Owls & Fireflies

Do you remember the book, Sam and the Firefly? Well, it's an oldie for sure...

It was one of my favorite books as a child. The pictures were so much fun in my eyes. I loved how the story took place at night and how the illustrator used dark pages with bright yellow to show the glow of the moon, eyes, and fire fly. I remember my grandmother reading it to me. I came aross it and decided to share it with my kinders. Then, we did a fun crayon resist project, drawing owls and fire flies and then painting over it with a cool glowy, nighttime, green watercolor paint. 

I think they are adorable, and love the bright yellow moons, owl eyes,  and fire fly bottoms!

I know school has been over for a bit, but I just came across these pictures on my computer and decided to share.

I hope all my fellow art teachers are enjoying (or enjoyed, if you are back already) their summer. I have one month left! Looking forward to hearing about all your fabulous lessons and hope to be sharing more of mine as I look to the fall.

And so It Begins...

Well, my room is just about ready. It is always a work in progress as I move through the school year, but it is ready for students next Tuesday.

This year I was inspired by all the great art blogs I follow. They all had so many great posters and displays. So I set about creating my own.

I found the best set of simple rules ever, thanks to,
http://teachkidsart.blogspot.com/2011/08/rules-to-live-by-both-in-and-out-of-art.html

I then set about creating an information wall for my students to use throughout the year. I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

Also, I am working on lessons about Van Gogh for my middle school classes. I'm working on setting up an area dedicated to artists we study.

This year I hung spirals of paper over each table. The students will be sitting at either the red, yellow, or blue table! I'm pleased with what I see so far! It's exciting to be back getting ready for a new year. Our school has had about 40 new students enter the school this year through all grades, K - 8. I'm looking forward to meeting them! It's always fun to meet new people, especially art students.

I also bought some new books to develop an art-themed library in my room. I have a whole dream list of books, but here are some picture books and drawing books I will be beginning my collection with this year.

I know many teachers have already started and I hope they have had a great start to their year. Good luck to all the teachers, students, and parents out there starting school soon! Have a wonderful year!