Happy Halloween!

This year, I've started creating and implementing six-week units that draw inspiration from the Common Core themes. Halloween falls right after the first unit, so some of my classes took the week off to work on special Halloween projects. In other classes, students managed to get in spooky themes even though their long-term assignments weren't Halloween-based! Here are a few of my favorites: 

Annabelle, Grade 4

Back to School!

I've survived the first week back at Saint Ann School.  I'd forgotten how nice it is to be a second-year teacher - you go in and already know the school, the faculty and staff, and most of the kids.  I failed in last year's goal of remembering every child's name, so we started with a name tag project that I hope will help get me off on the right foot this year.  I'm also looking forward to starting an Artsonia gallery for the school, taking a fall field trip to the Met, and possibly scheduling a school-wide art show.

But in the meanwhile, have some art from last year...

 

 Stained Glass Windows, Our Lady of Angels 5th Grade

Why I Teach Art

 

 This may be my favorite picture ever.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The third grade at Saint Ann School went on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I'd gone in and done a dry run the day before to ensure it would go smoothly - and it did!  The rain even went away in time for us to eat lunch on the museum steps before our tour.

The Met is much more formal about their classroom visits than the National Gallery in DC, with good reason - the Met is much more crowded, so they need the extra organization.  They were great about greeting the class and explaining the rules of the museum.  The Met has an admission fee, but because we're a Title I school, the trip was free.  I was also given free family vouchers to hand out to the kids at the end of our visit, which was especially neat.

First, we visited paintings by two artists the kids had studied in class.  In the Modern wing, we looked at works by Georgia O'Keeffe, discussing why she painted her famous flowers so large and how her love for the landscape of New Mexico influenced her work.  The kids had fun walking around the adjoining rooms and looking at the other pictures as well.

Next, we headed up to the 19th Century galleries.  There, we saw 'Circus Sideshow' by Seurat.  The kids had studied pointillism, specifically 'A Sunday on La Grande Jatte'.  I had a copy to remind them - we compared and contrasted the two paintings, and got to see Seurat's unique technique up close.  The kids were also excited to see the several Van Gogh's in the room, especially his self-portrait.

Finally, we went down to the Egyptian wing.  The students hadn't studied Egyptian art this year (5th and 6th grade did), but I feel taking a kid to the Met for the first time and not taking them to see that amazing collection is criminal.  First we looked at a sarcophagus (and compared it to a Roman one we'd passed upstairs).  Next, we looked at mummies, learning a bit about heart scarabs.  Finally, we walked over to the Temple of Dendur - my favorite part. The kids got a chance to roam around for ten minutes, and learned a little bit about the temple and the female pharaoh Hatshepsut.

It ended up being a great field trip, thanks to Ms. Gagliardi, the small and well-behaved class, and our two parent chaperones.  Also, thanks to Lynn at Creative Classrooms and Ms. Flores at Saint Ann's for helping secure the museum date and bus!  

To Boldly Go

What your geeky teacher may have been working on during her lunch break.

Art Room Wishlist

As much as I've loved my various schools, being in many different classrooms has given me an appreciation for the things that make an art room work.  Here are a few basics that would appear in my dream classroom.

 

Egyptian Cat Mummies

 

lesson source

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

-Robert Frost

*Lesson by Joan Sterling, Feb. 2009 ed. of artsandactivities

Chagall's Valentine

For Valentine's Day, I like to challenge my older classes by introducing them to Marc Chagall.  In the past, when I was working with middle school students taking art as an elective, this led to soft, lovely, thoughtful pastel paintings that were clearly influenced by the themes and images used in Chagall's work.

My current middle school classes are not electives, but instead are classes every student is required to take.  This makes things more challenging (ever dealt with a seventh grader who has no interest in what you're teaching?), but also leads to the occasional moment of brilliance.

The first week, I introduced the students to Marc Chagall by giving them a quick rundown of his biography.  Classes usually get invested once World War II occurs.  I stopped to wait until one sixth grade class quieted down, right at the point where Chagall almost gets stuck in France as the Nazis are invading.  One kid blurted out to his classmates, "Shut up - it's getting interesting!"  Also, I'm pretty sure 90% of the students will have forgotten Chagall's name in the two weeks that have passed, but I'm pretty sure the same 90% will remember his wife's name was Bella.  Thanks, Twilight.

Next, we looked at Chagall's painting 'I and the Village' together.  (And here, may I say - the Smartboard is such an asset for art classes.)  Finally, I had them break up into groups.  Each group was given an image by Chagall.  They were to list figures, objects, the setting, and colors used.  Afterwards, each group presented their findings to the class.  I hadn't done any in-depth art history or analysis with these six classes before, and I was pretty pleased with most of them, both in terms of behavior and critical thinking.

Now that we had identified some themes in his work - from his childhood in a Russian village, to living in Paris as an adult, to couples getting married or in love, to the elements of fantasy included by blending these themes into a single picture -  the assignment was to create one's own image inspired by Chagall. 

As always, I see lots of marauding sheep, lots of green people, lots of human-faced cats, giant chickens, and Eiffel Towers.  We're still working on our pictures, but I wanted to share one in particular, which perhaps doesn't quite follow the assignment, but made me smile anyway...

Happy Valentine's.