James Rizzi Birds

This beautiful lesson comes from Patty at Deep Space Sparkle. Before stumbling upon it via Pinterest, I'd never heard of James Rizzi, but having taught this lesson, I'm eager to learn more about his bright, bold work. The kids loved looking at it, too!

I've never been one for much directed drawing. But as I learned in one of the AOE classes I took over the summer, DDs can be a great way to boost kids' confidence in their abilities. And who doesn't want that?

After drawing with a pencil, kiddos outlined their birds--or as we called them, pudgy budgies!--with black oil pastel, then painted with liquid watercolor. To prep the kids, we discussed the warm and cool color families; I made a simple worksheet to enforce the content, as well as have kids pre-select their color scheme. Warm colored birds got cool colored backgrounds and vice versa.

 

The kids ate this up! And since we did our initial DD, older students have reported that their second grade siblings cannot stop drawing birds on their own!

Thank you, Patty! This one's a keeper!

Get out your popcorn, it's time for a preview

I'll warn you right now: this post contains a Downton Abbey spoiler. That makes sense on an art ed blog, right? Okay then.

We have close to three cycles under our belts, but only my youngest students have completed their initial projects. (I see my classes just once every 6 days, for 45 minutes apiece.) I'm hoping to get a few of those project posts completed in the coming days, but if you're like me, you love a good preview (or a preview that's way too fast and leaves you hanging and questioning WHY MATTHEW HAD TO DIE!?). So here are some candids from the first few days of art class, showing what the little artists are working on for their Square 1 Art projects!

 

Chameleon Sculptures!

My student teacher is working on Chameleon Sculptures with the second grade, and I'm just as nuts for them this year as last! It's great for working those tactile skills, forming a sculpture that the kids TOTALLY DIG, and studying a little science. (For next year, I've ordered Chameleon's Colors and A Color of His Own to use, adding a literary connection.)

This is a popular project that I've seen on several blogs: Artolazzi, smART Class, and Art with Ms. Gram are a few.

Taking a cue from other teachers, we used the following video to get pumped!

That music gets me every time.

Assembling the chameleons is a little time consuming and can be difficult for some kiddos, but it's totally worth it. For step-by-step instructions, I highly recommend any of the websites mentioned above; Ms. Gram provides a nice graphic for assembling these little lizards.

At one point, a group of girls all started to whine about the folding part, saying, "we can't do this!" So I said:
Mrs. Connell: "Oh good, that's what every teacher wants to hear--I can't!"
2nd graders: "Haha, noooo, you're being silly!"
Mrs. Connell: "You're right. I was being sar--"
2nd grader: "Casket!"

It's true; I am very sarcasket.

On the second day, kiddos finished decorating and cutting their bodies before creating legs...

Making eyes...

And adding a tongue to finish 'em off!

For whatever reason, we had very few early finishers this year, whereas last year the kids were manufacturing these suckers like nobody's business. In that instance, I told kiddos to make their new pet a birth certificate. Not only does this incorporate a little writing, but it's hilarious!

This project is awesome. Go do it right now! And if you need any more visual encouragement, here are two videos that my kids love:

I have major doubts about that last one being legit, but MAN-O-DAY, is it cool to watch! Does anyone else say "man-o-day"? My mother has said it for years and it makes zero sense to me. But now I say it. Uh oh.

Things the kids say (a.k.a. medicine for a Monday morning!)

Whoa, Monday morning. You're really out to get me! Upon leaving for school this a.m., I was about a block away from home when I heard and felt something strange related to my car. I jumped out to look and tharrr she blew--a flat tire! Thankfully, when I realized something was wrong, I was only in our little neighborhood, not on the busy highway. Thank you, Lord!

At a time such as this--a flat tire on a rainy Monday tax day morning!--I think it's important to take the time to laugh a little. And so I've decided to share a few of the things that the kids have said lately that have really cracked me up... or took my ego down a few notches.


2nd grader: "Miss Connell, someone said a bad word! It started with 'cr-' and ended with '-ap!'"


