In the Art Room: Croc-O-Nile Puppetry

Sweet little first grader with her crocodile puppet.

This is a bitter sweet post for me. Today is Lauren's last day in my art room. Come Monday she'll be off being an incredible art-teacher-to-be somewhere else with some other lucky art teacher and her students. I look forward to seeing what she'll do in her new assignment but certainly wish she could stay. I thought I'd share with you one of the many amazing projects she did with the artists at my school.

Lauren reading a book on crocodiles snagged from the library. Did you know that there are 14 different types? And that they have 3 eyelids? And they carry their newborns around in their mouth? Me neither.

When Lauren began student teaching, my first grade students were beginning a paper weaving unit. And while the kids love weaving and learn so much from it, I'm always at a bit of a loss as to what to do with the completed weavings. One year we turned the weaving into the body of a fish. Another year we used black paper and cut out the negative shape of a butterfly to go over the weaving. This year I knew I wanted to stay in keeping with our Egyptian theme. So when I saw a photo on pinterest where a teacher had used the weaving as the body of a crocodile, I knew that's what I wanted to do.

After Lauren read crocodile facts to the kids, we had Kyle the Crocodile come out and ask the kids questions. The puppet is by folkmanis and is extremely realistic. If they kids answered Kyle's questions correctly, they were able to touch his tail...at which point I had him whip around and nip at the kids' nose causing complete crazy fun chaos.

I shared with Lauren the photo on pinterest and my crocodile puppet, she said, "Can the kids make a crocodile puppet?" I kinda thought she was crazy but told her to make a mock up and see how it would work. I swear in a matter of 15 minutes she came back to me with a completed puppet that involved so many different media and learning experiences we just knew it had to happen. If you scroll down to the last photo, you'll see Lauren's example.

So began our crocodile puppet lesson. The first part of the lesson involved the kids creating their looms. We create our looms together on the floor. Using 9" X 12" paper, the kids fold their paper in half "hamburger" style. On the opposite end of the fold, they make a very small fold 1" from the top. That small fold is the "stop line" for their cutting. Using scissors and starting at the bottom fold, they cut a vertical line to the stop line, thus creating what looks like a pair of pants. We take each paint leg and cut from the middle to the stop line creating four equal parts. Finally we cut each one of those creating eight parts. Including math terms like half, fourth and eighth is always a good idea.

For the weaving portion, we had the kids create patterned strips of paper. If you look closely at the weavings, you'll see that the strips of paper (er, wefts) have a smaller paper on top of them. This created a kind of texture for the crocodile's body.

The printing idea for this portion of the lesson came from Cathy Topal's Thinking with a Line.

After the weavings were complete, students began their work on the other parts of the crocodile's body. They learned that the crocodiles use their tail for defense. To create the shape, the kids were shown how to fold their paper "hot dog style" and cut from one angle of the rectangle to another with a diagonal line. Open the paper and viola! triangle.

Yeah, this is pretty much how my tables look. Scissors out, pencils on the table and messy hands. It's the art room, I like to keep it real.

Lauren also spent some time chatting with them the difference between printing (when you press something down and pick it back up) and painting (when you press something down and move it around). They also reviewed their line vocabulary.

After printing, students began creating the pieces of their crocodiles face. They created eyes, a nose, feet and teeth. Crocodile bits were kept in envelopes with students names on them.

Inside the mouth of the crocodile is this little mechanism. The kids folded these without any problem. We used 12" X 18" sheets of cheap manilla paper. Here's how:

1. Tri-fold the paper
2. Fold the tri-fold in half creating a "V"
3. Take the ends of the "V" and fold back creating a "W"

Squeeze the openings and you'll see two pockets. This is here your fingers go. Speaking of fingers, look at my old lady hands, ew! Guess my dreams of begin a hand model are over.

I've used this puppet fold for many puppet-y projects with the kids. They love it and get really creative.

Once the puppet mechanism was created, the kids had to cut out large four triangles from 9" X 12" paper. Two cream colored ones to be glued to the inside of the mouth and two green for the outside.

Gluing on the crocodile bits. Both the eyes and the nostrils were created with a "foot", or a folded end, so that they could be glued down easily.

