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!