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 :)

Tallest Ice Cream Cones

I got this idea from Oodles of Art and decided to try it out as an beginning of the year project for 2nd graders. They loved it and we counted scoops at the end to see who the winner was! Glitter glue added the final touch.

What Happened to the Beginning of the Year???

I haven't posted since June?! Seriously? If you are a teacher you must feel like I do... despite all the hard work and tired mornings, the beginning of the year has FLOWN by and we are now quickly approaching the holidays. I figured I better get some of the projects that we have done lately up before I start posting turkeys and snowmen!