don't know, I am a lover of ceramics. It is my medium of choice. I share this love of clay  with my students and push their clay making ability as far as I can in my classroom. Like all my projects, I have a spiraling clay curriculum with my clay and this is my first grade project. We work with slabs and slip for this project. As with my own ceramics, I am a fan of functional ceramics. Sculptures of penguins/frogs/monsters are cute, but I am in clay for the long haul, I want a piece to stick around for awhile. I also enjoy opening up a kiln and seeing that projects have survived and haven't blown up. I suspect this is an issue with these cute sculpture projects.

If you have been following me for a bit I have been posting weekly updates of my students' clay projects. Let me quickly recap this clay wall hanger project for you. It takes 3-4 days to complete. I moved this project this year and we spent part of our second class talking about Youth Art Month, otherwise this would easily be a three day project.
Day 1: Review clay rules, roll slabs with rolling pins,  cut to size (use 4x10 stencil), sign, turn in to teacher. I store these in a garbage bag that has a tray inside of it. I layer manila paper between each layer to prevent sticking.  Some teachers use slab rollers, some roll the clay for them. I make them work for it. Rolling takes some work, but no one really complains. Standing helps. Students don't sit in chairs when working with clay.

Day 2- Introduce Slip and Score. Slip and Score edge, ball up two paper towels and place in center. Fold up to create pocket. Paper towels help form this pocket. Lots of rubbing, smoothing to make edges nice.

 

Day 2 or 3- Depending on time and priority of craftsmanship, you may try to get the texture step done now or save it for another day. This year we spent an extra day. We spent day two reviewing Youth Art Month, then worked on our clay.Once pocket is made, introduce found objects for design making. First graders were just learning and making their own fossils so this was really good timing. I could get into a big demo about texture and pattern but I love seeing them explore and make something personal. 

Drying all pockets.
I drill two holes with a hole making tool into each corner while it wet. Drying them upright saves space too. Leave the paper towels in until you put them in the kiln. 

Last Day- Use a really wet sponge to apply dark glaze on the designs. Rub extra glaze so the textures stand out. I soak sponges, dunk in there selected glaze  and give it to the students. They don't need a lot of glaze for this step. Thinner glaze works better than thick.

Once done, go over the entire piece with a lighter color with a paintbrush. I buy glaze by the gallon and store in ziploc containers. It is cheaper to do it this way and easier to share then hose skinny pint jars! And as we know, the more you give students the more they will use. I put just about an inch in each. 

The last step is just adding ribbon to the holes. Seriously, how cute is this red and yellow glaze combo! 

And somehow this little guy managed to write a message on the back of his project. So sweet!!

As you can see these turn out just beautiful! Students learns basic clay building techniques and end up with a quality project that will be treasured for years.

Do you do clay with your students? If so, sculptures or functional items?

5 Things You Should Be Buying at Real Deals (or another dollar store)

I have a confession. I have a slight obsession with Real Deals. I stop almost every week to see what's new. If you are wary about going to Real Deals or a dollar store, don't be. Unless you have tons of extra money to spend on things you need, then you can skip this post. Otherwise, let me tell you about 5 things you are missing out on at Real Deals.

1. Picture Frames

They have tons of 4x6, 5x7 and 8x11 frames.That Home Trends frame is sold at Walmart but I got it for $1 at Real Deals.They have mats for your frames too.

IN the Art Room...#11- Perspective Portraits and Paint Problems

Welcome back! We spent the week getting back in the groove after being on spring break. We picked up right where we left off and kept chugging away at projects.  

 

3rd graders added legs, arms and bodies to their perspective portraits. These extra large projects force me to get creative with seating. 

Valentine's Hearts and Weaving Project

If you have been reading the blog lately you have been watching this weaved heart project evolve from painted paper to a mixed media beauty!  Here's a quick lil how to and overview!

Painting, folding, cutting, symmetry, weaving, this project has it all! 

You have heard me say I am not a giant fan of seasonal projects. But Valentine's Day tugs at my heart. So I incorporate a bunch of skills to justify the gushy-ness of  the final product.

