I'm BACK!!!! I needed a place to put my new HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT'S work, so here I am. Things got pretty overwhelming a few years ago, so I decided to make the move on up to high school. I don't regret it one bit. Check in soon for a new look, along with what we are doing in Jackson's Art Room.

Pretty Little Piggies

The kids finished these up this week and I just had to share. Aren't they adorable? We started with a step by step drawing on pink construction paper. They then let loose with the scrap paper bin. I read the story, When Pigasso Met Mootise, and they got to work. Honestly, that was the best book I had besides When Pig Met Pug, which I read earlier in the week. Maybe I need to get more books, lol.

Welcome to our Classroom!

Woohoo!!! It is a new year and we have a lot of creative things coming our way! The kiddos all seem excited to start off a new school year, and so am I! Join us on the blog for lots of new ideas and creations from the kids here at Learning Way! See you soon!

Food Art

The 5th graders loved creating their "fake cakes"! They used a template that I downloaded from the internet (just google cake slice template to find one you like). The first day of this project was spent with them cutting out the template and taping them together to form the slice form. Looking back, it would have been a good idea to cover the entire template with some good, thick masking tape to keep the cardstock from collapsing under the weight of the paper mache. The next class used ClayCrete to create the cake slice. They put them on styrofoam plates to let them dry. The next week, they finished them up by painting. They were thrilled, for the most part! There are a few that always hate their work, but most of the kids were very supportive of them and encouraged them with kind words. The cupcakes were made by the 4th graders using Model Magic by Crayola. I find that it is much cheaper to buy the large containers and give them a hunk at a time instead of an entire small package. I like to divide it into balls before class, that way it is kind of "measured out." Make sure that you leave the Model Magic in a sealed plastic bag with the air pushed out- or else it starts to dry out. I demonstrated how to make the cupcake, and the icing, and then let them go to it. Of course, once one kid makes a cherry on top, they all need one! I can honestly say I have never had a cherry on top of a cupcake, but who am I to judge? I thought they turned out super cute, don't you? The final project in our Wayned Theibaud unit was the cake/3D shape lesson. We talked about all kinds of 3D shapes first, reviewed how to draw them, and they began with the pastels. I used the Crayola oil pastels this time, because it seems like the thickness of them helps them last a bit longer. This is a fun, one day lesson most of the time. I have a few who didn't finish, but they are the ones who usually take longer on everything. I hope you enjoyed their artwork! Leave me a comment if you have any questions, and I'd be glad to help!

Thanks to the donation of several paper bags from Kroger, the 4th grade students created their Picasso Head bags/masks.  Some of the kids wanted them to go the other direction so they would sit up better, so I let them...it's their creation, right? Anyway, after studying Picasso, the kids got to work using pencil, and then Sharpie to outline their drawings.  They then used Crayola oil pastels (I like them because they are thick and harder to break) to color them in.  They were quite impressive to have sitting around at the county art show, I thought! The colors were so vibrant, and each one was so different. 

Stop Motion Animation at LWE

This year the kids used different media for their stop motion animation videos- You can check them out here!
https://youtu.be/AW5JhqLrmBY

We used the ipod app "Stop Motion" that is free in the app store.  They also have it in the google play store if you have an android device.  I went on and bought the $4.99 upgrade because this allows them to edit the video and add other things.  They love making these videos! This year, I tried to have the kids make a video that the younger students could learn from.  I had a few do Prey and Predators, and some did the life cycle of a butterfly. I think this year, we will try this again.  Any suggestions of movies they could create? I was thinking The Water Cycle would be a good one!

Onomatopoeia + Pop Art + Shrinky Dinks!

One of the student's  favorite things to do is make Shrinky Dinks.  I mean, who can resist them? I change up what we make with them every year, and this year we did a little Pop Art twist with them.  Ideally, they were making necklaces or keychains, but we never got that far.  The end of the year got crazy, and with all the special activities, we just couldn't get it together.  They did all get to take them home, so I am hoping that they were able to do something with them! I did a lesson on Onomatopoeia, and we looked at some Roy Lichenstein artwork, and they got to it.  We drew the words on paper first, then used sharpies to write on the slick side of the Shrinky Dinks.  Sharpies on Slick! On the rough side of the plastic, they used colored pencils.  That really is the best way to do it. Too much of the Sharpie and there is a major stink fest going on! The ooohs and ahhhs when you shrink the plastic makes me smile! I use a heat gun, and they are allowed to come back and watch the transformation.  I promise I offered more ideas than Boom and Crash, but those were the overwhelming choices.  Kids are funny little creatures, aren't they?

We heArt Art

Last week, we started on our "We heART art" unit.  Yeah, I know it's cheesy, but the kiddos love it.  We discussed Jim Dine and Romero Britto.  They were all shocked to know they are both still alive. In almost every class they were like, "Are they still alive, Mrs. Jackson?" When I answered yes, there was a collective "That's cool! Most of the artists we study are dead!" I guess I won't continue to go in any kind of order... time to mix it up a bit!  Anyway, these are done on some mat board that I found in my closet.  I actually found a lot of stuff when I cleaned that out!  They are about 4"x4", the perfect size for a one day lesson.  I really want to keep these and use them for the art show.  Some classes used watercolors, some tempera. I think they are great... I let them choose if they wanted to use a template or draw the heart themselves. These are from 2 classes (4th grade) that were based on Jim Dine-

5th grade

The last two are some of the 5th graders.  After we looked at some of Romero Britto's work, and Jim Dine's work, I gave each student a part of a heart drawn onto a large posterboard.  Each table got an entire heart, divided into pieces. After they were painted, they were put on the drying rack.  They haven't seen them yet- I think they will be pleased.  The plan was to have them hanging in the hallway for Valentine's Day Week, but since we are on SNOW DAY #2, that obviously hasn't happened.  I love them.  When I actually get the rest of them taped back together, I will share those too! Some were done with watercolors, some with tempera.  I like the tempera way better.  It's a bigger pain to distribute and clean up, but I'm finally getting the hand of finishing up early and making the kids responsible for the clean up. :)
I hope you all enjoy the rest of this lovey-dovey kind of week!

Printing with El dia de los Muertos designs

It's been a while since I have posted, so I decided to go through some photos and share some of the artwork the kids have created so far this year.  This project was the first foray into printing they have done.  It is  foam plate printing using Speedball ink and a brayer.  They loved it! We learned about El dia de los Muertos, and the kids drew the picture first and then went over the picture after placing it on top of the foam printing plate. We were excited with the way they turned out!

March of the Nutcrackers

Oh my goodness, are these not the cutest? I left them up for quite a while, because they made me happy every time I walked by.  It also worked well because the music teacher was showing them The Nutcracker in his class.  We talked about why in the world a kid would even want a nutcracker, and we discussed how a long time ago, kids didn't get all the stuff for Christmas that they do now.  Fruit, candy, and some nuts was a big deal! They just couldn't believe it.  I had a nutcracker to show them for an example and they all wanted to crack nuts with it...but it was just for decorative purposes ;).
I gave the students basic step by step instructions and then let them loose to give them their own personalities. They were allowed to use crayons, markers, and colored pencils to add the details.  Quite a successful project!

Kandinsky Inspired Artwork

And the 5th grade-