3rd grader, talking about her family's annual trip to Taiwan: "There is a very large market that we go to. There are LOTS of people. Once, I almost got lost!"
Mrs. Connell: "Maybe your mom should get a little leash and pull you around like a puppy!"
3rd grader: "Do you do that with Mr. Connell?"


5th grade boy: "I was a very chubby baby."
Mrs. Connell: "I was, too."
5th grade boy: "I can tell." (this dude is going to have trouble finding a girlfriend.)


1st grader, talking about Mod Podge: "Mmm, this stuff smells like lavender." (WRONG.)


Mrs. Connell: "A collage is made of many pieces of things combined to make a larger artwork. You might use tissue paper, photos, drawings, scraps--"
1st grader: "And cake?" 


1st grade boy: "Ew, I don't want this pink, that's not a boy color."
Mrs. Connell: "Oh, c'mon! Lots of boys like pink."
1st grade boy: "Well they're disgusting."


2nd grade: "Mrs. Connell, how many kids do you wanna have?"
Mrs. Connell: "Oh, I don't know for sure. Maybe 4? Although Mr. Connell wants 3."
2nd grader: "Well it's YOUR choice!" (8-year-old feminist on board!)

With my student teacher, Miss Caruso:

Miss Caruso: "And this carving is really old, more than 500 years old!"
1st grader: "That's close to 29 years old!" (and then 28-year-old Mrs. Connell cried in a corner)

And my personal favorite:

2nd grader: "Mrs. Connell, are you havin' a baby?"
Mrs. Connell: "No."
2nd grader: "Well it looks like it." (neat.)

Mondrian Animals, Fingerpainting, and Edible Color Wheels

In second grade, we study the primary and secondary colors. Here's a trifecta of colorful projects to introduce the little ones to that wonderful wheel o' colors!

This Mondrian project is all over blogs and Pinterest (yet I originally found it in an old Arts & Activities, pre-Pinterest, if you can remember back that far, ha).

This is a porcupine--hehe! I love its expression!

The Mondrian project takes two 45-minute classes, as I give kiddos a day to sketch animals, really focusing on the basic shapes that comprise the animal's form. (Recently, when our sculptor friend visited, he shared the same strategy for drawing. Boom--validation!)

Next up, I whip out some fingerpaint so the kids can see the way the primaries mix. We watch this awesome video. On repeat. Again and again and again!

The icing on the cake cookies is our Edible Color Wheel project! Kiddos mix primary-colored frosting to make secondary colors, frost a few vanilla wafers, and assemble their own color wheel. It's the most delicious project of the year! As one kid put it, "this project is like a present to us." You and your dentist, buddy.

I wish I could show you all the frosting-covered faces that resulted from this last project. It's my favorite part!

Happy weekend, all!

Dali Portraits

I laughed out loud when I saw this project on There's a Dragon in my Art Room. How great are the expressions and the mustaches on the portraits and photos alike!?

I used two(ish) days to do this project with my second graders. On the first day, we had to add gloss to our Pinch Pots, and I knew that doing that as well as introducing and attempting to complete this new project was too much. So, on the first day, we finished our pots, then discussed Salvador Dali and his wild ways. The kids really liked his Surrealist paintings and LOVED his funky mustache! Also, I'm pretty sure some of my students will be asking for a pet ocelot.

As each kid finished their pot, they began sketching portraits. We talked briefly about facial proportions as well as facial expressions. Admittedly, some of the sketches made me think that these may not turn out, but on we forged.

On the second day, kiddos drew their Dali portraits with black crayon. And to my relief, those black crayons were like magic wands, drawing beautifully expressive Dali-esque portraits on each page! The drawings were cut out and glued onto the 9 x 12" colored paper of choice, given a pipe cleaner mustache, and sent on their way!

And of course, we made paper mustaches of our own. The whole thing was a BIG hit with the kiddos! And I laughed audibly for the duration of the time it took me to hang them up. So now people think I'm even nuttier than they did before. Oh well.

Happy Monday, all!