Febru-ART-y!

Happy 2024, everyone. Or is the “new” year old news?

After all, 2024 is nearly one sixth over already. How did that happen? It’s my first blog post of the year, and we have a lot to share.

Kindergarten has been creating Chinese New Year art. It’s the year of the dragon, which represents good luck, talent, health and strength. 

First grade made Chinese New Year art, too, but with a three-dimensional flair. How awesome are these dragons? I used a template for the head, but I made up the body, and described to the kids how the body should go up and down, like a roller coaster. 

Second grade has been making Valentine art. I created an idea for three-dimensional hearts, involving four hearts, glued back-to-back. Each heart has a different pattern on it. I like how these look…

My third-grade class started out the new year with a project I devised from paper bowls. These cute turtles have textured shells, and each is a little different. Good job, third grade! 

These kids also started Valentine art this month. They colored in conversation hearts, the candies with words printed on them. (I find their taste chalky, but on the upside, it’s fun to combine food and words.)

Fourth grade worked on Black History Month art. I found a wonderful book, The ABCs of Black History, by Rio Cortez, illustrated by Lauren Semmer. 

My fourth graders made drawings based on some of the illustrations in this charming book. 

a page from Cortez and Semmer's book

From The ABCs of Black History

Fourth grade also made three-dimensional, wearable heart eyeglasses for Valentines Day. They loved this project and I love how much variety they created.

Fifth grade did amazing drawings for Black History Month, based on art by Kadir Nelson. Nelson is an acclaimed artist whose paintings have been on magazine covers like The New Yorker. His art has been displayed in the White House. Since our school is in San Diego, I thought it would be interesting to the kids that Nelson lived in San Diego at one time. We did art based on two of Nelson’s art pieces, Sweet Liberty, and Black Boy Joy. Although some kids were intimidated by drawing people in a three-dimensional style, many did an amazing job, and I was very impressed by their work. Here are Nelson's two paintings that inspired our lesson:

Sweet Liberty by Kadir Nelson

We paid special attention to the kids’ faces and heads. The girl wears a blue iris in her hair, which is a symbol of hope, and her rolled-up sleeves represent the tenacity of her ancestors.

Black Boy Joy by Kadir Nelson

The boy’s portrait shows his confidence in his wide smile. His joy represents opportunities for happiness, and the touch of sunlight on the edge of his hair represents optimism.

Sixth grade has been creating two projects and I will share them next month.

Seventh grade also did portraits based on the art in The ABCs of Black History. The kids worked hard and did beautiful work. I’m so proud of them.

My eighth graders have senioritis and are ready to fly toward high school. But we still have art to make in the next few months. We started the year with art based on the trailblazers of the Civil Rights Movement: Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. I think these turned out great.

It’s been a busy 2024 already in the art room. The kids came back from winter break with more bouncy energy than I expected (I was hoping they had used it up over break, but that was wishful thinking). Still, I love teaching and I love the kids, and so I persevere. Thanks for reading, and we will be back again soon with more colorful creations!