Third grade Pig Kahuna

I bought a darling book at our  school book fair last year called "Pig Kahuna". There are more in the series, but this one deals with overcoming our fears.  I read it using a document camera to show it large on the screen. Third graders still love a good story with great illustrations. The first week we drew the pig, called Fergus. The next week they received little puddles of white tempera with a  dot of a color of tempera on the white. These puddles were mixed to make a tint. Fergus was painted with a Hawaiian shirt.  Next students designed a surf board and drew something that they were NOT afraid of anymore. All kinds of ideas were discussed and laughed about as they realized the silly things they were afraid of when they were little. These were painted with watercolors. The last step involved wet on wet painting using cool colors and splashes of white to create an ocean wave for Fergus to surf on.

Monet Ice Creams

First graders saw a short animated video about the famous artist, Claude Monet.  They learned how Monet and others started painting out of doors, instead of in studios. This was made possible through the invention of paint in tubes. They  then drew a bowl piled high with scoops of ice cream. As they drew, they incorporated the many types of lines that we have learned this year.  ( vertical, diagonal, horizontal, zig zag, wavy)  Next they mixed white paint with a color of tempera paint to create a tint.
This reminded  them of Monet's use of light and colors in the sunlight. Finally they added dots of paints for sprinkles. We celebrated Monet  by having a treat of small cups of ice cream and sprinkles!

4th grade textile arts

Fourth graders have explored textile arts in the form of spool knitting. This is an old craft. Originally wooden spools were saved after a sewing project. Nails were hammered into the top. A tube of knitting
formed from the nails and grew through the spool hole.  Our students made a spool out of a tube and popsicle sticks. They quickly learned the art of knitting and became fascinated with adding more and more colors. After their knitted rope reached 2 table lengths, they had to think of what to make from it.
I promised to supply art materials. Their job was to dream big. They had a blast being free from a directed product. There were many wonderful ideas!  Creativity was rampant! Here are a few results.