This project was done with my first grade students. They started with some red & white tempera in old egg cartons. We made a variety of lines and filled the empty spots with dots. With each line we added a bit more white to our brush. We focused on some brush skills and self control, including dipping a brush into the paint without swirling to keep the white paint clean.

Stop Spoiling Supplies! Use Supply Dates!

Remember this cute quote from a while back? Well I think rotten paint was to blame.

Not so cute anymore huh? 

Marbled Paper and Ezra Jack Keats Art Project!

My second graders are starting one of my favorite projects. I think I say that about every project, but I really love this one. We are working on creating marbled paper which we will use for an Ezra Jack Keats inspired collage.

Fall Bookmaking for Primary Students

A few weeks back I posted about this beautiful Jackson Pollock inspired paper my students created.

After making some leaf prints, we will be transforming this paper into beautiful books!

Fall Projects: Jackson Pollock Paper

Another one of my favorite fall projects is making Jackson Pollock paper with my first graders. We learn about color mixing, warm colors and the artist Jackson Pollock.
I start the project by asking students how they think this artwork was made. Be prepared for really creative answers! I could listen to my students discuss and critique artwork all day, they have the best imaginations!

I then ask them how big they think it is, then show a picture of me next to one of his works.
After a quick demo I let the students paint like Jackson Pollock. I have stations set up around the room. First ,  the roller station. They use these textured sponge rollers and red and yellow paint and paint on a 12x18 paper. I go heavy on the yellow paint and just a bit of red in the trays. Once again, write their names with sharpies and have them flip the paper or not paint their name.

Back to School-Art Room Prep

My school is finally getting AC! Unfortunately this means that the entire school has been undergoing some major construction and teachers were unable to get into there rooms. And if you could get in they often looked like this...

Not much to do here...

I went in today in hopes of getting in and getting some work done. With just two days until students arrive I was getting antsy and my to do list was growing! 

Fall Projects- Silly Secondaries for Kindergartners

School is starting in a WEEK! I am going to share with you my favorite 3 fall themed projects for my primary students. I generally opt for seasonal projects instead of holiday themed projects with my students. There will be no Santas, ghosts, goblins or leprechauns being made in my art room!

Seriously, how adorable are these pumpkins!? I do this project each fall with my kindergartners. You can see the progression and past galleries below.
Silly Secondaries 2013   Silly Secondaries 2012  Silly Secondaries 2011 Silly Secondaries 2010

PlayColor Solid Poster Paints-I'm in Love!

I had one of those moments. A teacher moment. A slap your forehead moment. A why didn't I do this sooner moment? 

**Play Color Poster Paint Sticks**

I discovered this product at an art conference. In case you haven't figured it out, conferences are the place to go to get the latest and greatest art products.  

Hard at Work!

Free and Stressfree Art Show Frames!

I don't know a single teacher who actually enjoys matting, mounting and prepping artwork for shows. This is one area I am glad I don't have to waste too much time on being from the elementary. 

I was putting together artwork for a show today and within 15 minutes I had matted 7 pieces! 

How can one mat so fast? 

First, I don't cut my mats. 

My local frame shop does! 

My local frame shop donates their mats, mat scraps and foam core scraps to me a few times a year. I have boxes of beautiful mats that may have been miscut, dinged, or dented.  Since I am not submitting artwork into any major shows where the matting would matter I take this handout whenever I can! 

I store the frames in boxes in my supply room.

Tada! Beautiful frames-no cutting or money required! 

I store the frames, mats and foam core in boxes. I need to go back and organize my frames by size again!

Scraps of matboard, these are sorted by color.

Foamcore scraps

So before you cut or buy another mat, ask you local frame shop if they would be willing to donate their 'second' mats to you. I get calls a few times a year from the shop and if no one takes them they just throw them out! 

What are the best freebies that you get? 

Free Art Supplies at Staples!!

It's a great week for some freebies at Staples! This week you can get paper, BIC mechanical pencils and Crayola Markers for free. Simply purchase the items, submit an easy rebate online and get a check back for what you spent. 

Head over here to print a coupon for a free ream of paper!