3D Chameleons

                                                 

  I found these adorable 3D Lizards on Pinterest (of course!)  I called mine Chameleons because there are quite a few children's books out there about chameleons: Chameleon's Colors by Chisato Tashiro, The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle, and A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni.  I found the step by step directions on the blog Art, Paper, Scissors, Glue!  I did this with the 3rd graders. The first day we read a couple of the stories then created line and shape patterns on 12"X 18" construction paper with construction paper and metallic crayons.  The next class I took the advice of the blog and went through the steps together with the class.  We made the body and heads and paper clipped these together.  Then the next class I showed them how to glue the body together, and they traced and cut out legs and eyes and put it all together, even the tongue! We also began discussing sculpture and 3D form. The students loved their final sculpture.  They sit nicely on your shoulder and I heard a few students were playing with their sculpture on the playground!  I usually keep art to display but I had to let these fun sculptures go home.

                         

                                                    

                         

4th grade Radial Symmetry

In 4th grade we've been talking about symmetry and creating radial symmetry with the letters of our names.  This video describes the process.

      Our square designs will be used for our Square 1 Art fundraiser.  

While the students worked they got to play games on the website from the Brooklyn Children's Museum.  They have awesome games for understanding pattern and symmetry.

After the tracing was complete we discussed color properties and each student chose a color scheme for their design.  When they finished they worked on a color theory worksheet.

 

Don't let the Pigeon...

These paintings are inspired by the debut book, Don't Let Pigeon Drive the Bus in Mo Willems series about a very persistent pigeon. In the story he never gets to drive the bus so he has to create new dreams...like basketball, ice cream, maybe even riding a horse. We drew and outlined the pigeons with black and white crayons and painted with liquid watercolor.

Sew What?! 5th grade Stitching

       I found a lesson about painting and sewing on burlap in an old art education magazine and knew I wanted to try it one day. To begin the students looked at my pictures from my trip to Alaska.  I also showed them animals and styles of art from the region. Then they used their sketchbook to practice drawing something inspired from Alaska.  I cut pieces of burlap about 8X10in.  They each got a piece of copy paper to write their name on and use as a "place mat"while painting.  The next class the students painted their sketches onto the burlap. The next day I introduced embroidery and stitching, and how it has been used in artwork over time.  I showed examples and taught them how to create different stitches. They had to use at least three of these stitches: running, cross, satin, and straight.  They could also add beads and stitch an initial.

                    

                                             

4th Grade Weaving

4th grade weaving

Robots

Last year I was inspired by our school's interest in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics). I got the idea for these robots from another teacher in my county, Laura Toney at MBES. I took the idea and also introduced the students to Bioengineering (use of concepts and methods of biology). Throughout the project we watched videos of robots and robotic arms.  One of the most innovative is a robotic arm inspired by the mechanics of an elephant's trunk and a gripper made like a fish tail. Then the students  drew their robots using 3D forms and had to have a feature or ability that was inspired by nature.   The painting was quite simple, with a solid gray for the metal with a shade of this for one side and a highlight in white for the other side.  I used Versatemp Pearl colors by Sax that have a metallic sheen.  The colors are also in the pearl paints.  The final step was outlining in Sharpie and learning how to draw the metal plates and bolts.  It was important to add lines and gears to the places that moved or bent.  

My Nanny Bot for my robot twins

                           

Interactive Drawings

5th graders created drawings that they got to be a part of!  They had to draw a movement, then they posed their hands with the action and took a picture with the IPad. 

We took inspiration from Pinterest and from art teacher Laura Toney at MBES.