Kinder Hot Air Balloons

After teaching for 9 years, this is the first year I've been at one school.  This is also the first year I've had Kindergartners in art.  Wow!  What an eye-opener!  After the first day, I actually e-mailed my friend, who's had Kinder students for as many years as I haven't, and asked "What do I do?!"  Here are the steps to enjoying art with Kindergarten:

1.  Relax.  They're in kindergarten.  

2. Keep it simple.  The simplest way to complete a project

is often the best way.

3. Plan 2 activities, not just 1.  This fills their time, and keeps them 

focused.  For example, read a book, then do an activity.

Here is our first big Kindergarten project!  We created hot air balloons based on the book, Up, Up, Up by Susan Reed.  We are studying how to be better artists, and our focus is using lines and shapes to make amazing art.  Do you think we accomplished this?  I sure do!

African Landscapes

 In 4th grade we have been doing some complex artwork.  Students made these African landscapes using basic atmospheric perspective and proportion concepts.  We first watched a video about the Wildebeest Migration (3 minutes) then looked at some proportions/sizes of the major animals compared to a 6-foot man and each other.  We studied images of African landscapes.  Then we drew our own landscapes, colored them, put them in a sheet protector and traced in sharpie, and finally made a border.  Our borders contain complex patterns, not simple ones, and we used Adinkra symbols in the corners.  Art is hard work!

Lines and Shapes make Patterns

2nd graders have been focusing on the Elements of Art - Line, shape, color, texture, value, space, and form.  We studied how we could combine lines and shapes to create patterns, and also the difference between a simple pattern and acomplex one.  Then we used these ideas to create these awesome patterned leaves - we got the idea from this Artsonia exhibit. 


First we looked at my Prezi on our smartboard about lines and patterns. 

 I also gave students this worksheet to inspire them to create more complex patterns.