lessons for 1st week Feburary

This week most of the classes will look at some Chinease New Year art. Although the new year is on Feb 14th this year (v-day) we are going to do our New Year art this week and v-day next week.

We will start the week with 3rd grade making dragon masks using these two printables

This one is an adobe file and I cant put in the blog

but here is another popular one
and an sample simple but fun

2nd grade will make a fancy dragon puppet using this printable and accordion fold paper
the link to the printable

middle school : will finish mosaics and do grid drawings

life skills 1: will make some painted birds like the 1st graders did last week

life skills 2: will make some textured papers for our puffy v-day heart and make our heart out of hand prints


Tuesday: 4th grade
one class will work on their story quilts, the other class did not start the story quilt and instead will learn how to draw a tiger as this will be the year of the Tiger. (make sure to have circle and almond shape templates)
now realizing we should have done these with leopards for our yearbook cover

middle: same as day before

3rd grade: dragon masks from above


Wednesday:

middle: keep it on keep it on

1st grade easy dragon puppet with accordion fold using this printable (yes I'm going printable crazy this week because I can and really no one cares) I'll turn the head and tail on this dude into a coloring sheet


Thursday: (I'm taking the day off)
I'll have Penny do this project with both 5th grade classes while I am gone (1st period will get choice day NEXT week instead of doing v-day project)
needs to be done with either warm or cool color choices. Make a set of heart stencils for each table, cut paper to less than full size. Have paper for mounting ready.

in the afternoon she will do the 2nd grade dragon puppet with them

Firday: O'dell should start envelope carp
the template for this is here

kinder ....I'm not 100% sure yet

V-day idea page

Oh Valentines day. I remember having awesome valentines day parties in both elementary and middle school, I loved getting my little valentines and the tiny candies. Making my valentines mailbox out a old shoe box was always the best part, then stuffing my friends and classmates boxes with ORIGINAL 1980's care bear valentines. Or waiting for valentines from friends or a secret admirer to be pushed through the slots of my locker in middle school.

Well, Valentines, like many other holidays is no longer celebrated in many public schools...mine included. Last year, upon learning that we did not allow valentines parties, or the exchange go cards, after kinder and 1st grade at my school, I decided to just ignore the holiday and skip valentines project for anyone over the age of 7. OH the backlash I received. From both students and adults. Apparently the mindset (that was not shared with me till after the fact) was that it was not appropriate to do Valentines day activates in class that it was appropriate for the art room because I could make the projects about the art and the process...not the holiday...yeah whatever.

Much like Thanksgiving and Mothers Day the unspoken rule was "non religious" holidays were to be celebrated in the art room, while "religious" holidays such as Halloween, Easter and Christmas....and ANYTHING even remotely Jewish are not to be touched. (let's not talk about the talking to I received for having a class make six point tin stars that people were assumed were my way of prostlizing my personal religious background when what we were really doing was talking about mirror symmetry!) (another grrr moment) I stupidly got into an argument with someone that Valentine's day is...or originally was a religious based holiday...St. Valentines and all....I lost that argument. I think religion has nothing to do with it....but I digress. Ok so valentines day it is this year. Here are some project ideas and grade level that I might use them for.

this + this will become a valentines day card for 1st grade
(both from Art Projects for Kids)
kinder and life skills will make the painted paper for this the first week of Feb and then make puffy hearts (link off crafty crow)
good life skills standby (more crafty crow)

I think 3rd grade will like learning how to make 3-D letters and learn about the famous LOVE sculpture from the 60's (art projects for kids)

It is 2nd grade's turn with clay and how easy is it to turn a pinch pot into a heart shape? Easy.
(this is an idea photo...thrown on a wheel by an adult...not a kid made one)
The trick to little kids and clay is to only let them handle it for a little while or else it will dry out and crack. The other part of this class period will go to make monster valentines inspired by these :
torn paper and cut paper (link from crafty crow)

4th grade will look at Jim Dine's heart artwork and do a modified version of this:
(from kids artists)

5th grade will use our painted papers to make a heart bouquets collage. I'll let them make the hearts in the colors of their choice:
from that artist women.

