Students enjoy creating these quirky street-scapes inspired by Russian artist, Marc Chagall. There's just something really fun about crooked buildings and random things flying through the air! Materials: 12x18 black construction paper #2 Pencil with pink eraser (the eraser is handy for "sketching" your layout!) Oil Pastels "Wet wipes" for clean up Examples of the … [Read more...]
Self-Portraits Inspired by Grant Wood
Grant Wood (1891-1942) was an American artist best known for his paintings of rural American life. My students were fascinated by the story of how his father died when Grant was only ten years old, and his mother had to move her family from their home on the farm to the big city. This was a hard move for Grant, who missed his farm animals and his life in the country. … [Read more...]
House Magnet Fundraiser
My students in grades K-7 recently raised over $2,000 using their artistic skills to benefit our local food bank! We adapted this "Houses for Haiti" project (originally inspired by "Haiti Houses") to create charming magnets which we sold for $5 each at our church one Sunday, and we donated all the proceeds to Second Harvest Food Bank. We had so many people asking how they … [Read more...]
Houses for Haiti Lesson Plan
Two amazing teachers in Florida came up with a creative idea to raise money for Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. After discovering their "Haiti Houses" on the internet, I was inspired to try it for myself and make a few changes. Below is my version of this project. Objectives: Students will choose a worthy cause to support, such as supporting an orphanage or rebuilding … [Read more...]
Cityscapes with Tints and Shades
Our Kinders are becoming experts at color mixing! This time we added white to make tints and black to make shades as we created these sweet "candy-colored" cities!Materials:9x12 white heavyweight construction paperpencilTempera paint - red, yellow, turquoise, white and blackPaper plates for palettesbrushes and waterVocabulary:Tint - any color plus whiteShade - any color plus … [Read more...]
Van Gogh Auction Project
Even Van Gogh himself would be proud of this copy of his "Café Terrace" painting, created by our 2nd graders to raise money at our annual school auction.Each year, our school holds a fundraiser auction to raise money for special programs. While many valuable items are donated to be auctioned off, the items that create the most excitement are usually our special "class … [Read more...]
