1st Grade "If the Dinosaurs came Back" Dinosaur Drawings

DID YOU EVER READ THIS STORY??? It's a must.. and I love the simple Illustrations.

This book is absolutely wonderful! The author puts the Dino's in really cute and clever atmospheres! So the lesson was to draw a dinosaur (I handed out a handout that I found with all different dinosaurs on it) 

The students were to try their best to create a "realistic" dinosaur and put it in an unrealistic setting. 

They drew the dinos, background and outlined in Sharpie markers, and colored in with Markers and Crayons.

THE VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD

Thank you so much to Lauren from Dalismoustache.blogspot.com for the versatile Blogger award!  She has great lessons, I have used a couple of her ideas in my classroom, so I feel really honored.

For this blogger award we are asked to share 7 interesting facts about ourselves and select 10 other bloggers for this award.

1.  This year I got married to my best friend, Brian. (he loves Mopeds) We got married on November 20, 2010. Here are a couple pictures of the day. Oh and I love mustaches and beards just as much as Lauren does so we made felt ones to give away as favors. All the flowers are made out of paper. And our cake toppers were gnomes.

2. I love gnomes. I think they are full of antiquity, history and charm. I have over 15 lawn gnomes, I have collected from auctions, yard sales, and gifts from friends/family.

3. This is my first year teaching, L.T.S. I absolutely LOVE it. I have been looking all over the counties in PA. and no one is hiring. It makes me nervous but I know their is a plan for me. I just don't want to do anything but teach art. It makes me sad to know that I might not be doing what I love next year, but there might be another door to open with other opportunities behind it.

4. My dear friend, Katie and I are running a marathon this November in Philadelphia, Pa. Major training starting in the beginning of June. 26.2 miles to go. I will shed some tears when I cross that finish line

5. We own a pet chinchilla named Moses. He is our baby. Well now Brian and him are best friends, since I moved in after we got married.

6. We live really simply, in the heart of the Lancaster city. Cities can be really unkind sometimes but there is great opportunity for community, and I must say our community is great.  We are saving for a house but we aren't really sure where to look since we don't know where I will be working.

7.I love pickles/olives, I can eat a jar of them in a heart beat. Ever since I was like 10, I can't stop myself around pickles. :)

So those might not be that interesting.. but you know.

Pass the Award on to 10 recently discovered bloggers:

We Heart Art

Art at Herod

Her Dabbles

Head, Hands, n'Heart

Mrs.Picasso's Art Room

Panther's Palette

My Artful Nest

Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists

Adventures of an Art Teacher

Oodles of Art

Congratulation to you and thanks for all of the inspiration! Pass it on...

(now: tell 7 interesting facts about yourself, pass the award onto 10 of your newly discovered or favorite bloggers, and lastly, thank and link back to the blogger who gave you the award.)

2nd Grade Apple Blossom Branches

These were so fun to create.  and they are a little different from different apple/cherry blossom lessons I've seen.

We used 11" x 17" light blue construction paper. acrylic paint (brown), thick Sharpie markers, assorted tissue paper, glue, yellow paint.

We talked about symmetry vs. asymmetry; then created a asymmetrical branch. Painted it with brown acrylic paint, allowed to dry, outlined with black sharpie marker, added dashes for texture of the branch.

Then we used a pencil to create flowers and glued down on the little branches/twigs.

Then students had free choice to add butterflies, squirrels, flies, etc. to the background.

They turned out great.. During the Art Show the parents and community really enjoyed  the branches.

4th Grade "American Gothic" Inspired Pairs

These are fantastic! WOW.. the students gobbled up this project. It did take about 3 weeks, Especially because we had PSSA's  this month. March seemed to drag by but this project helped out.

First start off  with a 11" x 17" white construction paper. We used rulers (math) to frame out an 1" border. We discussed Grant Wood, where he is from, what he created, and his painting "American Gothic".
We then discussed facial and body proportion. They were to draw themselves and someone they know and admire. They could draw an animal instead of a person, if an animal was their best friend. They needed to add a background that was significant to them.

Here are some wonderful examples:

At a football game

In their backyard

At the aquarium

Hanging near the hammock with friends

"Dreaming of cheese"

Inside with his birds and mom

At the beach

Bringing his fish outside for some sunlight

Spending time with her Gerbal

Movie Time!

Out taking a walk with her cat.

Winslow Homer Sailboat Landscapes

I initially found a idea for this project from this website: Incredible Art Department.

I love starting the spring with this project. Winslow Homer created so many wonderful seascapes. The way to help the students really I would say " the Wind is so SLOW i am going HOME" Because if you are in a sail boat and there is no wind, then you would probably want to go home. :)

We studied Winslow Homer's work and brief bio. We used 11" x 17" white construction paper, drew a basic sail boat, discussed foreground, middle ground, and background. The students had free choice in what they added to their background and what they named their boat.
They outlined with medium Sharpie Marker, colored in all the objects with crayola crayons, and last but not least added our sky colors and sea colors.

They turned out EXCELLENT, and very inspired by Winslow Homer!