Moonlight & Fireflies! by Grade 5

I found this awesome project on the following blog, http://elementaryartfun.blogspot.com/2011/03/fireflies-moonlit-landscape.html.  The fifth grade had a wonderful time creating their moonlight and fireflies! Check out the link if you want to see the steps they followed. Thanks to the talented art teacher for her creativity!!
So the fifth grade used tempra paint mixed with a pearlescent additive (to add shimmer) to paint the moon and its glow. They had to mix white and blue paint to get the shades of blue they desired for the glow of the moon. Then we talked about trees and lines and shapes. They used black paint for the trees and later added silver paint to give the illusion of highlights from the moon. Finally they drew and cut out fireflies to stick onto the artwork using an ingenious product called 3D-O's. They look like mini marshmallows that are sticky on the two opposite ends so that the bugs are actually lifted off the paper in a 3D effect. They painted the glow end of the bugs with yellow flourescent paint. Then they had fun adding silver and yellow dots to the papers using cotton swabs. This added a fun decorative quality to the final piece.

I think they are so cute! Next year I am going to invest in some glow-in-the-dark paint for some cool effects.