This past week was our book fair and to celebrate, we had dress up days! The theme of the book fair was Enchanted Forrest and our first day was to dress in red and white for a mushroom theme. Y'all know I totally had a dress for that, right? I cannot believe I stitched it up way back in 2012! It was the one and only keyhole dress I've made. That Michael Miller gnome fabric is still my fave. Details here.
Just a little clip of me turning my kindergarten into color mixing wizards. No bid deal.
Do y'all remember that PD I lead at the start of the school year for the faculty and staff at my school? We created a piece that stated our "why we are here". Well, my FAVORITE FUNDRAISER Artome Art Shows was kind enough to donate frames for each one of these WHY's. They now hang outside of each teacher's classroom and look simply stunning.
Aside from dress up days, we had a full week of art making AND open house. Which meant we had to make stuff and keep the art room on the tidy side which is a stretch. I'm super good at making messes (and I believe that's rubbed off on my kiddos) but not great at keeping the space clean. So I tidied like crazy on Monday afternoon and we had a stern "don't even think about messing this up!" chat on Tuesday before the night's events.
Oh, and speaking of Artome Art Shows, we are having ours this December. Which means most of my classes are rockin' on their projects. We always do self portraits of some kind for Artome and this one is my favorite. We start with black glue...and you can find the complete lesson (with video!) here.
Tuesday's dress up theme was fairy or gnome...so I decided to go as Roy G. Biv and surprise the kids. When not wearing a beard and a rainbow hat, I was super comfy in my overalls. I THINK I'M ADDICTED TO OVERALLS. These bad boys are from Forever 21.
Just a lil Roy action here.
Of course, when Roy G. Biv visits, we draw his likeness! Kindergarten did a super job of following along with Roy...
And coloring these cuties in.
Wednesday was Wacky Sock day. I scored these from a shop in the mall that only sells socks...and they have the best selection. I don't own too many fun socks (surprising, I know) but when I spotted these, I had to have them.
My Unicorns are Real top is from Five Below...which is my guilty pleasure. Well, that and Dollar Tree. And in my neck of the woods, they are next to each other which means they are SUPER DANGEROUS.
For this year's open house, I made sure to hang two pieces of art for every kiddo. It was a lot of work and I'm excited to see it decorating the halls. I brought back my tree weaving lesson this year with third grade and I'm so glad I did. More details on this project soon.
Usually my fourth graders do this project for the Artome Art Show but this year, I'm changing it up a bit. For our first day, we sketched thumbnail self portraits and then began creating these with bingo daubers on 9 X 12 paper. I'm so excited to see this project progress.
Words on a shirt day was the dress up theme for Thursday. I also had Round 2 of dressing up as Roy G. Biv for my classes that had missed out...so that meant pants again. TWICE IN ONE WEEK! Kinda crazy, I know.
Friday was a half day but I had a stacked morning with five classes, kindergarten through fourth. I know my paint trays have just about run their course but were still pretty full of paint. So we did a collaborative circle painting and had a blast. All classes painted on the paper on their tables. They could only build upon the paintings that were there, not paint over them. It was a great way to spend our last day before break.
And now it's fall break time!
We have a lovely week off...it's glorious! I'll be home most of the week but on Thursday, I'm off to Florida for their art teacher convention...and I'm so excited. See y'all soon!
Big News: Registration for Art Scouts 2017 is now open! And we are filling up fast. Want to learn more about this summer's Scouts? Here you go...
Are you excited yet? I can tell you that Ginger, Laura, Jennifer and I are super stoked. We can't hardly wait to head to Montgomery Bell State Park, roll up our sleeves and introduce you to brand new projects that are all about making big messes with little people. We are offering two options for Art Scouts this summer:
Here is a look at what our schedule of events looks like:
We're going to introduce you to so many projects, you'll be able to kick off your school year with plenty of clay (for no kiln and kiln friends), fibers, collage and painting projects. Not to mention, you'll meet so many new art teacherin' types that will become fast friends. It really is a summer camp experience...but for art teachers!
