Art Updates!

I am happy to report that we were in the art room this week! We were all so happy to be back. These last few weeks have been horrible for me. I love teaching and I hate when we have to miss. Anyway, as promised, this week I have a lot of updates to share with you!

The K4 and K5 students are still working on their texture pizzas. I love how these are looking! This week, students used wrapping paper, craft foam, and ribbon to create peppers, mushrooms, and onions. When we come back from spring break, students will be decorating pizza boxes!

The 1st grade finished up their leaf observation drawings this week and are beginning to create the border around their artworks. Since their practice drawings looked so good, I decided to give them the option of including them in their final artwork.

The 2nd grade has completely finished their fictional animal sculptures and their habitat paintings. I will hopefully be taking pictures of them this week to show you. If not, I will have them for you after spring break.


The 3rd grade started not only the sketches for their Chinese Zodiac puppets, but they also started creating the head of their animal. Out of all the projects we have done this year, and frankly out of all the projects last year too, I think the 3rd grade has been the most excited about this one :) Their enthusiasm has really shown in the work they have done so far.

The 4th grade finished up their felt food sculptures a couple of weeks ago. Students are now working on advertisements for their food. This week, students took pictures of their food sculpture and created sketches of their future advertisement.

Half of the 5th grade finished their paleoart artworks this week. The other half just needs to complete the printmaking portion of the project and they will be done too. Below, is a mixture of the finished and unfinished artworks. I will have pictures of all the completed artworks after spring break.

The 6th grade did not have class this week. I am okay with that because they were in Washington D.C. :) I can't wait to ask them about their experiences!


The Art Club Bigs students are starting to cut out all of the square pieces for their 8-bit inspired quilts. Students were surprised by how much work actually goes into making a quilt. Considering this is the first time that they have worked on something like this, I think they are doing great!

Lastly, the Art Club Littles started working on their molas this week. I am so excited about this project! My grandma created a mola when I was young and I have always wanted to work on a mola project with my students. This week, students worked on creating their animal as well as the white detail. Students will be adding all of the color and details when we return from spring break.

Really Mrs. Chance???

As you saw from last week's post, we did not have art classes due to the conference. Well, this week we did have art classes, but I had to inform students that we will not have classes next week because I will be working on my comprehensive exams for my master's degree. I hated to tell them because we have been missing so many classes lately and because many of the grades started new projects this week. I miss being in my room teaching. C'est la vie. Hopefully our schedule will return to normal after spring break in a couple of weeks.

I mentioned last week that the 1st graders began a new project on plant observation. I was so impressed with their work last week, especially because this was the first time that many of the students had drawn from observation instead of imagination or memory. I brought several different kinds of leaves out of my yard to school and students chose one that they found interesting. They then carefully studied the leaf looking at its texture, shape, and color. Students started drawing their leaf this week and I am just as impressed as last week :)

I am happy to announce that the 2nd grade is almost finished with their fictional animal sculptures and painted habitats. Here are a few examples of the finished artworks.

The 3rd grade this week began a project they are super excited about! Students learned about Chinese New Year, in particular the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Students learned that the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac, represent a year in a 12 year time cycle. This year is the year of the snake. In this project, students are exploring the relationship between art and literature. Among the many stories of the origins of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, one of the most popular tales is of a Great Race. The story says that the Jade Emperor called a meeting and as the animals arrived they earned a place in the Chinese Zodiac calendar. For this project, students will be choosing one of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac and will create a puppet of that animal. After the completion of their puppet, students will act out the story of the Great Race.

The 5th grade is still hard at work on their paleoart collage/prints. Most students have completed their collage and began printing their stamp design this week.

Lastly, the Art Club Littles started a new project this week. They learned about molas. Molas are fabric panels that are created traditionally by the Kuna women of Panama and Columbia in South America. These artworks can of course be used for decoration, but are also used for clothing and furniture. Students will be creating the own molas from felt in the coming weeks. This week, students chose their animal and began planning their design.