3rd grade Clay Cupcakes

Third grade just completed the process of clay cupcake making! It was quite a bit of fun as you can see below. Students used silicone cupcake molds to help form the bottom which I bought at Michael's (see picture at the bottom of this post). Two coils were rolled out and put together to make the icing. Cherries were optional. Students selected one color glaze for the bottom and one color for the icing (we used Mayco Stroke and Coat). Sprinkles were dabbed on at will in as many colors as desired. 

I love how these can be used as a secret hiding place for small treasures!

The clever post that helped me through this process is: Art with Ms. Gram

Wilton silicone molds

Kindergarten Neighborhoods

The kindergarten neighborhoods project was inspired by a photo I found on Pinterest. These had such an impact when displayed together at our art show! On day one we painted neutral colors onto wood blocks and printed them onto tan paper (thanks to the kind lady at Home Depot who cut the wood pieces and GAVE them to me!!). We printed by table rotation (5 colors) and I was so proud of my kids for listening and following through with this procedure. Whew!

On day two, we added windows, doors, chimneys, etc. using small pieces of mat-board dipped into black tempera paint. On the final day, the kids used oil pastels to add pops of color. Small sponges attached to clothespins were used to add a path of rectangles in the negative space (some classes used white paint and others used yellow-orange paint). 

2nd grade City Reflections

These beauties were made using the monoprint technique - a fairly experimental (and I think sophisticated) method of printmaking. We painted a simple skyline using white paint on black paper and folded to transfer which resulted in a "reflection." Tempera paints were used the next week to fill in the solid color for buildings. Again, we folded the paper to transfer the color (resulting in an imperfect, yet very "reflection" type look). Small windows and doors were cut from construction paper and glued here and there on the third day of production. 

4th grade Flying Above the City.....

These charming drawings were created by my 4th graders for our 2014 Art Show. I was so proud of my class for learning about perspective and using it so creatively and with such confidence to draw the cities you'll see below. Students worked solely in black and white except for the pops of color in the hot air balloons - very illustrative and graphic. Some chose to keep their work completely in black and white while others may have used a pop of color elsewhere...... 
*This assignment was inspired by Kate Sakowski at Peter Muschal Elementary School

Kindergarten Windsocks

This was a great lesson for Kindergarten! Transforming textured papers into windsocks is a perfect lesson for spring......On day one, students covered a piece of 12x18 paper with texture rubbings. Then we added a collection of different lines using black crayons right on top of the textures. Watercolors were used at will to make the textures pop.

On day two, I rolled the papers and stapled them at the top and bottom before students came to class. We discussed the difference between 2 and 3 dimensions and I asked them what form their papers had been rolled into. Working in rainbow order, students added the tails to the inside of the cylinders. We worked on folding one tail at a time before using a dot of glue to make it stick. When students finished all six tails, they brought their windsock over to the table where I punched holes and added a piece of yarn for them. 

Good looking!!
Thanks to Art is Basic for the stellar idea! 

5th grade Graffiti Cityscapes

These graffiti cityscapes by 5th graders were showcased at our 2014 art show. The first step was to paint the skylines with our knowledge of tints. The following class, students used Styrofoam printing plates to make the brick walls. I pre-made about 5 or 6 of these to save time and materials. The brick walls were printed onto gray paper in most cases (some students requested a colored paper and wanted to use black ink). Then each student got to work designing his/her name in a unique font style.....the name designs were cut out and glued on top of the brick walls using liquid glue. Then came the final assembly - the brick wall was trimmed of excess paper and placed below the skyline. You can't use liquid glue behind a print, so these were adhered using a glue-stick! 

*These were inspired by a fellow art teacher. You can find her post at Ms. Elfers Art Room.