Veterans Day

Veterans Day is very important at our school. We have a big assembly every year to honor those who have served for our country. All of the students write essays, poems, learn songs, and create artwork and then we invite Veterans to the school to enjoy the performances. It is always a great experience for students, the Veterans and their families. I am in charge of directing a patriotic art project for each grade and then hanging up the artwork in the multi-purpose room. I was so proud of all of my students!


Sorry for the sloppy photos...I didn't have time to crop! My third graders drew these portraits of soldiers. CUTEST thing I've ever seen!






My second graders got to practice their scissor skills...





I got this idea at Oodles of Art. Step by step process...




My 6th graders painted these beautiful poppies...the aluminum foil really makes the paintings pop!! I can't remember where I found this idea...but it was a hit!




Finally...here are the end results! The flag is a mural done by my 8th graders...found on Art Projects for Kids. It was the star of the show!

Scratch Art

This was so easy, I'm surprised I haven't tried it before! We did this in after school Art class...the students colored patterns in with crayon (making sure to press hard...great way to use all of my short, broken crayons) and then painted over their patterns with black tempera paint. After they dried, we scratched out all kinds of designs! The best scratchers we found after some trial and error were toothpicks. The kids loved uncovering the color and wanted to keep doing more and more. Definitely a project to repeat!

Spiderweb Bowls

We made these in my after school art class...the kids loved them but it was very messy...lots and lots of glue. I found the idea on a craft website but I actually tried the technique posted on eighteen25 and that worked much better. I love the spider with one big eye and one small eye...I always tell my students they are so much more creative than I am :)

We made these

Symmetrical Pumpkins

My 3rd graders get to learn about symmetry and I get to teach a fun Halloween project! Perfect!

Silly Jack-o-Lanterns

I found this cute idea on Artsonia.com. The trick is to have the students cut out and glue together (no drawing!) a mouth, then teeth, then the pumpkin and so on. Make it a mystery! By the time we got to the circle for the pumpkin, I clued the students in on what we were creating. There was lots of giggling as we saw HUGE mouths glued onto teenie tiny pumpkins. Definitely a hit!

Ancient Greek Vases

Our 6th graders were learning about Ancient Greece. The 6th grade teacher and I got together and came up with the idea to make paper-mache Greek vases. I found a couple of different lesson plan versions on Artsonia.com. We did ours by taping styrofoam bowls to the top and bottom of a balloon. Students covered their balloons with paper-mache paste (a mixture of water and flour) and newspaper. After the vases dried, the students fashioned all different kinds of handles from scrunched up tin foil and we hot glued them on. We then spray painted the vases and students added designs with sharpies. It sounded like a good idea and the results are amazing...however if I ever do this project again it will be on a much much smaller scale. This took FOREVER! But the students loved it and the younger students commented that they can't wait till they are in 6th grade so that they can make this project!

Under the Sea with 3rd Grade!

This is one of those projects that started out as one thing and ended up as another! My third graders fabulously drew underwater creatures (they were learning about fish and mammals in science) from lots of resource pictures that I scattered about the tables. Then, they colored their creatures with crayon, crumpled their paper, and painted with blue watercolor. That is where the project was planned to end...however, I had a last minute discovery in one of my cupboards (this happens to me frequently) of clear cellophane! The students crumpled that up (sounds like pounding rain when all 28 students do this at the same time FYI) and stuck it to their paintings using a glue dot (fantastic invention!) in each corner. Voila! They looked great in the hallway, one teacher commented that the cellophane made the fish look like they were in an aquarium!

"I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!"

One of my favorite books to read at the beginning of the year is "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!" by Kathy Beaumont. We decided to create our own portraits in steps. We did the background by straw-blowing tempera paint. Such fun...such mess :)