Last summer we hosted our first ever Art Scouts in Ohio, home to Laura and Ginger. You can check out that experience right here. Just a matter of weeks after that, Jen and I had folks join us in Nashville, Tennessee. It truly was the highlight of our summer (maybe even our year!) to spend time with so many fun, dedicated and creative art teacherin' types. We are looking forward to an even bigger and better experience this summer!
So looking forward to meeting friends, new and old, and spending time sharing our passion: Art Teacherin'. Get yourself over here and register to join Art Scouts 2017!
I did my time in high school at the height of Mix Tape Era. I musta made and received dozens of the best doggone tapes my lil Walkman ever played. Tell me I'm not the only one who would put their heart and soul into each mix tape made. Kids these days (OMG, did I really just say that?!) will never know what it was like to receive a plastic case of musical treasures which said everything an angsty teen just didn't know how.
I'm no longer an angsty teen but an occasional angsty art teacherin' type. Sometimes I feel that, in the course of one day in Art Educationville, I experience all the same emotions I had as a teen: surprise ("Did you really just eat the papier mache paste?!"); happiness ("Y'all, we're actually gonna be on time for P.E. today!"); anger ("Okay. WHO GAVE THE PAINT BRUSHES HAIRCUTS?!"); and despair ("Between snow days, field trips, assemblies and absences, y'all are gonna have exactly two works of art in this year's art show. TWO.")
Despite all of that, we know, deep down in our paint splattery hearts that we have the best jobs in the world. So, for all y'all art teacherin' types, I give you my heart and soul in 12 tunes or less: An Art Teacherin' Mix Tape.
Now, this here mix is in chronological order, from the start of our wild and wacky day to the sticky-icky, how-did-that-painted-handprint-end-up-on-my-butt end. If you're like me, your day usually begins under-caffeinated and over-slept which means it feels as high energy as this...
1. Breakfast at Pee-wee's
Do y'all love Pee-wee as much as me? He's actually my art teacherin' inspo! Sometimes, when certain stuff is about to hit the proverbial fan, I stop and think "What Would PeeWee Do?" and attempt to just go with the flow. Especially with kindergarten. Okay, always, with kindergarten.
2. Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf
Nothing sets my drive to school on fire like a lil "get your motor runnin', head out on the highway, lookin' for adventure or whatever comes my way!" I also like to play a lil medley of metal (G&R's Welcome to the Jungle) and rap (Beastie Boy's Fight for your Right) to get me in the art teacherin' mood. I ain't proud.
3. 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton
Y'all know once you get to school, it's nonstop: preparing paint trays, cutting paper, sharpening pencils, writing your I Can statements, washing paint brushes, unclogging glue bottles, you get the idea. I swear some days, I'm worn out before my first class even arrives. And when they do, y'all know they better...
4. Think by Aretha Franklin
"You better think about what you're saying. You better think about the consequences of your actions." Oh, yeah. Aretha is who I try to channel when I need to spark a lil comin-to-Jesusness in the art room.
5. Respect by Aretha
Getting respect is pretty hard to do when you are wearing a rainbow wig or a hat shaped like a paint palette. But a girl can always try to get a lil R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
6. Celebration by Kool & the Gang
On those days when there isn't a full moon or a highly-contagious, vomit-inducing flu epidemic going around, then you know that calls for celebration!
7. We Are Family by Sister Sledge
I try really hard to instill this idea in the kids. We're all in this art making, imaginatin' business together, y'all! We are family.
8. Sabotage by the Beastie Boys HOW. How do they always know when Ima bout to be evaluated? WHY. Why do they always decide it is then to go all Men-in-Black/flashlight-in-their-face and erase their memories clean of everything taught? I'm tellin' y'all, it's no accident. It's sabotage.
9. Girls Art Teachers Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper Evaluations, evalu-shmations. Grades, shmades. Gag me with a spoon, y'all. Art teachers just wanna have fun!
10. Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog
Can you tell I'm an 80's child yet? I love that I got to grow up on a steady diet of The Muppets, The Electric Company, Sesame Street and School House Rock. Kermie wants to know why are there so many songs about rainbows but the art teacher in me wants to know, why aren't there more?! The lover, the dreamer and me will never know.
11. Shout by Otis Day and the Knights Now waiiiiiiiiiit a minute! You know you make me wanna SHOUT! Sometimes happily. Sometimes unhappily. Regardless, art teacherin' never fails to bring out the emotions and the hootin' and hollerin'. In other news, this is my second song featuring John Belushi and that would be because I lurves me some Belushi. So deal wit it.
12. Harper Valley P.T.A. by Jeannie C. Riley Don't get me wrong, I have a fabulous P.T.A. that has yet to send me a letter in the mail about my ensembles. However, this here song is a great anthem for any of those times you find yourself standing up for what you know to be best. Git it, y'all.
13. This is How We Do by Katy Perry In our house, we love some Katy Perry (read: the hubs really loves him some K.P.). This song just had to make it's way into the mix because the video, y'all. THE VIDEO. I love Katy Perry for the imagination and creativity she brings to everything she does as she has a heavy hand in her costumes, videos and overall look. Love her, love this video.
14. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers We all have those days. When you say the wrong thing. Do what you feel is a lousy job. Struggle to keep your head up. It happens to us all. And, if you are like me, you sometimes allow those negative thingies to play on a permanent loop in your mind. Don't do it, y'all! To end this here mixtape, I leave you with this: You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between
You've got to spread joy up to the maximum Bring gloom down to the minimum Have faith or pandemonium Liable to walk upon the scene
(lyrics by Harold Arlen)
That's all, friends! Hope you enjoy this here mix. Love to hear in the comments your fave art teacherin' tunes (or just your fave tunes in general!). Til next time, I'll allow these kitty cats to take it away.
I thought I'd share with you what my students created for International Dot Day in this here What I Wore post because I'm so stinkin' excited! My lil artist friends have worked so hard for weeks on these masterpieces (I've shared a sneak peak here and last year's Dot Day here)...and their art teacher (um, that'd be me, speaking in third person like a true crazy) just barely got everything up in time for Thursday's Open House. Over the next coupla weeks, I'll post the complete dotty lessons starting with that Dots-turned-Flower-Garden mural that my sweet first grade artist created as it's my personal fave. Or was it the stitched dots by fourth grade? Maybe the metal dots by third...? Oh, I can't decide, I just loves 'em all!
This week our Word of the Week was inspire and our Artist Inspiration was the author of The Dot, Peter H. Reynolds. We chatted about how The Dot has inspired artists all over the world to "create a mark and see where it takes you". The kids and I talked about how their dots can now inspire others throughout our school. It was so fun to hear them encourage each other and drop the "i" bomb (that'd be "inspire") as they know that anytime anyone says the Word of the Week, everyone says "Whoop! Whoop!"
In other non-dotty news, I've got a ton of beautiful ladies who've made beautiful aprons to share with you this week! The Apron Sew-Along was so fun that I've come up with another sewing project for those interested...so stay tuned, y'all.
Until then, lemme show you something Dot-tastic!
Lemme introduce to you the Kindergarten dot! With kindergarten, I always start the school year with a construction paper line sculpture (you can read all about my kindergarten unit on line here, if you wanna). Instead of giving the kids rectangular construction paper, I simply gave them either a black or white pre-cut (shutter if you like, it was our first day in art. We'll cut more later.) dot and let 'em have at it.
Our Word of the Week that first week of school was artist. So after our 45 minute art class, we hoped on the Art Train (um, just a long line of kids that chugga-chugga-chuggas to each table). I held up each kid-created sculpture and would say, "Wow! Morgan is an artist!" to which everyone gave her a Whoop! Whoop! There wasn't a single kid not beaming before they left the art room.
Now, you know, kindergarten is notorious for touching the walls. These have stayed unharmed...and I do believe it's because they created them!
