Kindergarten/1st grade 3-D Paper Line Sculpture

Kindergarten and first grade continued their exploration of line by creating paper line sculptures. They learned about different types of paper sculpture techniques like creating tabs to attach things to each other. They used different colors and sizes to create playgrounds, skate parks and generally fun places! This was a project students got to take home as soon as they made it, otherwise art work goes into portfolios and shared at the end of the school year.

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Second and Third Grade Clay Pandas - Take Two!

Our China Unit continued with an exploration of Pandas. We watched videos, painted them in the Chinese style and then sculpted them out of clay. Our first batch of pandas had a rough time in the kiln and we loss many of our sculptures. This was an opportunity to explore the science of clay and evaporation as well as artist's need for perseverance. We made a second round of bears and they made the journey for a second time to Fleming to be fired in the kiln. Success, all the pandas made it through without any damage. When they came back to Summit we painted them with black and white acrylic paint in a realistic way.

Second and Third Grade Learned about China and its Art

We began our unit of study on China with lessons on Chinese Brush painting  and Panda bears. We watched a video on brush painting and learned the traditional grip for the brush. Our first focus was painting bamboo with ink and then they were instructed the on the technique of painting Pandas.

The next lesson in the unit involved sculpting Pandas out of clay. After the Pandas dried and were fired it was time to paint them with acrylic paint. Stay tuned for a our final paintings of the unit when all the things we learned came together to create our finished work. Students in our classes benefited from the experience of Student Intern Clark duPont who came in a few hours either to Fleming or Summit Street once a week.

Fourth Grade Illustrates The Star Spangled Banner

Fourth grade students worked in small groups to create illustrations for the Star Spangled Banner, as part of the Veteran's Day Assembly and a way to celebrate its 200th anniversary. We first watched a slide show about the history of the song and its composer, Francis Scott Key. We also listened to a one hundred year old operatic version of the song, as well as a popular English men's club song of the day which served as the basis of the tune for the poem that Key wrote. We studied the meaning of the lyrics and learned about different words like "ramparts" and students now know it means the walls of a fort or castle.  The students then looked at historic paintings and prints dealing with the subject of The Star Spangled Banner.

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Fourth Grade 2-D Overlapping Designs: Old School and Digital

I love when old meets new and you see markers and iPads together in the art room.  We learned about overlapping designs and marker technique to create paper design with a shape created by the student. They then decided on a color scheme and learned about different marker tips and how to best use them and be consistent with their strokes. As kids completed their paper designs they got to use our iPad cart and they had an opportunity to create a digital 2-D overlapping design using the Sketchbook Express app. 

We are so fortunate to have a class set of iPads for our students to learn about and create 21st century art at Thomas Fleming School. 

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First Comes Line, then comes Shapeman!

The long awaited Shapeman made his appearance in the art room earlier this trimester as we explored how to draw people. First students looked for the shapes and identified them in our 2-D cardboard Shapeman. The shapes we discussed are also part of their math curriculum so they learn similar concepts in art. We also learned about body part names like torso, thigh and calf.  This activity was a kinesthetic  challenge as Shapeman arranged his body parts (with a little help from Mrs. Foley) into different challenging poses while the students turned around without peeking. They then tried to position their body into the pose Shapeman was displaying on the floor. After moving our bodies we got to work creating our own Shapeman drawings, which were a lead-in to a mixed media project...stay tuned for the finished project.

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Crazy Line Landscapes with K/1

The year began with students learning about the Element of Line and how everything in art depends on line. We also looked at famous landscapes like "Starry Night" and how a landscape is different from a portrait and a still life. Students practiced making different types of lines and then through a guided practice we created these colorful "Crazy Line Landscapes"!

Kindergarten Arts Integration "Beautiful Faces"!

Kindergarten classes all created self portraits using cut paper. They chose skin colored paper that best matched their skin and they looked in mirrors to notice things about their features, hair and eye color. We discovered we are all different, but we all have beautiful faces! This was a mixed media project that worked on drawing, tracing, cutting and gluing skills. 

Team Synergy's "What's On Your Mind" photography and doodling project.

What's On Your Mind was a getting to know you project that al students in Team Synergy created. The students used cameras and iPads to photograph each other in a thinking or dreaming pose. After printing out the photos and cutting them out they were then glued on white paper. The fun began when they started "doodling" or writing about things they thought about, or were interested in. The responses were as varied as the students who created them.