February
At Rogers School all classes have been working on the PTO's annual "Original Artwork" fundraiser. Self portraits are the theme this year. Many students have really captured their image and all students have reviewed portrait drawing skills. At Wood School Kindergarten children have begun their trioramas based on Eric Carle's picture book, The Mixed-Up Chameleon. First graders have modeled and painted penguins atop an iceberg. Second grade students sculpted cats and kittens and designed their pets' living spaces using a variety of found materials. Third graders painted their glow-in-the-dark birthday moons. Fourth graders used warm colors and shades to paint a southwestern landscape. They later added silhouetted flora and fauna with black markers. Fifth graders are beginning their mask-making project and using water color pencils to draw animals that make Stellwagen Bank their home.
January
We all returned to school with a renewed sense of enthusiasm after a busy holiday season followed by a relaxing vacation. Kindergarten through fourth grades at both schools created tempera and crayon/oil pastel snow pictures. Fifth graders at Rogers began their traditional papier mache maskmaking project while the fifth grade students at Wood used neon twistable crayons to design a frame that will eventually hold a computer assisted photograph. Both of these lessons will be part of the fifth grade promotion ceremony artwork on display. On January 23, we welcomed Ms. Paula Taylor, an art education major at UMass Dartmouth, who will be doing her student teaching with me until the end of May.
December
Well, we're up to our waists in glitter and paper scraps! On most days the art room and my cart look like a scene from the movie, "Elf." Along with the props and a banner for the winter concert, kindergarten through fifth grade students will be working on activities that are connected to their all-school field trips. "The Nutcracker" at Rogers and "A Christmas Carol" at Wood will be featured. I am so happy that the students at both schools have such a wonderful opportunity to experience these traditional holiday performances.
I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season and a restful vacation.
November
Kindergarten students have continued to work on basic art skills such as cutting, gluing, using a paint brush and palette to mix colors, etc. We incorporated all of those skills in a cute lesson based on Leo Lionni's picture book, Matthew's Dream. At Wood School, second through fourth graders are just finishing up their 2D/3/D creatures. This lesson provided a fun way to help the children make an authentic connection between the art elements of shape and form. First and fifth graders and all of the classes at Rogers have been working on lessons designed to emphasize the element of color. Some of the terms that I have introduced and reviewed include: primary colors, secondary colors, warm colors, cool colors, complementary colors, tint, shade and tone. The holiday concert is just around the corner so much of this month will be devoted to making the decoration that each child will wear/hold during his/her performance. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
October
Again this year, the students in Grades K - 5 designed "Pinwheels for Peace" for International Peace Day on September 21. Kindergarteners just finished their own Chicka Chicka Boom Boom trees. The first steps in correctly using a paintbrush and paint palette were introduced. In first grade the children are working with the element of shape. Some classes watercolored birds with colorful geometric shapes for feathers and others cut various sized circles from brightly colored construction paper to create a design. At Wood School in Grades 2 - 4, the students are inventing their own creature inspired by Eric Carle's book "Dragons, Dragons and Other Mythological Creatures that Never Were." After they complete art for the PTO cookbook, the children will then use these paintings as a guide to model and paint their creatures in clay. Fifth grade students at both schools used garden herbs and sculpey clay to make a little wall hanging. At Rogers School second graders completed a wildly colorful cut and glue lesson based on Kandinsky's Farbstudie Quadrate. The third, fourth and fifth graders experimented with op art lessons. In the coming months all classes will be exploring color theory. Then it will be time to begin making props and banners for the Winter Holiday Program. Wow! It's almost time for Christmas!
Mrs. D.'s Palette
As an elementary art teacher, my goals are to help my students develop their creativity, imagination, and self-expression, to teach skills to produce and appreciate art, and to use lessons and projects to connect to subjects being studied in other academic areas. I use a wide variety of materials and techniques, many of which can be somewhat messy. Just as wearing sneakers on P.E. days is important, wearing older, "unfavorite" clothing on art days is encouraged. Because the students are working in close proximity to each other, my expectations for appropriate classroom behavior and careful handling of materials and supplies are consistently enforced.
September
We got off to a running start this September creating our "line"-up of apple theme lessons for open house. Kindergarten students made apple prints to mount on paper plates bearing their names. They used yarn to make lines by lacing around the plate's circumference. First graders mounted hand painted apples to their own black and white weaving. Tempera paint was the medium for second grade. They used black paint or markers to outline apples and line patterns. The color was absolutely spectacular when they filled in their design with temperas. Students in third grade learned about complementary colors and then created a plaid apple using watercolor, crayon and markers. Fourth graders also did some printmaking. Using styrofoam and a pencil, they traced an apple shape and used a pencil to draw a line design both inside and outside the apple. Working cooperatively, they used brayers and water soluble ink to make three prints on brightly colored construction paper. Grade five students painted or used sharpie markers to depict an apple scene on metallic paper. (Look for a photograph of samples of the completed lessons on the web site soon.)