Feathers Flying

Hello, art fans! Thanks for joining me again for another edition of Sarah’s Art Students.

We’ve officially entered the frighteningly busy season where we adults are juggling our regular life activities, plus a few extra dozen things. I feel like I’m going a hundred miles per hour, feathers flying. At school we have been up to our elbows in seasonal artwork. From our littlest Kindergarteners to our eighth graders, it’s been a whirlwind of creativity.

The kindergarteners colored a drawing I photocopied for them. (This was not the time to test my calm by having five-year-olds create rivers of sticky Elmers glue, punctuated by feathers and bells and turkeys. Coloring seemed the best approach for my youngest students.) I told my littlest friends to write a few words to complete this sentence: I am thankful for_____. I said they could color the turkey and the drawing however they wanted, as long as they used happy colors. Here are a few of their drawings:

One of the classes is organizing an effort to deliver 170 cards to seniors living at a local assisted living facility, and so five of my classes made the residents Thanksgiving cards. This was not my idea—it was dreamed up by some fourth grade parents—but as I told the kids, Thanksgiving is about sharing. Sharing a happy thought and a cheerful drawing is a wonderful way to bring someone holiday cheer. Here is what first grade created:

Second grade made 3-d turkeys out of paper plates. They stand up. I teach them at the end of the school day, and if you’ve ever wondered how hyper seven-year-olds are at 2pm…you don’t want to know!

Third grade made 3-d turkeys. This is similar to a project I did with 4^th grade last year, but I decided it was okay to repeat myself. As long as kids are being creative and having fun, that’s my main goal.

Fourth grade also made greeting cards for the seniors in assisted living, and here are a few of their creations:

Fifth grade has been working on a top secret project that I’m not ready to reveal yet, so you’ll have to wait to see their art. I assure you, if art room mess indicates fun, they have been having a lot of fun!

Sixth, seventh and eighth grades made cards for local seniors, too, and here are a few ones that stood out. 

Eighth grade also finished up a unit on quilling. Quilling is an art form that involves wrapping narrow pieces of paper around a metal tool, producing coils of paper. You can pinch the coils to create teardrops and other shapes. I am intrigued by what these kids made, and while not all of them loved the project, most seemed to like trying something new. Here are their creations…

That’s a wrap on our November art scene at The Land of Flying Glue Sticks—I mean Sarah’s Peaceful Art Room. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. December brings stress for many of us, but as the motivational phrase says, Keep Calm and Carry a Pencil Sharpener. Or maybe that’s just what we say in the art room—but I think it applies to us all, don’t you? Keep calm. Be Safe. Have Fun. Ciao!

The Art Room is Haunted

Well, did that get your attention? Good. Actually, I am not a believer in ghosts, but I am a believer in ghost-themed Halloween art! Here are some of my students’ latest projects. We did a lot of art this month and it was hard to narrow down which pieces to show. Settle in, because it’s a collection!

My Kindergarten students made three Halloween art projects this month. I told them they could add details, and they delivered!

Yes, my lashes are real...

Hieroglyphic pumpkin...

 The lesser-known punk rock graffiti pumpkin:

First grade has been busy with two different collage creations: Jack-o-lanterns and Spooky Night Scenes. I love it when a student brings something from their own life into their art. Jorge added glasses to his jack-o-lantern (below, right), that look like his glasses.

Second grade made collages by tracing their handprints to create ghosts, and adding details to their night scenes.

Not your garden variety ghost. This one has major personality.

Third grade created Haunted house scenes with watercolor painted skies, which contributes to a moody look.

Isn't this sky fantastic? Moody and stormy and expressive.

Fourth graders have been making haunted pumpkin patch drawings. Kids this age have great imaginations. Some are so passionate about the details that I feared they still would be working on Halloween art at Thanksgiving. Luckily, they completed their art in time, no doubt inspired by my encouragment to "Finish this now--or else!" 

Fifth grade made haunted house scenes, adding visual texture to their skies, and I love the effect. This is similar to third grade’s scenes, but with skies done in marker. After the paint water flood caused by third grade, I suddenly recalled how very messy it is to paint with kids and I felt the universe telling me to have fifth grade color their skies with markers. (Alternate title for this post: I Survived A Paint Project with Third Graders.)

Seventh grade created 3-D haunted houses. It was fun to do something more sculptural, and I like how the houses look. They folded, glued, cut, and added extra touches to create these scenes. One seventh grader started putting glue onto the wall, but that didn’t qualify as an “extra touch” in my book. So much personality, these teens have…  

Sixth grade is doing a new project I will share next month, but I also have a few more still life scenes from our September project to share. These kiddos were not finished with their still life drawings when I posted in September, so consider this Part 2 for that project.

8^th graders also had a few late submissions with their still life drawings, and they’re too good not to share: 

It’s been fun to share my students’ spooky art with you but I must go. Halloween is approaching fast, and my cauldron needs stirring…