The Mitten Tree

Winter in Maine requires mittens! Students in kindergarten and first grade listened to the book The Mitten Tree. The Mitten Tree is a story of an elderly woman who secretly knits mittens for children who don't have them. She hangs them on a tree at the children's bus stop. After they heard the story the kindergarten used found objects to make a pattern on a piece of construction paper. Their learning target was "I can make a clear print using found objects." The students used pieces of cardboard, q-tips, and marker caps to print their patterns. Once the patterns were dry the students used stencils to create the mitten shape and texture rubbing plates to add interest to their backgrounds.

First graders listened to the same story, but their learning target was "I can create tints of a color by adding white." They used their tints to create a page of patterns. Once their pattern was dry they cut out the mittens and added interest to the background with textured rubbing plates.

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!

Lines in Motion

Line is one of the seven elements of art. Students in fourth and fifth grade brainstormed a list of lines including spiral, straight, dotted, zig-zag, curved, wavy and dashed. We also discussed silhouettes and symmetry. Students were asked to cut a symmetrical shape of a flying creature or object from black paper and then imagine if they could see the wind behind the flying creature or object, what would it look like? Student used pencil, sharpie and craypas to create the wind behind their silhouettes. One bird (above) apparently hit his head, resulting in a looping, crazy line design!
This lesson was inspired by an image on the art education site Artsonia.

Beach Treasure Relief Sculptures

In October the entire school and staff went on a field trip to Totman Cove. Students spent the day doing yoga, having writing workshops and exploring the beach. During their explorations students gathered materials to use in an art project. Students were offered a variety of materials, including oil pastels and tempera paint, to create relief sculptures. Students could use any subject matter, make an actual scene or create an abstract design. Some objects were adhered with glue, while others required the use of a glue gun. Glue guns are adult only and I managed to only burn myself once! The results had a lot variety and imagination!

 

Line Prints

 

In this Line Prints lesson, second graders used two forms of media, styrofoam printmaking and craypas, to create a beautiful multi-media piece. We are using learning targets in art his year. A learning target is a statement is a "I can" statement telling students what they will be learning during their art lesson. The learning target for this lesson was "I can use a variety of media to create lines." Line is one of the seven elements of art. A wonderful artist, Walter Anderson, had a philosophy that if a person knew how to draw seven basic lines (straight, curved, zig-zag, wavy, spiral, dotted and dash) they could draw anything. To practice creating lines, students were asked to draw the seven lines on a piece of styrofoam. They were encouraged to experiment with repetition a varying the lines. 

After they had incised the styrofoam plates, we printed! Students enjoyed using the brayers and ink to ink to prepare the plates and printing them. Once they were dry, the lines of the print were extended to the edge of the page and filled in with craypas. The results were gorgeous!

This lesson was inspired by an image seen on the art educational site Artsonia.