January- February Kindergarten

In Kindergarten my students learn about many different artists and they do a lot of fine motor skills exercises. We did the following Spring Flower project inspired by Andy Warhol to warm us up as it ended up being a very long and cold winter. And because of the weather we lost a lot of class time.

Germs Are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick is a great book that describes how important it is to wash one's hand. I explain how Scientists and Artists are similar in observing, discover, create an record through their work. 

This lesson was based on the Africa Lion masks we looked at. Students cut fringe for the mane and cut strips of paper to create the details. Roar!

This year is the Chinese Year of the Horse. Students had fun creating their horses. The had just finished doing their Tangrams and listening to the book Grandfather Tang's Story: A Tale Told with Tangrams by Ann Tompert and Illustrated by Robert ANdrew Parker.

This year I tried something different. After reading the book Invent to Learn: Making, Thinking and Tinkering in the Classroom by Sylvia Libow I decided to try letting my students just build in the Art room. It was a fun day.

Art at Pittsfield Township Hall

Art by Carpenter students was on display at the Pittsfield Township Hall in November and December of 2013. We will have student work up the Summer of 2014 from June to August. I feel honored to sho their work.

November- December Fifth Grade

Fifth Grade students made Oaxacan Clay Animals. Student had to paint using the traditional method of the Alberijes Artist they saw on a PPT. Below are samples of their work.

The Fifth Graders looked at the work of Giacometti, an Italian sculptor, who did many pieces on the human body. Giacometti was very interested in documenting how war affect the body as many people in Italy were in need of food and shelter.

November- December Fourth Grade

The 4th Graders have also completed an Art Project inspired by the Tinga Tinga art of Africa. The artist Sarange who does Tinga Tinga and Masai art made some incredible drawings and the students used his inspiring designs to create their own family portrait.

I had my students create a self portrait in one hour based on the style of Amedeo Modigliani. They had to use analogous colors between their shirt and background color. 

Fourth Graders learn about natures recyclers. The Scarab or Dung Beetle is also a recycler as it recycle waste of other animals. As students learned the Dung Beetles save the US Cattle Industry about $300 million a year in disposing of cattle waste. Students did an amazing job.

November- December Third Grade

Students made their own sarcophagus which include the hieroglyphs. Their names are in hieroglyphs underneath.

Each year we do a self portrai project in each grade. The Third Graders made their in an egyptian style. 

The clay project is based on the work of Frank Llyod Wright. Students created a tile that represented their family. Each circle or shape represents a family member.

November- December Second Grade

Second Grade students were very interested in the Mexican Skulls that the Fifth Graders were doing. Since they were interested I allowed them to try it. They did an excellent job.

Rock and fossils are a theme of Second Grade Science. Students observed and drew trilobites. They needed to make 3 in different sizes.

Aboriginal art was found on the walls of caves many years ago and is considered to be one of the oldest form of communication- Visual Arts. The Aboriginal Snake work using the Aboriginal symbols to tell a story of traveling.