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!

Draw a Bird Day

When I was little, my grandmother bought for me a beautiful blue spotted parakeet, which I named Mimi. When my brother was old enough, he got a bird of his own. She was bright yellow, so he named her Butter! Ha!

Apparently today, April 8th, is Draw a Bird Day. The DAB website has the story of DAB Day, which is quite touching. If you're like us Pennsylvanians, you're enjoying some warmer weather (FINALLY!) and the chirping of our flighty friends. Celebrate their song (and the memories of Mimi and Butter) by drawing a bird today! A few of my fifth graders spent a few minutes of their morning time to do just that:

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!