Recent Art Projects

We have recently done a lot of art projects. We do art concepts, study certain artists, and do seasonal projects as well. Some projects are just for fun as time fillers in our afternoons. Here are a few of our recent ones:

Snowmen from an overhead perspective.

 Perspective is a hard concept for kids. We did this project to try to show them what that word means, and that not everything is viewed straight on.

 

 

 

 

Blow art monsters created using water color paint and straws.

The kids got a kick out of these. Most had time to write names for them, and one boy wrote a story to go along with his monster in his free time.

Kadinsky Trees

Kadinsky was an abstract artist and we made abstract trees to learn what that word meant. This was a 3 day process, but they turned out so cool it was worth it. The kids had a lot of fun being creative on these too.  In the future I think I will save this project to do in the spring when the flowers and trees are beginning to bloom.

Snowman Silhouettes were used to work on foreground and background. We did the background one day and the foreground the next. We should have made the swirls all over the page instead of just on the top to make it more apparent which was which.  This lesson also introduced they idea of silhouettes and shadows.

Primary Colors

We are also starting on colors in our art classes. We learned about primary colors, then the kids had a choice of painting a beach scene or a bowl of fruit using only primary colors. They got very creative. The next lesson they learned secondary colors and got to mix colors together, which was also super fun for them!

Art Garland

We aren't allowed to poke holes in our walls and our bulletin boards are often already filled with something, so we used 3M hooks, yarn, and paper clips to make an artwork garland across our classroom. It took forever to tie those paperclips on, but it is so easy to display their work now!

Enemy Pie

Photo copied from www.enemypie.com

Our kids are young and still learning how to problem solve. We spent two weeks working of problem resolution including brainstorming problems they have encountered with other kids, ways to handle and solve the problems, role playing these events, and making posters to remind us of positive ways to solve a problem instead of going to a teacher. I have seen an improvement in them too! At recess anymore it is the kindergarteners tattling and I hear the first graders telling me later what they did to solve a problem they had! To kick off our mini unit we read and made Enemy Pie (book by Derek Munson.) Half way through the book we showed the kids an empty pie crust, then threw in dirt and leaves and dead flowers that I had collected earlier that morning from outside. The kids had a great time imagining giving that gross pie to an enemy and what it must taste like.

Making Enemy Pie

Enemy and Friendship Pie

When we finished the book the kids were happy hear it wasn't really a gross pie, but a delicious berry pie that was made. As a surprise, we gave them all "friendship pie" for snack.

Math Time and Goal Setting

When our kids finish with their math lesson for the day, I send them to the math practice box. They have all written a math goal such as pass my timings, tell time better, learn fact families, or be faster at counting money. With this box, I don't have to stay on top of making packets and the kids can work on exactly what they need. It's great for those odd 10-15 minutes of nothing planned that pop up every now and then too. Since this photo, we have also added laminated copies of the math timings they do so they can practice just those facts without having to pull out all the flashcards.

Our goal board is where one reading group takes place, and the kids eat lunch. So everyday they have the opportunity to reread their goal. As some of them are getting closer to their goals, they are adding sticky notes showing progress. For instance, one girl wants to finish all her addition timings, so now that she passed the next one, she has a note showing it. My co-teacher and I wrote goals too so the kids could see what we wanted to improve upon. Every time they see me writing a lesson plan they ask what day it is for because I said I wanted to be prepared 2 days ahead of time. Then they congratulate me :)

My Little School

I teach at a private school in Kirkland, Washington. I have 8 first graders ages 5 and 6 who are learning at the second grade level. It is a fun challenge to engage their little minds and push them in the curriculum while remembering they are young and sometimes just need a story and a hug. Everyday I'm amazed at what they can achieve and the things they say! Though I never imagined myself in the private sector, I am quickly getting comfortable with the small class size and am very appreciative to the fact that I can give all of them one on one help everyday. I do have a co-teacher in the classroom as well, which is probably the hardest part. I am grateful to have prep time built in while she is teaching, but some days find myself sitting at the desk and twiddling my thumbs because I can't think of anything to do. We are both first year teachers too, so it has been a great learning experience for both of us, and a great situation to bounce ideas back and forth  because neither of us have already established our "ways" of doing things.