Lilacs in Spring

student work

student work

 I always scan through the weekly lessons when they are updated by Artsonia.  A few weeks ago there was a post by Patty Miner of Winding Creek Elementary in Oklahoma called Purple Flowers that I knew I wanted to adapt for my students.  It so happens that I have a fragrant Lilac bush growing just outside of the art room in one of my schools.  The flowers are beautiful and of special interest to many of the 3rd graders because their classroom teacher loves Lilacs and the students pick and bring in the blossoms for her daily when they are in bloom.  I was sure I could adapt Patty's lesson for my 3rd graders and it would be a great hit.  I went out and cut a few blossoms of the Lilac for the art room as the first step and we talked about how the flowers were formed on the stems.  Week one, students used watercolor to create a background wash for the bloom.  Week two, oil crayons were used to add the stem, leaves and an insect.  Most students drew a butterfly of their color choice.  With the drawing complete, they began to finger paint first with purple paint and while it was still wet, overlaid the color with white finger prints allowing the two colors to mix.  They turned our rather nice.  If it weren't time to take down the bulletin boards for the end of school, they would definitely be on full display!  Thanks go out to Patty for the inspiration and thanks to Artsonia for a terrific program.

student work

student work

student work

student work

Symmetry and Monarch Butterflies

With the Fiesta dance just a few days away, first graders needed to create a decoration that also incorporated some of the elements and principals of art.  Symmetry seemed to be a good focus along with color and color mixing to create these dynamic Monarch butterflies.  Students began the lesson by review knowledge achieved in Science class when they learned about the life cycle of the Monarch and it's migration habits with winters in Mexico.  The monarch seemed to be a good focus for a Fiesta decoration in that these butterflies spent a good portion of their life in Mexico as well as most parts of the U.S.  Students used red and yellow paint to make a symmetrical print. Week two, sharpie markers were used to add detail and eyes.  Pipe cleaners became the antenna for the butterflies.  These will also double as eye catching decorations for the upcoming dance.

In a spring garden

Cruising around Pinterest a few weeks back, I discovered a cute lesson using a soda bottle to make flowers and decided it would be a perfect lesson for my Kinders with a bit of extension and my own focus.   Here is how I presented this lesson.   First I read the book "In a Spring Garden" edited by Richard Lewis.  It is a compilation of short poems that tell a story about spring.  Next we practiced vertical lines using values of green with markers.  This is the first time Kinders have used markers so a lesson in proper use preceded.  We thought tall, thick spring grass prior to the first mowing.   With white paint, 9 flowers were printed along the top of the grass at various heights.  A pencil eraser dipped in yellow paint was used to add the centers in the flowers.   This was set aside in the dry rack.  Finally,  the traditional symmetrical butterfly was made and added to the dry rack.  I had pre-set both papers with student names prior to class time for efficiency and to avoid "no name" papers.   Students cut out the butterflies and attached them to the flower field during week two.  It is a busy lesson with a lot of transition but I have everything ready to go and switch material out throughout the process.
They turned out really cute.