Frida Kahlo

This year I decided to do something different on the first day of art class with my high school students.  Since the kids' schedules changed a lot the first week of school, I saved the important info. until I knew my class was set.  So instead of rules and information I did a directed drawing lesson using pastels.  

I consider directed drawing lessons as swimming in the "shallow end" of the pool and figure I need to gain their trust before I send them to  the "deep end" later.

(Note- When we do directed drawing lessons, I tell students they're free to make their own changes if they're inspired to do so.)

 Right now I've been blessed with an adorable 8th Grade teacher's assistant.  She's in my room 3 times/week helping me prep for lessons and putting up artwork, and she's a wonderful artist!  She made the sign above:)

Colors & more Colors

Students creating their own colors 

My high school students made their own color wheels using only Blue, Yellow, Red, Black, White.
I was very glad another teacher gave me the direction to follow this order of ingredients when creating tints, shades, and tones:
Tint:  Add color to white  (adding white to the color wastes more paint)
Shade:  Add black to color  (adding black to the color wastes more paint)
Tone: Add grey to color

 

 Then they made an attempt to match colors on a paint chip strip.  Still, only using primary colors and black & white.  I told them they could keep painting over their colors as many times as they wanted before the bell rang.  Most kept making corrections until time was up.  It was fun to watch.

1st Grade Lines, Shape, Primary Colors

.Good Golly, I haven't posted since July 15th....hope I remember how to do this.

New year and new schedule for me.  For the past seven years I've been bouncing around as an Artist-In-Residence (or Art Docent, different schools used different titles) at many different schools and grades throughout the school year.  No two years in a row have been the same.  My contracts would often overlap one another, but I made sure to rarely book myself at two schools on the same day.  One year I had 6 contracts overlapping for a 2.5 month stretch.  That meant juggling the grades and schedules of 6 different schools, going to a different one everyday.  It was too much, the art lessons were great, but everything else wasn't.  I was putting the milk in the cupboard, losing my keys, wearing one black & one brown sock, etc. 
This year I'm at one school with a classroom that I share with a Math teacher and Journalism teacher who both graciously let me takeover the walls and room w/ my art stuff.  I teach 2 high school beginning art classes, and 7 elementary classes.  It's very part-time, technically only 2.5 hours/day, but you know how that goes.  It's 2.5 hours with kids and a whole lotta time with materials, the computer, the copy machine, the bulletin boards, the other teachers for discussing students, and of course my best friend the paper cutter.
Two weeks into my new schedule and all is well:)

Here is the line, shape, and primary colors lesson for 1st graders.  Kids practiced on scratch paper first making One Line, with One Shape in it, 3 times on their paper.  Some found this quite difficult.  Encouragement to use most the paper was necessary too, otherwise there were 3 tiny lines and shapes on big piece of paper.
The assignment was to make 3 lines with a shape, then color with primary colors.  Students could darken their black lines if they wished.

Thanks NCCS 1st graders!