The expressions on each croc was hilariously unique. This one is waiting for his limbs and his teeth.

The kids cut out four legs with the help of a template. Sadly I didn't get a photo of any with their teeth in. Small white triangles were cut out and glued inside for teeth.

This project took many art classes. As some of you know, I have half an hour classes so we had to take baby steps with this project. But the end result was worth it. It's one of those projects the kids won't soon forget.

In line for the Crocodile Parade.

For the end of the project, Lauren had students go on a crocodile parade. She had come up with a tale to of how a polar bear had stolen their baby crocodiles. The students followed the paw prints of the bear (paper prints that Lauren had strewn throughout the school) until they found their crocodile babies. The kept the babies in their mouths like they had learned crocs do and used their tail to fight off the polar bear. The kids loved every minute of it.

Lauren with her crocodile puppet example.

Sigh. So that was the amazing crocodile puppet project created by this amazing young art teacher. I'm so sad that she's leaving, you don't even know! I'm sure crocodile tears will be flowing at some point today. She's promised to come back...and when she does, I'll be certain to photograph her outfits. Best wishes at your new school placement, Laruen!

What the Art Teacher Wore #8

Wacky Hat Day Monday: Best student comment of the day..."Taste the rainbow, Mrs. Stephens". I always do. hat: (yes, I paid money for it) amazon.com; shirt and tights: Target; vest: vintage, thrifted; skirt: etsy.com; shoes: John Fluevog

Well, hello there! Long time, no blogginess. I'm just in from an amazing trip to New York City. I was there for an art teacher convention (that's NAEA for those of you in the know) and while I'm exhausted, I'm so excited by everything that I experienced. I only have two regrets...one, I didn't get to spend more time with Lauren before she ends her student teaching stint with me. She leaves me next week! She is incredibly amazing and I am going to miss her. Sigh.

My other regret...? That I missed part of Read Across America Week! I mean, it's the one time I get to dress like a fruitloop and no one thinks anything of it. Except for the checkout lady at Kroger who asked me, "Are you going to some sort of costume party?" Erm, yeah. It happens everyday in my classroom. But it's invitation only, so sorry, sista.

Well, that's all I got for now. I'm off to unpack my treasures. More later, friends!

For Monday's school-wide morning announcements, I read The Cat in the Hat, which is a REALLY long and difficult book to read, FYI. While doing so, Lauren and my P.E. teacher buddy dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2 and accosted me with toilet paper and other silliness. Do you see why I'll miss Thing 1?

On Lauren: Sweet little bird shirt came from Old Navy. I went out that very afternoon and bought myself one too. I'm very Single White Female like that. Belt made by Lauren. Beret courtesy of Goodwill.

I love the clever way she made her belt...it loops through the back. She so smart, she go to college and stuff.

Wear Words on Your Shirt Tuesday: Sorry, I'm not a t-shirt gal. I did unearth this artsy one from my Goodwill/restyle stash. It shows the tools to making art.collared shirt and skirt: thrifted; t-shirt: some museum shop; dotted tights: Marshall's; shoes: Clarks; hair clip: made by me

The shirt featured a pallet...and so I made this pallet hair clip to match. I was packing-procrastinating the night before, what can I say?

Lauren wrote out the ENTIRE Harold and the Purple Crayon book onto her shirt. Adorable, right?

Hello, New York Wednesday: Our convention was held at the Hilton New York which just so happened to be across the street from Rockefeller Center. dress: anthropologie; tights: Target; boots: Hunter; sweater: Urban Outfitters found at Goodwill

Meet Me at the MET Thursday: What amazing masterpieces this building holds. We spent hours digesting some of the world's most incredible art. sweater: thrifted; skirt: Free People bought at TJMaxx years ago; hat: Old Navy; boots: Hunter

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...Lauren had an amazing time teaching the kids. Her lovely top came from Old Navy. Look at that hair!

What I wore most of my trip: coat: Benetton; scarf: knitted by me

Under the Coat: sweater: anthropologie bought at Buffalo Exchange; skirt: vintage, thrifted; shirt: Target

Dress Like a Book Character Day: Wilma, Waldo's lady friend. Cutest costume ever!

