This is the blog for the Waitsfield Elementary School Art Program in Waitsfield Vermont. This site is maintained by Nora McDonough. It contains photographs and information about past and current art projects completed at all levels, K-6.
Any art teacher will tell you that Chalk Pastels vs. Young Artists can be a tough match! However, with some careful modeling, monitoring and let-it-go-ing, this colorful dust storm can be turned into beautiful artwork!
Kindergarten artists used Elmer's glue to trace a spiderweb design on black paper. After it dried, they used chalk pastels to fill in each closed shape created by the glue.
Of course we started this lesson by reading Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk.
Elephant, snake and bird live in a beautiful jungle. Then someone starts
cutting down trees and soon their home is destroyed. This book uses colorful, whimsical illustrations to make kids think about the effects of deforestation.
Artists in grades K-4 read "Where is the Elephant," by Barroux and discussed the author's message. Then we used Sharpie markers and liquid watercolor paint to create many different types of trees inspired by the illustrations in the book. To inspire our tree paintings we went outdoors to observe our surroundings and used the inspiration guide below. This reminds us that there is no "right way" to draw a tree. Our bulletin board also features a hiding elephant, snake and parrot, just like the book.
Students at all levels will be celebrating Dot Week during the week of September 12th in Art Class and Library/Technology. This special event is based on the book “The Dot,” by Peter Reynolds. It is a story that encourages artists to “just make a mark.”
International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009. The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a
doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to
“make her mark”.
What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper
becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of
self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless
children and adults around the globe.
And each year on International Dot Day –
with the help of people just like you –the inspiration continues. What
started as a story in the pages of a book is transforming teaching and
learning around the world as people of all ages re-discover the power
and potential of creativity in all they do.
(From www.thedotclub.org)
We also used the Quiver app on the iPads to turn our dots three dimensional.
With the garden in full bloom, how could we not take our art class outside?
First and second grade artists worked on drawing sunflowers from observation. We remind each other to Draw what you see, not what you know!
Third and fourth grade artists were asked to imagine that they had shrunken down to the size of a bug. What would the world look like from this point of view? Has anyone from this generation seen "Honey I Shrunk the Kids?"
After a fantastic summer filled with relaxation, family time and creative adventures, I am excited to be back in the Art Room! This year in Art Class we will explore a variety of arts media, areas of interest and new techniques. I strive to help each student feel success and pride in his or her work and understand that, as Picasso said, "Every child is an artist."
This fall we will be gearing up for our all-school Artist-in-Residence in just a couple of weeks! We will be working with different artists to create artwork that ties in with the new Mad River Path that goes by the school. More information will be forthcoming!
There are several ways to make sure you know what is going on in your child's Art Class. Make sure you have signed up to receive Art Blog updates by email. On the first page of the Art Blog, please enter your email in the white box on the upper left. This way you will never miss a blog post!
You can also see what's happening in Art Class on Instagram! Follow ArtClass_AllDay on Instagram to see quick peeks into the Art Room.