For my 5th grade class that comes twice a week we will make a second project of tin hearts or these stitched heart cards.


middle school....I guess if I'm feeling nice I'll let them make cards on the Friday before V-day....we'll see.

last week of January: or "why I am leaving this school"

Just to help me keep track of what got done this week;

Monday: mila's class: oil pastel and watercolor resist quilt squares using a shoo-fly pattern left over from Kinder quilts

Elenor's class: finished found object weaving and were required to do a chunk of tabby weave
trying to remember....I think kids who were done early did free draw. (look at how clean my tables are from detention students having to wash them)

3rd and 5th(6-8th graders): glazed Greek pottery with clear glaze and worked on mosaics....all week long. They hate the mosaic project (note to self) getting them to work on it is like pulling teeth and is leading to a lot of unpleasant behaviors. I am making every kid finish one though. I had dreams of doing a real mosaic with them but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Life skills: Mary's class...Line is a dot that goes for a walk wax resist painting...same as kinder last week. Had to go talk to teacher about sending ALL the PARA's to assist, that one could not "stay behind" to do her paperwork. GRRRR

Life skills: Joe's class....cut out tissue paper painting turtle shell, add body parts, glue on ocean colored bloto paper. Cut out oatmeal starfish and added to ocean. I returned students TWO min early and got nasty attitude form the new life skills teacher who asked me, "couldn't you stand in front of them and wave your arms to entertain them?" "NO, we were done with our project, it is hard to time how long it takes with this group of students and I AM NOT a babysitter!" I shot back and walked out. I am the ONLY art teacher in the entire district (we are a huge district) to provided art to low functioning life skills. I am happy and proud to do this, but I will not be used as a babysitting service. Grrr.


Tuesday: 4th grade, one finished their paper plate weaving....about half turned out ok, thank god weaving is now over. The other 4th grade started their Tar Beach story quilt squares.

6-8th same as day before. 5th period received and extensive lecture about minding your own business and let people deal with their own art and life instead of telling them what to do or how it is...amazing how one new student can rock the boat so much.

3rd-Masi: Had a much better attitude and received choice day.

3rd- Hunter: five kids were not allowed to come to art, had a very peaceful class time, did crayon resit quilt blocks.

Wednesday:
prep, 5th period to a Celtic music concert, 5 period work on Mosaic...gets another lecture. 1st grade Drew and painted half circle birds. very very cute. Then took kids to a globe trotter assembly with one solitary Globe Trotter named Dizzy who was in desperate need of a microphone. Chaos.

Thursday:
5th grades: Danielle's: made some painted paper for collage and worked on circle weaves...some turning out right. Told them to take what they had done and give themselves a pat on the back for trying something new.
Kori's class: started story quilt drawings. Turning out nicely.

3rd period (6-8th) making good progress on mosaics...some ready for grid drawing

5th period (6-8th) new 6th grade student that I have been struggling with knocks 8th grade girl in head and calls her a fucking whore under his breath(I learn this later)...she tries to let it go and tells me it's ok(the knock to the head I observe)...till he starts chanting whore, whore, whore! louder and louder till I hear it, girl rushes out of class sobbing, runs into a class of kindergartners who are very distraught that a big girl is crying so hard and several start sympathy crying. Try to kick 6th grader out but can't find anyone in administration (they leave all day long on Thursdays for a out of school meeting, leaving teachers with no back-up plan). Have to keep student in my class. Am so mad I could spit. Bark out that no one is to talk till end of class. They obey. Later a 7th grade teacher comes to me and tells me the students are saying I became unglued. I tell him that is a kind way to put it and they are lucky I didn't flip out even more.

FIRE DRILL just as I am trying to excuse 5th period... it's been a miserable enough class, but no...have to take them out for fire drill. Two kids are kicking each other in the shins, one 8th grader is rolling on the ground like a puppy, five "behavior program" kids are brought over to my line because no one can find the teacher who they are supposed to be with. Like I don't have problems already!

Drill over...drill takes up the 6 min "break" I have to change the classroom from a middle school to a lower elementary room. Am still ushering middle school students down the hall on my way to tell second grade teacher I need five min. Oh look she is already at my door with her incredibly wild class. I say I can not have them yet, I have been outside with another class, I need her to take her class back to her room, get them calmed down and then bring them. she tapes her watch and says, "its past 1:20, they are your problem now" and walks away (unbeknown to me the principal was standing behind me...where did he come from...just half an hour ago they told me he was out for the day! WTF! and watches her ditch her class on me, he tells me this when I confront him at the end of the day about the timing of the fire drill and why it can not be done during passing period times, however, is he going to say anything to her?...that is yet to be seen)

Take wild 2nd grade class into room, turn off lights, put heads down and practice calm breaths, till the class PARA and her student that she shadows show up. With a second set of hands we do a guided line drawing of a bird and paint it. my heart rate has almost returned to normal by now.

last class of the day also 2nd grade: has a sub, one of our building subs who is not afraid of the kids, keeps about five kids who are misbehaving so we have a quiet class of more bird drawing and paintings.