Totally Dotty Tuesday: Lookin' back on What I Wore for Dot Week last year...I gotta say I did several repeats. Tis okay. Don't nobody need to know...unless I tell em in a blog post. Der. sweater: thrifted; dress: vintage; belt: Target; sandals: Anthro
My first graders are so proud of their mural! They've seen the fourth grader's Warhol Soup Cans and the third grader's Magritte mural so they were ready to create one of their own. So I took down The Great Wave that was still hanging outside my door from last school year's Asian adventure and replaced it with these lovelies. I feel like I'm taking a trip down Candy Cane Lane every day when walking in the art room door!
Y'all might recall from my previous posts that the kids were learning about Kandinsky's concentric circles. After being inspired by that piece, we turned our attention to his other paintings that involve line like Composition VIII. The following art class, we made textured and stamped papers...
and used those to create our flower petals! Like I said, more details to come this upcoming week! Not trying to be vague...but I don't wanna spoil all the fun.
The kids also painted many sheets of line and shape patterned papers for the mural. They informed me that they loved painting on those big sheets o' paper the very best.
Squiggly Lines and Dots Wednesday: The temps here have been slowly dropping so much so that I'm currently sitting in a sweater and wearing tights. TIGHTS! I'm so afraid to pack up summer duds this early because it was only a week ago that we were still trapped in the 90's. Not the decade, the temps. Did I really need to clarify for you? Sorry. sweater: Forever 21, old; dress and belt: Target
So last year, all the kids had a coffee filter dot hanging in the window. It was the first time I'd hung art in the window (what took me so long?!) and it was a huge hit. This year, I picked up a buncha pizza rounds that were white on one side. I painted the other side black (to remove one useless step for my mere 30 minute classes)...
And we talked about Kandinsky again. Which is totes perfect for my second grade friends as they are the grade level I'm taking to see the big ole Kandinsky exhibit that's coming to our local art museum The Frist. We looked at Kandinsky's painting Several Circles and our word of the week was creative. I challenged the kids to only paint dots or circles on this side of the board. We chatted how we'd have to be super creative with such a constraint and they totally nailed it. I love this dotty painting.
On the reverse, we chatted about line and went crazy creating a line design in black ink. The following art classes we added color. I love how they rotate in the window so both sides of the painting are visible. These kids had Double Dot Duty!
Open House Thursday: I still can't believe it's all up -- all 400 plus kids works of art. I really liked having a deadline to get all the work up and I think I might set that as a goal in the future. It forced me and the kids to really hop to it. AND I also snapped photos of (most) works of art and a super mom uploaded 'em all onto Artsonia for me! Yay, I'm thrilled! You can see them here. art supply blouse: DIY here; pencil skirt: DIY here; pencil shoes: DIY here
My super third graders created these foil relief sculpture dots. I'm currently obsessed with Sharpie on aluminum foil (we've seen it before...and yet it never gets old!). I'm plotting a project for my fourth grade using a similar technique.
But we couldn't just leave 'em be. Oh no, we had to dot-afy the frame as well. ESPECIALLY when metallic markers are thrown into the mix. Then the kids were unstoppable. Or, rather, undotable!
They even wanted to sign their name like "Peter H. Reynolds" which totally cracked me up.
Exhausted but Standing, Friday: Not gonna lie, after a long day (and night) at school on Thursday, I was super pooped. But it was a good, big-sigh-of-relief kind of tired. This weekend is gonna involve lots of chill-axing. And not much else. top, skirt, shoes: thrifted
Here's a peak at what the final display of all my fourth grades stitched art looked like together. I paper clip chained them like I did the second grade paintings. I like the way the look all together like some sort of groovy stitched string art quilt. You can see the complete lesson on this string artiness here.
I had one class finish their's off the very day of Open House. That didn't stress me out. Oh nooooooo. Not. At. Alllllll.
And there you have it!
Happy International Dot Day, everyone! I can't wait to hear all about what you and your students have created for the occasion!
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