Backyard Antiques

We have many deer that leave in the woods of our neighborhood. We also have a lone coyote. By the way the bones were scattered, we think that is how our deer friend met his end.

 I'm not really the outdoorsy type. At all. I mean, I'll go backpacking, hiking and kayaking with hubs but it usually involves a lot of coercing. Which is so silly because when I'm actually doing said outdoorsy things, I love it. But when it's suggested, and my other option is to dig for treasures at the local thrift shops, well, I'm sure you can guess which I'd rather.

An old metal sign advertising lodging. We're thinking it must have been posted along Franklin Road and thrown into the woods after the business was gone. How I would love to have it for the house.

Until recently. Hubs came home from a walk with tales of treasures found in the woods. Apparently he had stumbled upon some old homesteads. Immediately I had visions of unearthing armoires of vintage clothing, and before he could finish telling me about his adventure, I had my ratty sneakers on and I was ready to go.

Sweet little ferns are starting to pop up everywhere.

Sadly, there were no suitcases full of like-new vintage dresses. But what we did find was just as beautiful. Here are some snaps from our adventure.

Oh, and speaking of adventure, I'm about to go on one! I'm heading to New York City in just a matter of hours for the National Art Educators Association conference. I cannot wait to attend workshops, spend time with some of my favorite art teacher friends...and, maybe, come home with my own suitcase full of vintage clothing. Chat with you in a week.

An abandoned bulldozer. I love the rusted out reds beside the spring greens.

Just a little close up. All of the great photos you see here were taken by hubs.

You know those terrariums that are all the rage on etsy right now? Well, check your backyard before purchasing, you might find a few.

Antique plow.

Oh, look, they customized it for this here Hoosier girl. Brings me back to my corn-detasseling days.

If you've got woods near your home, I highly recommend a walk in it. You never know what you might find!

In the Art Room: Leafy Spring Prints

Negative leaf print by one of my second grade students earlier this year.

 Hey, guys! This post has been very popular on my blog...if you are interested in other leaf-y projects, look at my Leaf Relief project and my Pressed Leaf Project as well. Thanks!

I don't know what it's like where you live, but here in Tennessee, we are experiencing spring-like weather. For the most part. I mean it did snow the last two Saturdays (and, in Tennessee, "snow" means just a few flakes and a couple of inches) but the other day it was 78 degrees. Crazy, right?

For that reason, I've got touch of spring fever. You too? Well then you might enjoy this leafy printmaking project I did at the beginning of the year with my second graders. It's simple, scientific, beautiful and fun...okay, enough talking about me (!), on with the lesson.

For this project, you'll need the following:

• gelatin, not Jell-o. Most grocery stores carry a brand called Knox which sells in boxes of 16 pouches.
• cookie sheets
• printmaking brayer, sold at most craft stores
• printing ink
• variety of leaves
• paper

Print pulled from the same printing tray, this time the positive version.

The night before you begin, you'll need to prepare your sheets of gelatin. To do that, bring about 3-4 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, whisked one pouch of gelatin into the pot. You don't want any clumps of gelatin, so whisk like there's no tomorrow. You'll end up adding about 12-15 pouches of gelatin into that one pot. Sorry, I'm not into exact measurements. Which could explain a lot about my cooking. If there are any remaining unwhiskable clumps, remove them with a spoon.

Pour mixture into a cookie sheet filling it about 1". Leave uncovered over night. If you see any bubbles in the cookie sheet, pop them or remove with a spoon. For my class of 20 students, I made three trays.

Pulling the first print always managed to get oohhhh's and aahhhh's aplenty.

The following day, we were ready to print. The surface of the gelatin was squishy yet very firm, perfect for holding our printing ink. I think I can explain this best in steps, so here you go:

1. Using a brayer and printing ink, cover surface of gelatin in ink.
2. Place leaves onto the ink-covered cookie sheet with the veiny side down. I don't recommend using anything with pine needles because that will puncture the gelatin. But experiment, you never know!
3. Once leaves are in place, lay paper on top of cookie sheet and rub (er, we call it  "massage") the paper. 
4. Pull paper off, as you see in the above photo, and viola! You have your first print!

