Third Grade Clay Cups

Third grade classes used the pinch pot method to build clay cups, which they then glazed the following week.  The cups have now been sent home and should be treasured keepsakes for many years to come!

Abecedarium

When you play around with the alphabet and turn the letters into artwork, that is called an ABECEDARIUM.  The first grade classes spent this week doing just that.  It is a fun way to think about the alphabet, but I reminded all of them that they still need to write their alphabet letters normally when they are writing their spelling and stories!

3rd grade clay cups coming home!

Today the clay cups are coming home with the third grade students! Here is some advice for care and handling;

1. Keep it out of reach of small siblings!
2. Hand wash only with soap and water... do not use the dishwasher!
3. It should not go in the oven or freezer.
4. NEVER. EVER PUT IT IN THE MICROWAVE!!!
5. Enjoy!

Parents, all of the glazes we used are rated as food safe. You can let your child drink out of the cup.

Second Grade Pastel Landscapes

The second grade classes recently finished a landscape assignment. 

Each student selected a reference photo to work with before drawing out their landscape on a white paper.  Still using the photo as a reference, the students used pastels (colorful chalk) to 'paint' their landscape.

We talked about tips and tricks that artists use to prevent the artwork from being smeared while it is being worked on and the students self evaluated themselves each day on how they did at keeping the mess to a minimum.  The tips and tricks are...

1. One hand is the 'dirty' hand that holds the pastel and paints with it.  The other hand stays clean to hold onto the artwork.
2. Start at the top of the artwork and work your way down so that you don't accidentally drag your hand or sleeve through already finished parts of the artwork.
3. Keep your painting hand floating in the air.  Never let it rest on the paper.  It is best to stand up while you work to make it easier for your hand to float.
4. If there is too much chalk dust on your paper, tap it gently onto the newspapers.  DON'T blow on it!  Your picture will get lighter, and some people are allergic to chalk dust (like ME!)
5. Always use newspapers to protect the table, and wear a smock to protect your clothes!

Here are some examples of second grade pastel landscapes...

Truly beautiful landscapes!

First Grade Self Portraits

Last week, the first grade classes explored feelings and how they show up on a person's face.  We talked about how each part of the face will change to show a feeling.  For instance, when a person is scared, the eyes will pop open, the mouth (with two lips!) will open wide, and the eyebrows will go up higher on the forehead.

We also went over all the parts on a head (two eyes with pupils, a nose with two nostrils, a mouth with two lips, eyebrows, ears, hair) and where they should be placed on the picture.  For instance, the eyes go much further down than most children tend to draw them.  This leaves room for a forehead and hair ON the head, not above it.

After practicing this, the students were given a paper with a blank head shape already drawn on it.  While looking into a mirror, each student chose a feeling (happy, sad, scared, or angry) to put on their face, and then drew a self portrait, making sure to include all the features of their head/face.  Before coloring, however, I asked the students to include one more thing, a BACKGROUND (drawings of stuff behind them in the self portrait) that explains WHY they are feeling the way they do in the picture. 

Here are some examples of what the students made...