Lines, Lines, Everywhere There's Lines!

Line is one of the elements of art. In this lesson, first graders discussed their learning target "I can create a variety of lines with different media." We brainstormed different lines they knew. Among the lines that were discussed were straight, dashed, dotted, zig-zag and wavy. Students used strips of cardboard and toilet paper tubes cut in half to print lines with tempera paint. Once they were dry students added color with crayons.  Great job first grade!

Original Works

This fall I worked with the PTA on an Original Works fundraiser. Here are some of the great pieces of art that parents could have made into pot holder, coasters, sketchbooks and more!

All Aboard!

     All aboard! Amtrak has started offering passenger train service close by in Brunswick, Maine. In celebration of this exciting new way to travel from Maine, our kindergarten students created a piece of art about trains.
     Our first learning target for this lesson was "I can use lines to create shapes." In kindergarten we use a variety of materials to create lines and shapes. We learned that when lines meet they make shapes. After reading the book Color Train by Donald Crews, our young artists used strips of cardboard to print lines that turned squares into squares and rectangles, and then into trains. The wheels were made by printing empty tape spools.
     The following week, we added a new learning target: "I can explore and identify different art media." Students were introduced to a new art media: oil pastels, or craypas. They discovered they were squishier than crayons, they smudge and you can paint right over them. The oil in the craypas repels water, so watercolor flows right over the top of your drawing.
The students' active lines and bright colors convey the excitement of trains rolling down the tracks!