Spooky, Scary and Silly

It’s Halloween time, y’all, and my crafty students have been making some seasonal art to celebrate.

In related news, many of my Kindergarten students are losing teeth, giving them a seasonally- appropriate jack-o-lantern look.

Here is what my endlessly energetic students made this month:

Kinder: These wiggly kiddos colored jack-o-lanterns as well as bats. Since these kids are young, our bats don’t look as scary as actual bats (have you seen bats in person? They are small but intimidating!). 

First grade also colored bats. We discussed whether we could adapt to sleeping upside down, like bats. Some kids said they could. I promised I could not. One kiddo claimed to have seen a bat flying backwards. (Halloween tall tale?) Anyway, these scenes turned out quite cute and I definitely am feeling a Halloween vibe…

Second grade created jack-o-lanterns from paper plates, an art supply I love, as they are sturdy and already shaped like circles, with no additional work needed by me…

Third grade decorated pumpkins, using pattern and Halloween colors. I was so impressed by how much detail and thought they put into their creations.

Fourth graders got their spooky spirit on by coloring around skeletons. Patterns and fall colors were requirements. I love how the kids had so many different interpretations of this project. So much variety and creativity. My “early finishers” colored Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls.

Fifth grade brought a three-dimensional element to their pumpkin patches. We cut, folded and glued multiple pumpkins together to create rounded shapes. I like how these turned out…Some kids who finished early were redirected away from glue battles and given Dia de los Muertos skulls to color.

My sixth graders did a beautiful job with their Dia de los Muertos skulls. Technically, Day of the Dead is November first, and this is my October blog post, but if you won’t tell the blog cops, neither will I. 

My seventh grade students did drawings of spooky Halloween scenes, complete with trees, a full moon, bats and gravestones. Some kids added three-dimensional ghosts made from tissue paper. 

Lastly, the eighth graders painted scenes of haunted houses. I was floored by how these turned out—such a fun mix of spooky, funny and beautiful. The skies are watercolor, which gives them a moody, foreboding look.

I hope you enjoyed the magic made by my students this month. Soon I will be back again with another episode of Adventures in the Art Room. Happy Halloween!