Did Someone say "Spring?"

It’s spring here in Southern California, and our March art projects definitely have a spring theme.

Here in San Diego, we have had tons of rain outside--and tons of water in the art room. Did the ceiling leak? No. But let’s just say that I had the optimistic idea to paint with the first graders. I reasoned to myself, “What could go wrong?” An hour later, wading through puddles on the way to the sink, I had a different perspective. Sure, I’ve had first grade paint before. But it’s been a while and apparently, I forgot how messy it is.

Fifty percent of the paint goes on their paper, and fifty percent goes on the table (allow a 20 percent margin).

They fill their water cups to the brim and slosh most of it on the floor as they swim toward their tables. But we had fun and I survived.

Here is what my students created in March.

Kindergarten colored leprechauns for St. Patrick’s Day. Some kids claim they have caught leprechauns, but I may need photographic proof to believe these tales. 

First grade made leprechaun art, too. Look closely and you will see that some kids made three-dimensional fringed beards from paper. A fun touch.

My fourth graders did adorable leprechaun portraits for St. Patrick’s Day. I love how each one has a distinct personality…

Fifth grade made giant three-dimensional flowers. We used paper plates because they are thicker than regular paper and give us a sturdy structure. The kids used markers to color their flowers, and we incorporated construction paper, too. Thank heavens for hot glue.

Sith grade made oversized flowers, too. These are really getting me ready for Spring. (Okay, I’m ready for Spring, regardless of the sixth grade flowers, but you know what I mean…)

Seventh grade also made three-dimensional flowers and each one is completely unique. Some kids added butterflies to their flowers. I think they turned out beautifully. 

The only pitfall this month was my stapler injury. (If you don’t know, I’m very accident prone.) We’ve had faulty staplers over the years, and so I never assume they work. A student needed the stapler and I managed to impale my thumb when testing it. I did bleed a little and I found a Band-Aid (we art teachers/moms tend to keep lots of Band-Aids in our purses). Staplers should come with warning labels for the accident prone.

Well, that wraps things up for me for March. It’s been a really full month, and this teacher is more than ready for Spring break in a week or so.

Happy Spring, and I’ll see you next week with some adorable Easter art.