1st grade before and after

Here are a few samples of first grade work during our drawing lessons last week. The drawing lessons will be repeated every year you remain at Harvest. As you grow and develop, you will see your drawing skills improve drastically!

2nd and 3rd grade before an after

Here is a sampling of before and after images related to last week's drawing lessons. It was a fun week and I am proud of all my students. I am sorry I couldn't put all of the students' artwork on here, but I simply couldn't manage.

As you can see, one week of practice can make significant changes! Imagine what you could do in a month of practicing! Although we have moved on to other lessons, if you want to improve your drawing skills, you should continue to practice on your own.

"I'm more than okay, I'm GREAT!"

I just have to give a big shout out to all the parents who raise optimistic kids! Yesterday, while working on our drawing skills and someone tearfully said "I'm no good at drawing", I was assuring them that mistakes were nothing to cry over and that they would be "okay". That is when I heard it.

Another student quietly exclaimed...

"I'm more than okay, I'm GREAT!"

I wish every student had been instilled with such self assurance!

'Don't draw what you KNOW, draw what you SEE'

Today was a day to practice drawing skills.

Step one is to find the hidden shapes and put them on the paper. It is VERY important that you find the right shapes and put them in the right places, or the drawing with never turn out right!

Next, Build the drawings on top of the shapes.

Then you erase the hidden shapes.

Finally, add the finishing details to the drawing.

We also discussed a normal misconception that children have when drawing. Draw what you SEE, not what you KNOW. Children know that the top of the cup is a circle, so they draw a circle on the paper for the top of the cup when, in reality, the top of the cup appears to be an oval because of the angle we see it.

Student edition of Salt Lake Tribune and Desert News... online!

Parents and students! Here is a link to access the eEdition of the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News for students! This free service is provided by the papers for the students of Utah.

www.nowutah.com/education/student.php

Once on this login page, the user name for my students is harvestart and the password is 1234.

I am hoping for articles and news on art that can be used in the art classroom over the course of the year, but students and parents can access it for many other reasons, too! Enjoy the news!

Safety Day

Today is the school wide Safety Day. Students go to various stations around the school throughout the day and learn safety rules and procedures in the school. Because of this, there will be no specialty classes today. I look forward to seeing all of you on Monday; have a fantastic weekend!

Welcome back everyone!

Welcome to an exciting new school year! Welcome back returning students and we are all very excited to welcome our new students, as well!

This blog is dedicated to all of the students and parents of Harvest Elementary, and to our mutual love of art! I encourage you to check this blog frequently for updates about what your child is currently doing in art. I will post curriculum, assignments, and photos as often as possible, so check in frequently!

The last gasp of summer!

Here we are, just 2 weeks away from the start of the 09-10 school year! Summer seems to have flown right by. I hope it has been as fun and relaxing for all of you as it has been for me!

I am looking forward to seeing all your smiling (and probably tanned) faces soon, until then, enjoy the end of summer!

Summer city festivals

Looking for some adventures but short on funds? Why not try one of the nearby community summer festivals? Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days are over, so is the Orem City Fest. However, American Fork's Steel Days are coming up in July and there are lots of family friendly activities that don't cost an arm and a leg! Click on the link below to check it out!

http://www.afsteeldays.com/

Here is the link for Lehi City's Round-Up Celebration, also in July!

http://www.lehi-ut.gov/roundup/

And, of course, Provo's Freedom Festival!

http://www.freedomfestival.org/

Steel Days Art Show

American Fork is host its annual Steel Days Art Show July 16-18! They are sending out their Call For Entries this weekend! Anyone interested in entering the art show can click on the images above to read everything you need to know in order to enter!

My kids and I have entered this art show for many years and it is always fun! We have even occasionally won prizes! The Steel Days carnival is in the park right next to the library during the show, so there is lots of fun for the whole family!

Please feel free to post any questions you might have!

Summer Software Giveaway!

Hey all you Harvest Artists! Here is a summer challenge for you!

Find the EXTRA CREDIT on this blog. Learn about one of them and report in! Add a comment to this blog post and the first TWO reporting in will WIN A COPY OF THE SOFTWARE SHOWN ABOVE!

That's right! I will mail a copy of Crayola's Print Factory AND Magic 3D Coloring Book to the first two blog readers who respond!