Friday: Kori's class-work more on story quilt drawings.
prep

3rd-demo grid drawings. a few get started, others are still working on mosaics.

5th period...despite my referral and notes to both the vice-Principal and SMS the 6th grader who called the girl whore yesterday comes sauntering into the classroom and gives me a good smirk. I march over to the SMS who says she has been to "busy" to get to it. Yes busy having her DOG go around to the classrooms to announce who had good behavior at lunch this week(***). Anyway doesn't matter because 3/4 of my class is either absent or at an assembly for high school next year. I have a small enough number of kids that I can put one at each table, tell them they can not get out of their seats or speak to anyone aside for me or the people at their tables with them...aka no one. We work in quiet as I fume.

*** (I have watched this women tell a 14 year old that the dog (Flag, a poor border collie who spends his days in a crate in her tinny office or in the back of her truck) can read and write. When the student pointed out that he was a bit old to buy that, she turns to me and asks me to back her up that the dog can read and write....I give her what I think can be described as a perplexed look and declare that I agree the dog is smarter that some of people around the school. (meaning her. The kid got it...she didn't) She just beamed and said that yep the dog could write letters....roll eyes)

***yes I am bitter that I am no longer allowed to bring my dog to school on Fridays and had to get rid of my class pet's because a new district no animal rule but she has decided she doesn't have to follow it because she is the SMS and her dog is her "therapy dog".****

Where were we....oh Friday afternoon, the crush of kindergarten. I am tired. I have good a good art teacher and painted with them the last two weeks and done the really complicated quilt project. So I read them "Don't let the Pigeon Stay up Late" and we learned how to draw birds (pigeons) and decorated them for bedtime. All the kindergarteen teachers have commented on the cute rianforest birds we made...whatever. For once I was not in tears by the end of all three classes.

If for some miraculous reason I forget why I want to switch schools...all I need to do is read about this week and be reminded that the school I'm at is NOT the right match for me. They can get some brand new teacher who is desperate for a job and doesn't know better to put up with their crap next year.

January project progress/week 4 lessons

Wow it has been a long and grueling last three weeks. Perhaps the hardest three weeks I have had aside from my very first month of teaching, I'll say even harder because back then I just didn't know what I was doing. Now I do know what I'm doing and they are still reducing me to tears, migraines and being physically ill by the end of the day. We have made some progress on our theme of the month of "think warm" though.

5th grade: The weaving unit that will NEVER end. We looked at a PowerPoint and then video's from U-tube to learn all about weaving. We practiced weaving with paper. We tried weaving paper baskets which was way to hard and flopped so instead we wove friendship bracelets (BIG hit) and did circular weaving on plates. One class is STILL trying to get their plate weaving done. I have told them we are not having choice day till we get through this stupid weaving issue. The other 5th grade (the one I see twice a week) made the peace dove paintings this week and they turned out really well and the kids were surprisingly into them, they loved using the "big kids" watercolor sets and choosing their peace quotes. Class one will finish their circle weaving. Class two will talk about quilting and on day one (and possibly day two) make a Faith Ringgold memory quilt bock and learn about the use of quilts in the underground railway and how Ringgold uses them now to tell the story of African Americans. If done in time we will read Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and look at this great website that has a glossary of what different types of quilt squares might have meant. I also like how they have make their sample pictures for some of the quilts. It looks like they have used crayon wax resit to make each part look like fabric. I think I'll print up four designs (see below) and have the kids use the wax resit method to make one block to go with our memory blocks.

4th grade: choice day confusion put us a week behind but both groups are also almost done with their weaving units. both have now done paper weaving, one with warm and cool color paper that they made and one with regular paper. Group 2 is doing small paper plate weaving that we should get done this week. Thank god. Other group will make a Faith Ringgold memory quilt block.


