Pumpkin Patch Art, 1st Grade

***repost***

My first graders are so much fun, and so much work :-) They have surprised me so much with these, they aren't even done, and they're BEAUTIFUL. They learned to "shade" a little, and mix their colors. If you look closely they have mixed some yellow into their orange pumpkins, to make them look further in the distance. Very, very cool so far. The finishing touches will add leaf rubbings. Fall fun, eh?

Spring Butterflies, 1st Grade

I actually got inspiration to draw this butterfly from one of my 1st grader's shirts last year. It had the prettiest butterfly on it, that was a very simple line drawing.

I decided to teach my 1st graders how to draw it (again, this year!), and then we added lots of different line designs using our sharpies of course.

The students were to color the butterfly with markers, trying to keep two of the same colors away from each other.

Then, we cut them out (with a "bubble" around it), and glued them on yellow paper. You may use whichever color you'd like-but yellow definitely pops for spring.

Next, we added a tissue paper border just for fun and to add texture.

This was a great 2-day lesson, and they look gorgeous!
**

Get a masters in education to better teach your 1st graders.

Before and After Self Portraits, 1st Grade

Seeing this lesson, all framed out, honestly--makes me want to cry happy tears (or it could be the hormones from pregnancy--whatever!). The reason is due to the before and after effect these self-portraits have.

They are learning! I love it! The proof is there. See?

Lesson Procedures:

1. Give all students a "before" sheet. I make mine up on the computer and photocopy. Then, I label it, "Self Portrait drawn before instruction". I give each student a sharpie, and tell them to draw a picture of themselves.

They turn it in.

2. Hand out any size paper you want to have them do their self portraits on. The only thing I recommend you doing ahead of time is tracing their head's first. REASON BEING: If you have ever tried to get all 1st graders in a classroom to make something the same size--you know the chore that is. So, I cut out a little time and just did it myself. It's worth it, trust me.

3. Start with the facial features. Go through everything. They love to know all those little facts about where your eyes actually are, how far they are apart, where your ears should be, etc. Draw on the board as you teach. (They should be using pencil until you check it, and then we outlined with extra fine point sharpie!)

4. Continue on talking about different hair styles, etc...draw a few types on the board. At this point, you'll have to walk around and make sure they are all "getting it" and giving help for the more difficult hair styles :)

5. Continue on with the body. Talk about the body parts and things they typically used to forget when drawing their "old" people [I continually emphasize how good they'll be at people after this!], and how we DO indeed have necks, arms that flop down by our side and that don't stick out straight, fingers (and not dagger's!), etc.

6. Give them free reign to make them look like "them". I let them use markers to decorate their shirts and pants, shoes, etc.

Take everything STEPS. Trust me.

(Oh, and make sure you have multicultural crayons, too!)

This lesson may take a few weeks--but the results are worth it.

Just look at how far Mr. Blake has come:
(He was SO SO SO proud of himself! He kept saying, "I'm so good at drawing!")

One day Starry Nights, 1st Grade

I love this project so much for many reasons.

1. It takes ONE class and they look awesome.

2. It's simple, but the results are beautiful.

3. The kids think they're awesome and feel like mini-famous artists. They are always super impressed with their artwork!

~*~

Lesson Steps:

-Talk about Starry Night and Van Gogh a bit (have a print of Starry Night for easy viewing!)

-Give each student a 12 x18 black piece of paper (can use light blue or dark blue, too) and a pack of oil pastels

-Go through the steps of drawing the swirling, free-flowing details of Starry Night. No real rhyme or reason to it, just look at the painting to guide you along. (The kids should draw at their seats along with you...encourage overlapping the oil pastels to make different colors. They can also have free'er use of colors, too--so each look a bit different.)

[Note: I always start with the tree-like form on the bottom left, and then do the city/hills...then leave the sky for last!]

-NO PENCILS! Only oil pastels. This way, there is no such thing as "messing up".

Enjoy the beautiful results!

How to draw Santa, 1st Grade

Last year I posted this. I think its a fun way at the holidays to teach the concept of portraits, yet, apply it to the season.

I got this lesson from a great friend of mine who teaches Elementary Art.

Here are the easy step by steps:

Then color....and have fun!

Thankful Turkeys, 1st-4th grade

I taught the students how to draw the turkey that was posted on Art Projects For Kids (which was a great base for lots of turkey-projects), and then gave them a variety of materials to use.

I love the one posted directly below, because they chose to add textured grass by doing tissue-paper grass. They all turned out really cute, and the kids always love learning something new to draw and add to their book of "can-do's".