Here are the ground rules:

1. You must be one of my students at Harvest Elementary (yes, my exiting 6th graders can still participate!).
2. You can have a parent help you!
3. You must tell me something about what you discovered in the EXTRA CREDIT section. Please don't write a novel!
4. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR PERSONAL MAILING INFO IN THE COMMENT! I will announce the two winners in the next blog post and give you the info you need to contact me privately so I can mail you your prize.

That's it! The software is older, I make no guarantees that it will work with your system... but since it is FREE you might as well give it a shot!

Good Luck!

Belated composition post

SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! I told the 3 grade classes that I would post these pictures of their composition pastel artworks after Mother's Day so that I wouldn't ruin the surprise for those giving them to their mothers as gifts. Then, I forgot. OOPS!

However, better late than never! Here they are. They turned out absolutely stunning! I just love how vibrant pastels are. These were done on black paper. That really shows how powerful the medium is.

Notice that the two center bottom images bear a striking resemblance to each other. Two students decided to share an image and view finder to do the same composition, then colored it in their own unique way. LOVE IT!

Walker's Coloring Page for June

Every month, the Walker's gas stations have a coloring page for children. If you click on this image it will load alone. You can then print it and color it in. If you take it to a Walker's during the month of June, you will receive a free prize! This one came from the Walker's in American Fork on Main Street. Have fun!

SUMMER!!!

Thanks again for all the wonderful times this year!

Keep watching the blog all summer, you might find fun things and important information if you do!

Portfolios come home today!

Please watch for art portfolios in backpacks today! Take a moment to sit down and look through it with your son/daughter and talk about all the fun things they made. I encourage the kids to pick one or two items to keep, then they can recycle the rest. It is just impossible to keep EVERYTHING, so it is good to choose!

Cleaning Day!

Today all art classes are spending their time cleaning the classroom. You might think this is an end of year ritual and that it is a waste of instructional time. Not so!

Every term the students have a ton of fun using the art supplies and making big messes. We all enjoy it immensely! However, I explain very carefully to them that it is not right to leave our messes for other people to deal with. Therefore, every term there is a 'Cleaning Day'. The students made the tables and chairs grimy, the students clean them off. They actually have a really great time doing this. I have had many students comment that 'it is so much more fun to clean the classroom than doing my chores at home!' I think it is because it is done together with friends.

Anyway, the classroom will be sparkly clean by the end of the day!

Summer art ideas

As the year draws to a close, I want to thank the students and parents at Harvest Elementary for another fantastic year! We worked hard, and we played hard, and that is the way it should be!

During the lazy days of summer, there may be a time when you are looking for something to do.

DO ART!!!!!

• Simply taking some art supplies out under the shade of a tree or porch is a fun and creative way to spend a summer afternoon.

• Sidewalk chalk is fun and temporary. The first rain or sprinkler on the sidewalk will wash the chalk away. Take turns laying down and tracing each other. Then turn the outlines into a story telling artwork. Look for the post entitled RECIPES for a recipe for sidewalk chalk!

• Gather all the old magazines in the house and let the kids cut and paste together a collage to their heart's content. Pick a theme, like 'in my dreams' to help get the creative juices flowing.
• If you are planning to travel; give your little artist a journey book! This book should have blank pages and can be filled with sketches of people, places, and events along the journey. A simple pencil, eraser, and dollar store colored pencil box complete the set!
• Make home made salt dough "play-doh" (again, see the post entitled RECIPES) and sculpt!
• Look for summer art classes offered by local city Arts Councils! These are usually inexpensive and only last one week.
  

RECIPES - Sidewalk chalk - eggshell

Eggshell Sidewalk Chalk

Ingredients

4-5 eggshells
1 tsp. flour
1 tsp. very hot tap water
food coloring (optional)



Directions

Wash and dry eggshells, put in a bowl and grind into powder. Throw out any large pieces. Pour flour, hot water, and 1 tsp. of eggshell powder into another bowl. Mix until mixture looks like paste. Add food coloring now if you like. Shape and press the paste into the shape of chalk sticks. Roll up tightly in a strip of paper towel and allow to dry for about 3 days.

This chalk is only good for sidewalks.