Field Trip!

Yesterday, I was invited to go on a field trip with our ESE teachers to the Cummer Museum of Arts and Gardens. This trip was special because it was the VSA Arts Festival. The VSA Arts Festival, a nationally recognized program, that provides hands-on art experiences and the chance to view original works of art to over 2,300 children with disabilities, ranging from mild to profound disabilities, over a four-day period and utilizes the time and talent of nearly 1,200 volunteers. Public school students from the surrounding five-counties Exceptional Education/Student Services (EESS) program rotate through eight art stops in the Museum's galleries and gardens to create hands-on art projects, view The Cummer's art collection, listen to live musicians and storytellers, and learn about art appreciation. The event permits all students to participate in the creative process at their individual level of ability.

Our students were wonderful! Not only were we well behaved, but our students created wonderful works of art! It made me really proud to be their art teacher. As they were working, I kept hearing students say things such as, "You taught us this!" "My artwork looks this good because of you!" Wouldn't this make any teacher proud of their students?

Finished! Dias de los Muertos!

Esta Magnifico!

These turned out wonderful and of course my students had a blast! After paper macheing the face template, students mounted their skull to matte board. Next, after viewing many different images from Dias de los Muertos in Mexico, students decorated their masks acordingly.

Kokeshi Dolls

It's been a while since I've las posted, but no worries, here comes some goodies!

This year I developed a new lesson for my 3rd graders (although this would probably be better for 5th graders). 3rd graders are learning about the arts of Asia. In studying Korea, we learned about their Kokeshi dolls. We decided to create our own...only using plastic water bottles and and paper mache plastic shopping bags for the head. Our steps:

1. Pass out empty waterbottles. Have students cut out the top of the water bottle off.





2. Next, pass out plastic shopping bags. About 5 for each student. Have students stuff four bags into one. Then, shape the bag into a ball and tape it to the bottle. Make sure it is secure.





3. Next, paper mache the entire bottle.





4. Once dry, have students paint bottle. Discuss symmetry and different faces.





5. Finally, pass out ribbon and fabric swatches. Apply as needed.

This lesson is best with a small class. Be prepared to hot glue anything that falls off. The students LOVVEEE the finished product and I have yet to seen this lesson done anywhere else. Enjoy!

A Full Moon Rising

How could a tell today was a full moon? By the wonderful odd children that poured into my classroom today. Here are some of our full moon characteristics:

• My classes produced beautiful work today....actually more beautiful than normal.


• A child was stung by a bee today...while in the art room with windows and doors closed. When I asked if he was allergic he responded, "I don't know. I've never been stung before." Excellent.


• A kindergartner strolled into my art room 20 minutes late because he was "lost". (He wasn't actually lost. He was in the bathroom when his class left for art. So he decided to wander the school to look for his class.)

Everyday is an adventure as an art teacher.

Dias de los Muertos

4th graders at Whitehouse Elementary are enjoying creating skulls in honor or the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. We are learning about distortionl, symmetry, line, and colors. This is one of Whitehouse Elementary's first paper mache projects. I think these are turning out beautiful. Check back for the finished result.

Texture Burgers

Mrs. Stoker's 3rd grade class created "Texture Burgers". This was a great lesson to teach about texture and color all in one lesson. The students had a great time making this project too.

1. Pass out white paper. Have students paint 3/4 one color and 1/4 another.



2. Next, pass out brown paper. Have students trace a circle the cut the circle out. Next, cut the circle in half.



3. Paste the half circles on the painted paper. Now in between the half circles, have students find different textures and paste in between.

Fall Leaves

Last year I did the same lesson with Kindergarten and it came out great! We are create fall leaves which will be displayed as one large tree in the cafeteria. This year we are only using fall colors and the shape of our leaves are different per class.

1. Pass out leaf template. Have students trace around. Cut out leaf.



2. Next, pass out colored tissue paper. Have students tear the tissue paper and place the pieces one by one on their leaf until there are no white spots.



3. Finally, have students use watered down liquid starch to make the tissue paper adhere to the leaf.