Spiders on Webs, 1st Grade

We started with a 9x12 black piece of paper and a white crayon. I did my best to teach the concept of drawing a web (which is slightly harder then I thought it would be)...

Then, I let them have-at the scrap bin, and taught them how to create some spiders. They then added them to their little webs.

This was again, another fun one-day take home project for the Halloween season.

Miro Funky People, 1st Grade

I got this aweome lesson idea from Deep Space Sparkle on Joan Miro. I've always been intimidated to teach this-but I have no idea why. The kids have really taken to it. We have yet to color them-but I snagged a few pictures to show you of the process. Love them so far.

Fantasy Fish! 1st Grade

This was another one of those ideas from DeepSpaceSparkle....love it over there. The kids could come up with their own wacky and wild fantasy fish. They could put spikes, crowns, stripes, or whatever on their fish to make it funky and fun. We outlined them in crayon, then used watercolor. The students cut them out when dry, and mounted on black paper. They added little details with scraps from the scrap cart. They turned out so very fun, and the students were thrilled with them!

Collage Houses, 1st Grade

I LOVE COLLAGE. I think I'm obsessed. My favorite part about it is how the classroom gets this very low and focused hum, because, they love to make STUFF! They love to cut, glue, get the room messy, and turn nothing into something. These houses are amazing. I know, I know...I say that all the time. But, wow. Look at the details! Bumblebees, kites, curtains, ghosts!, butterflies, trees, lightening, etc.

Symmetrical Vases and Tissue paper flowers, 1st Grade

I love the idea of these symmetrical vases. I took that idea, and ran with it. We used flourescent green paint for the stems and leaves, then created flowers out of tissue paper. The students then added details to their vases with oil pastels and created a 'table' for the vase to sit on. They are all so different and fun!

The Tallest Ice-cream Cone, 1st Grade

In this project we discussed the wonderful, Wayne Thiebaud. As soon as the students see it involves food, they are instantly hooked. By the end of the conversation that day, we were all craving a little mint-chocolate-chip (my favorite!). Today, the students finished their ice cream cones with watercolor. They first added sprinkles and such with oil pastels. I didn't know what to do in the background, so I decided to have them kept white for now. If something hits me, then we'll add to them. For now, I like the focus to be on the tall yummy stacks of ice cream.

Stained Glass Windows, 1st Grade

I liked this simple 1-2 day project with 1st graders. I made them follow my directions, but everyone's still turned out different.

For example:
-Start with one large circle
-Make a circle go half-way off the page (cropped)
-Connect a line from the edge to one of the circles

...and the list goes on and on. Voila! They come out with some cool creations, outline them in sharpie, and color in using anything you'd like (we used glitter and regular crayons). They had to leave at least 3 spots white.

Rousseau Tigers, 1st Grade

Using oil pastels for the tiger, chalk for the background...and next week, adding tissue paper exotic flowers to the background for some texture....overall, they turned out pretty cute! I got this idea from Art Project For Kids...love that website.

Flower Meadows, 1st Grade

I have posted on these before, but I brought them back again this year for one class as our art-show submission. This one little 1st grader made some gorgeous flowers out of tissue paper...almost exotic-looking....and they are LOVELY. Just had to share. They aren't even finished yet--but this made me smile.

Valentines Day Pockets, 2nd Grade

In their classrooms the kids have Valentines Day parties, where they all give the cute little cards to one another (exactly like we did as kids, some things never change!). So, we made the 'holders' for those cards.

These are made from a half of a paper plate simply stapled to a piece of construction paper. Then, I wrote everyones names so they would be neat. They added all the detail with glitter crayons and sharpie.

Owls, 1st Grade

I've already posted on these sweet little owls last year-but this one owl from just a few weeks ago is just the cutest thing. I LOVE the bold blue stars in the background.

Starry Night, 1st Grade

I love doing this project with 1st graders. They are always in such shock when I show them that they will be making their own version of this:

Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh

We work on bigger paper...12x18. I always choose a blue or teal as our background because it looks fine to have it showing through. They also all get their own pack of oil pastels. It's so cute seeing them so into this. One student just kept saying, "I can't believe I'm making my own Van Gogh!"

Here is the students work:

Snowmen with Hearts, 1st Grade

The 1st graders at our school are having a concert that combines a valentines day theme along with snowmen. The music teacher asked me if I could do some little project with them going along with this theme to decorate that night. They are very simple, yet very sweet. Each one is different. The hearts have red glitter on them.