3rd grade: has been a battle royal with two out of three groups, which is odd, usually 3rd grade is the happiest of grades, but this group was not very happy as a whole last year and seem to continue to have issues with each other. Anyway we got through our paper weaving and we did some found object weaving on cardboard looms. We also talked about hibernating bears and learned how to draw a brown bear and a polar bear and made a Arctic watercolor back ground for our polar bears. One group should have had choice day this week but started arguing with each other, pouting and acting like pre-scholars within the first 10 min of class and had choice day removed till next week when we will try again. We will end with our 'quilt' unit by reading Tar Beach written by and featuring the work of Faith Ringgold (good tie in to celebrating African American artists with MLK day and Black History month coming up) We will draw, paint or collage a memory we have and then put a paper quilt boarder around the edge. I will pre cut squares of scrapbook paper for that part because of what we learned about our scissors and fabric with second grade...see bellow.

2nd: We did paper weaving. We learned about hibernating brown bears thanks to OLD BEAR, we learned to draw and paint a brown bear. We painted a background for our bear. We read Grandmother Winter and talked about quilts and started cutting and pasting fabric to make crazy quilts. We learned that our scissors are crap and only a 1/4 of them cut fabric and my paper cutter is too dull to cut fabric and well, it's going to take two classes to finish cutting the fabric. I'm not giving up though. We will cut, glue and then use markers to make the 'stitching' on every one's patch for our large class quilt. If I get time I will try to pre-cut some fabric for them. Quilting will take us till the end of the month.

1st grade: Let's see we did a collage scarf with pattern to go with A Snowy Day and a painting with Old Bear, this week we read Grandmother winter and started a quilt "puzzle" as the kids are calling them where they have to cut, find the matching color word and shape and glue the quilt square together. It will take us another week to get these done with maybe a little free draw time at the end. That will get us till the end of the month.

kinder: We started the month with some grandmother winter and quilt puzzle squares that turned out really well but where very time intensive on my part. Then we practiced our primary colors with kinder Kandinsky paintings last week. This week we looked at different types of lines and used watercolor paint to make a line collection painting. I realized we had not worked with watercolors at ALL this year. Yikes. Not sure what we will do this week. I want to work on shape again so I think we will use shapes to build cars and trucks and other things that move. Fantasy vehicles so to speak. I will have templates of different shapes for them to trace around and then color in. A variation (made easier for our limited time) of this lesson from Deep Space Sparkle. On the other hand I'm not sure how into trucks and cars some of the girls will be. Sorry if that sounds sexist...maybe I should go with something more gender neutral like this bird but made with shapes that we can trace from a template. They just don't have the small moter control yet to draw on their own...I tried it with the 2nd grade earlier this year and they barely could draw the birds.
. or

as for the 6-8th graders they finished up their painted landscapes, and their Greek pottery. They are now working on their their paper mosaics and I'm working on squeezing some money out of the school for a real mosaic for the library. The Romans were interested in portraiture and making faces look unique. We are going to learn to draw faces using the grid method.

I first did this with a group of 5th grade students four years ago and they loved it and they turned out well. For that project we used images of people playing sports.

Then three years ago I did it with a group of 7th graders using photos of themselves. They HATED the project. This year I will not force the kids to draw themselves. I will let them choose from a random selection of interesting faces. Sometimes its just having to look at a photo of themselves and feel like it is not turning out to look JUST like them that creates the roadblock. I have learned since my last attempt to print one or two inch grids onto overhead transparencies and then lay that on top of the picture, that helps the kids get a correct gird and not get stressed about drawing their own. Second I have learned to only let them do a 1:1 ratio or a 1:2 ratio. Any larger than that and we have issues with distortion and propitiation.


The mosaic and grid drawing should take us to the end of January, meaning two weeks of Greece, two weeks on Roam and then we will start our two weeks on China that will cumeulate end about the same day as the start of the Chinease New Year!

Hair rosettes

I'm really enjoying making new hair rosette accessory for my etsy shop. As much as I love the idea of having a separate Sweet Saffron shop I believe I need to list my stuff in my primary shop. I read on etsy that soon they will allow you to control both shops from one account...maybe this merge will allow people to see my positive feedback better. Till then I'll just say all my flowers are Sweet Saffron for Apples love oranges.

My views on my kids headbands were slow coming but are starting to build. I wonder how my adult/teen stuff will do. For now I am just enjoying making them and playing with the color pallets. If nothing else I think they will be good to take to craft shows and last Thursday.