Notice how clear the gelatin looks. All of the ink that was once on the tray is now on the paper.

I love her dainty fingers pulling up the second print. So sweet.

Now for the second print:

1. Gently remove all of the leaves from the tray. It's best to pull them out by the end of the stem.
2. Place a new sheet of paper over the now-empty cookie sheet and rub.
3. Pull second print which will be a positive image of the first.

Looks like a black and white photo, don't you think?

Once both prints have been pulled, re-ink the tray and begin the process all over again. With a class of 20 students and 3 pans of gelatin, about 10 kids were able to print per half an hour class. The pans of gelatin can last about two days with an endless amount of printing. I tried to cover the gelatin and keep it for a little longer, but condensation droplets created strange little craters on the surface. If left uncovered for too many days, it begins to dry and crack. For that reason, if you plan to do this project for longer than a couple of days, you'll just need to prepare more gelatin pans the night before.

Our second go-round of printing involved using white ink on black paper. Just as pretty.

This project is so easy and the results so stunning that everyone is successful. I've now had a couple of craft get-togethers and this is always a hit. Once those leaves start growing in your neck of the woods, I do hope you'll give it a shot!

I love the photo negative quality of this print.

What the Art Teacher Wore #7

Workin'-on-Prez-Day Monday: sunflower sweater: Anthropologie picked up for cheap at Buffalo Exchange; skirt: Anthropologie; tights:  Target; shoes; Anthropologie. Holy cow! I'm head-to-toe anthro!

Well, hello there! This week's wacky is-it-winter?-is-it-spring? wardrobe is a reflection of the weather. One day it was a summery 78 degrees and the next there was a 30 degree temperature drop and a sky full of spooky clouds. As Lauren put it, "I'm waiting for the sky to turn green or purple or something."

In other news, since we did have school on a holiday, one of my favorite coworkers and I dressed as ole Abe and George for the school-wide morning announcements. We have more fun hamming it up than should be allowed. A word to the wise: Abe hats and bumpits do not mix.

Well, here's hoping the weather where you are is a little less wackadoodle, Yankeedoodle.

George and Abe: This is right before my friend George looked at me and made me lose it to a case of the giggles. On George: shirt: I know you can't see it, but she's wearing one of my wannabe goth shirts from high school; wig: handcrafted by Lauren from fake fur and toilet paper tubes. On Abe: beard and hat: Party City; jacket and shirt: thrifted

You know you're meant to be an art teacher when you look this happy on a Monday! I believe both Lauren's shirt and skirt are thrifted. She created her own bow. She's holding her example for the fourth grade lesson on sculpting heroes and standing in front of her lesson on Kandinsky's circles.

Cowgirl Tuesday: I just realized that annoying neighbor who walks her dog through our yard saw me snapping pictures of myself...and then tripped over her dog. Tee-hee. jacket and belt: thrifted; dress: Target, embroidered by me; tights: Target; boots: Frye, ebay

Well, I know she snagged that sweater at Goodwill...I was with her when we were doing a little pre-Valentine's Day wardrobe shopping. I love her pencil skirt, don't you? Target, people.

Wainy and Wet Wednesday: I've been waiting for a good spring day to wear this jacket and my new rain boots. However, wearing rain boots with no ventilation makes for janky feet syndrome. jacket: Anthro; boots: Hunter, ebay

Under the jacket: sweater and dress: thrifted; bow belt: made by me

Look at this outfit! Love...

Spring Chicken Thursday: I'm proud to say that with the exception of the belt and undergarments (like, ew), this outfit is head-to-toe thrifted! I've never worn this dress before as it's knitted and a little warm. Perfect for spring.

Totally diggin' the burnt orange. I've got to get some in my closet -- she's totally rockin' it with the green and navy.

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh, Friday!: sweater: thrifted; tiger striped dress: BCBG; lion buckle: gift from a friend; fishnets: Marshall's; shoes: Dolls by Nina

Look at that Kandinsky-esque scarf she scored! I love how it matches the project she did with the third graders...and so did they. And check out those splatter paint shoes she made. Awesomeness.