Summer Camps for all

The kids have both been very very busy this summer! Our school corporation has hosted a bunch of free summer camps for both kids and they were very excited about it. It started the first full week of break with L going to Culture Camp-Berlin at 8:00am Monday-Friday. There he learned about German history, culture, music, food, and language. It ended with an open house where there was dancing at a disco, pretzels, and showing off the Berlin wall.

The 2nd full week of break, D had visual arts camp at the high school at 8:00am. The entire week was spent learning all about different types of art, meeting an artist, and going on another field trip to the Snite Museum. She was in heaven and even more special was the fact she got to spend the morning of her birthday there. On Friday there was an open house for us to come in and see everything they worked on. I was very impressed with the amount of quality work they produced!

The 3rd full week of break, we were back at the high school at (you guessed it) 8am for swim lessons for both kids. (Can you see the theme)  They have wanted to take lessons for a few years, we just didn't have the time or the money to do them. This year surprisingly we had both. They also had watched friends at these swim lessons the week prior and that was a big motivator for them. They both have friends also taking lessons at the same time, just in different levels. These lessons ran 1 week (Mon-Fri) on, one week off due to the 4th, and then 1 week on again. I have noticed a giant difference in their abilities already!

This past week was our last week of school summer camps! We ended with L taking a week long art camp just like D did last month. Sadly after the 3 day, he didn't feel it was the right fit for him. A person in charge made him feel like a grudge was being held against him and he just wasn't having fun. So we told him he didn't need to keep going, but that we would pick up any art work he had done on the last day. This piece was my favorite by far! It was a clay mask that he had made all by himself, and for a boy who thinks his art is no good, this proved him wrong!

2nd grade field trip to the Snite:Part 2

This was the 2nd grade's 3rd field trip with this program. The kids were very excited to go back to the museum! The only problem is that with all the construction going on around the ND stadium, the bus driver refused to listen to the teacher and I and dropped us just under a half mile away from our destination. Normally this would not be a big deal, but with almost 50 kids, 4 adults, 25mph winds, and carrying boxes with everyone's lunches, it was a bit of a worrisome start to the day. Once we got into the museum, the kids were very excited and they were ready for us.

We split into 2 groups again, and this time we studied landscapes. They learned about the foreground, middle ground, and background. They looked at the painting and tried to use their senses to describe what was happening in the painting.

One boy doing his best "museum pose"

We then headed outside for lunch. What a crazy time! The slightly chilly temps, and high winds caused a number of screams, food blowing, and at one point what sounded like a revolt happening (kids chanting "summer, summer")

After lunch we headed back in, and down to a theater where we studied 2 different types of landscapes and the kids wrote imaginary postcards to someone telling them about the location.  Once we were done with that fun activity, the kids headed into the workroom. Here they were given print outs (done a certain way) with objects in 3 different sizes, and a landscape. They were to put packing tape over the image, burnish it with the handle of the scissors, then cut it out leaving space around it. We then dropped it in a bowl of water, let it sit for a few minutes, then gently rub the paper off the back of the tape. This keeps the image on the tape, and makes it into a homemade sticker!

And this past Saturday, the Snite had a family day for every student that participated in this year long program. We got to head in, have the student show us around, watch a movie of all the art work done from all the schools, eat cookies and punch, and then the kids got to decorate a sketch book of their own. It was a wonderful day all around!

2nd grade field trip to the Snite

This year at school, the 2nd grade classes got to participate in a wonderful program! They get to take field trips to the Snite Museum of Art at Notre Dame University! We took our first trip last week. The kids were so very excited to ride a bus all the way there.

The museum had put together a video for the kids to watch the day before the trip, and so the kids knew that this sculpture was called The Griffin and were super excited to be standing in front of it. We also took a class photo in front of the museum where most of the kids were giving us their best museum pose.

Our wonderful guide showed us 5 different pieces of art, we got to discuss them, and learn more about the pieces themselves and the artists that created them.

After checking out the art work, we had a fun picnic lunch outside, and let the kids run out some of that energy. We then headed into the workshop to create our own art work. The kids got to make their own version of the art we studied. They were amazed to use watercolor pencils and paint the water on them.

Then back upstairs to begin the writing portion of our trip. Each student got to pick out one of their favorite moments of the day coming up with the beginning, middle, and end of what will become their story of the day.

I LOVED going with them and was so very thankful to be allowed to come along.

Art Smart-1st grade Part 2

We did so many fun projects this past year, that I had to split this into 2 posts!