It is so exciting to play around with the colors available to me in monochromatic, analogous and complimentary color combination. Then it is fun to name them. I am trying to go with color pallets that are inspired by the Oregon landscape.

So far I have:
June berry: raspberry, strawberry and blackberry colored rosettes.

Moss and Ivy: inspired by a walk in the temperate rain forest's of the Pac NW, shades of green and a touch of brown.

Storm Warming : inspired by storm watching at the Oregon Coast. Stormy Sky's, steal gray waves, turquoise sea glass, the power and fascination of the open ocean. Blues, gray and a touch of teal.

Jewel Box: inspired by the colors of India. Saffron yellow, a peacock turquoise, elephant gray and tropical pink. If I had a Sari I would want it in these colors.

Antique Rose: A late spring day in the Portland Rose garden. Antique, dusty rose or mauve color with one accent moss green.

Terra Firma: The colors of the earth. Goldenrod yellow, rust orange, chocolate brown, river rock gray.

The Aurora: all red and crystals. Makes me think of princesses Aurora pricking her finger on the spinning wheel and a drop of blood falling on crystalline snow...I suppose I could call it true blood if I wanted to go with the vampire thing..

Still to come...
lets do something vampire like so I'll do the
True Blood in red, black and gray

River rock: white, black and gray

June Bride: White, white and white with pearls, crystals and a bit of tulle

Bruised Ego: purple and blacks

lessons for third week january

lessons for third week of January
Monday: NO School
No life skills this week

Tuesday:
4th: Both have had choice day now
1st period, weave warm and cool color papers together
2nd period: circle weave on paper plates
cut an ODD number of slits, number slits, start at one, go accross plate to middle number, latch around slit behind to come up next number, go back to two, repeat and then weave.

add some beads and decorate the edge of the plate or cut it off and mount it on tag board....we'll see what we end up doing.

nice step by step directions by oddles of art

*yarn
*beads
*fabric scraps
*plastic sacks
*cheepo toilet paper from school restroom twisted into cords

3rd and 5th period:
Finish Greek pottery project, do filler landscape painting, mount painting if done early start pre-sketch for Roman mosaic project

6th period:
3rd grade Masi: choice day
3rd grade Hunter: draw polar bear, cut out, add to arctic painting from prior week our attempt at this project
mount on black paper with correct label.
If 10 min or less extra time we will have choice draw
if more than 10 min we will make some quick painted paper for collage

Thanks to this group I have learned how to say, "do not eat the salt," in Spanish
No comer la sal or something like that

Wednesday:
late start staff development

3rd-5th period:
6-8th Roman mosaic powerpoint, sketch out simple design, start cutting construction paper and making mosaic

6th, 7th and 8th period:
1st grade: sponge brown paint on bear (one plate one sponge per table pass around) as students are cutting out paper for quilt


Thursday:
5th grade:
1st period-scrap paper basket weaving and weave on paper plate like 4th grade
2nd period- work on this project
from that artist women...I don't like this dove to be honest so students will choose from these two templates

day one will be putting the paint on and the saran wrap, choose three quotes to watercolor over.

3rd and 5th period: Continue to work on mosaics

6th and 7th period: (2nd grade) Cut out bears. Make background with and glue bear on. If done early start cutting and gluing scraps of fabric for crazy quilt.


Friday:
5th grade: finish MLK dove project
3rd and 5th period: work on mosaic
Kindergarten: last week we did kinder Kandinsky, the kiddos are already reading and doing a project with The Mitten. I think we will read lines that wiggle and do the classic crayon and water color resist with different types of lines

Chinese new years art projects

Chinese new years art projects

this is the year of the tiger, or will be on Feb 14, a valentines new year. So we will do a week of valentines projects and also a week of new years projects.

Here are some ideas for Chinese new years

Link to carp outline

carp windsocks for 4th and 5th, painting or resist, can we use the large manila envelopes for the carp body? will need packs of pipe cleaners

dragon puppets


dragon puppets for 2nd and 3rd



link to how to make this puppet for 6-8th

fans



and a good old lantern:
although I bet arts and crafts class will do this after school

lucky bowl or oranges....do texture rubbing first to make texture, practice cutting circles, I think a good choice for kinder and 1st


an alternative project for 4th or 5th grade is this draw a tiger lesson from art projects for kids