Artist: Paul Klee
Supplies needed: drawing paper, pencil, crayons

We tried our hand at 1 line drawings. Each kid had 1 piece of paper and a pencil. I told them that they could draw anything they wanted, BUT they could NOT lift the pencil off of the paper. It had to be 1 continuous line with no breaks in it. Once they figured out their drawing and finished it to their liking, we let them add color to the picture with crayons. I figured with the crayons we could still see the pencil line.

Artist: Charles DeMuth
Supplies needed: white drawing paper, pencil, gold paper, cool color oil pastels

Each kid cut out a medium sized gold 5 and glued it in the middle of the paper. Using a pencil, they drew a straight line out to the edge of the paper from each point on the 5. (We added one on the round section on the bottom as well) They then drew 2 circles around the 5 at 1" apart. Using a black crayon or oil pastel, trace all the lines drawn with the pencil. Have the kids fill in each section with the cool colors!

Art Smart-1st grade Part 1

This past year with Art Smart has been a very busy one! I was asked to lead the entire first grade class (close to 100 students) in all the art lessons. It only occurs once a month, and then I was able to round up other helpers to then go back to each of the 4 classes to help the kids stay on task. In addition to the first grade, I was also teaching D's kindergarten class. I will share with you all the projects and artists that we talked about in first grade. Sadly I don't have pictures for all the projects, for the whole class. I do have some of L's projects and will upload more images of them as I can find them. (You know how all the end of school stuff gets stashed in random places)


Artist: Helen Frankenthaler
 This was tons of fun and actually the last one we did this year in class. When we got home from school that day, D really wanted to try it as well. And since we already had paints and paper out for my little Indiana Summer magazine craft, we went ahead and did this one again!

Supplies needed: thick paper, primary color paints (red, yellow, and blue), brushes, and plastic wrap
Have the children paint the primary colors in splotches all over the paper, they can wet the paper with plain water first to help spread the paint. (I found it also helps to slightly water down the paint as well). Show the kids that if 2 of the colors mix, it creates one of the secondary colors (purple, orange and green). When they are happy with the amount of paint on their papers, crinkle up a piece of plastic wrap and lay on top of the painting, and then let dry totally with it on there. Ours took 2 days to dry. Once you pull the plastic off, you will notice a really neat texture!

Artist Wassily Kandinsky
For this project I had the teachers push 2 tables together in each class, and then laid out a long sheet of white paper. This was a new project that I had added to the list this year, so I was nervous that it wouldn't work. It turned out fantastic, and each classroom's painting turned out completely different!

Supplies needed: long sheets of white paper, brushes, different paint colors (we mixed our own to make different shades), cups or bowls for the paint.
We started out by having each child stand around the tables, and each child had their own color of paint in a cup, and a brush that followed the child around the table. Each kid painted 1 circle anywhere in front of them. It could have been whatever size that they liked. We then told them next, each kid took 1 step to the right, and added a circle to the one that was already painted. We kept going like that until we either ran out of room, or all the kids made it all the way around the table. These made fun and colorful murals to hang up just in time for our art fair!

Artist: Cave Paintings
These were tons of fun and all the kids had a blast doing this one!
Supplies needed: brown paper grocery bags (our local store let us take whatever we needed but we did ask first), oil pastels, scissors, white thick paper, spray bottles, and watered down washable paint (we used re, orange or yellow as those would have been easy to make back then)

I went ahead and cut the paper bags into rectangles ahead of class time. We only had an hour, if you have more time, you can let the kids cut them or have them tear them into an animal hide shape. Using the oil pastels, the kids drew primitive animal shapes, fire, and people shapes on the bag, just like the cave people did.

Then as an added fun cave painting drawing, we left our artist mark. The cave people would put their paint in their mouth, and spit it at their hand on the cave wall, leaving behind a hand outline. Well, instead of spitting the paint, we put watered down washable paints in inexpensive spray bottles. Each kid wrote their name on the back of a thick piece of white paper. Next they put them inside a large box, and put their hands down on top of the paper. I then sprayed the paint over their hands, and when they lifted it up, we had their mark!

Artist: Georgia O'Keffe
This was super simple but fun!
Supplies needed: white drawing paper, pencil, crayons

The kids started by drawing a small basic flower shape in the center of the paper. They then drew the same lines just a 1/2" around the first drawing. Continue this until the entire paper is filled. We then let the kids fill in the picture with crayons, markers, or you could have them paint them!

Artist: Grandma Moses
This worked out great right before Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Supplies needed: white drawing paper, pencil, crayons, construction paper frame
Grandma Moses was known for drawing family get togethers, and normal everyday life on the farm. Have the kids think of a family get together or function. Most kids in our class picked a holiday. Have them draw their family with added details around the room. Color them in!