In my excitement for pumpkin season students made and decorated there own paper pumpkins. kiddos traced a template pumpkin and then carefully cut it out. We worked on setting up our work station and followed steps to proceed with this lesson.  Daubing yellow and orange to achieve each child’s desired effect. After these dried then faces were added as well as a stem.

Children learn about AB, ABC,ABBA and so on… pattern making. Circle square circle square is ABAB. With manageable sized cut sponges in different shapes the kiddos experimented.

We went to Jerry’s Artarama last weekend. Mostly to get supplies for making art but also for the free ice cream, Wonder Craft recycled project and a hip kid band. A fun day was had by all. I love this art supply store it is big and it has a lot of great artist supplies. ( not so much of the crafty stuff that Hobby Lobby or Micheals might have. I buy some of my screen printing supplies and nice printing paper. And of course my husband Scott gets great deals on large canvas’s and oil paint.

The Wonder Craft mobile was there and I was curious about that so I sent the kids over to make art with the nice ladies in the air stream. The craft was made with recycled materials so it was free. Yeah! I thought the crafting went well and the kids enjoyed it! What a great concept. The Wonder Craft rides around and parks where needed and offers cool projects and class like upcycled soda can jewelry and sculpting polymer clay. See more details at www.thewondercraft.com

Visit to the Museum

My kids and I went to the Austin Museum of Art on Saturday. The exhibit was Chuck Close who likes to blow up photographs of his friends  faces and turn them into art. The huge tapestries and photographs were so crystal clear  and big you thought they were going to blink or breath at any moment. My kids did need to be reminded not to touch and to keep there voices low. Even as an art teacher mom you would think they should know that by now. The art however did not engage us  as well as the Family Fun Room did. If you have been to the museum you know what I am talking about. The small room to the left of the entrance where families can get hand on materials to make art. The materials and focus relies on the exhibits strengths, in this case there were magnifying glasses and objects to take a closer look at. The Family Fun Room kept us busy for an hour and a half. I read art books drew my finger print under close scrutiny, helped my kids draw a self portrait and examined may thing under a microscope. Thumbs up for the family Fun Room! Go to the museum its fun!

I am back at Primavera teaching kidos amazing things. I say amazing because to them it really is amazing to listen to the crunching snapping sound that cutting a straw makes and that a line is a point moving in space.

Kinders got a lesson on scissor safety , how to hold a scissor and how not to hold a scissor. We exercised our fingers for thirty minutes cutting straws, string, card stock and circles. Cutting with scissors takes good dexterity keep you children practicing at home. Pick sturdy paper and prepare it in manageable size pieces for them to cut. Use real scissors . Ask your kido to cut you out the perfect circle if needed trace a can for an outline and then have them follow the line. Play dough is also really fun to cut.

1st and 2nd graders started  out with a discussion on what is art, what famous artist they were aware of and what is there favorite color and why. The unique answers are what keeps me coming back to teaching art to children. Ask yourself what your favorite color is and why and teach your kids the vocabulary to express it. My favorite color is purple because it is luscious, deep,and makes me feel happy and comfortable.  I want to be wrapped in a rich purple velour blanket. Color is absolutely associated with feelings. We will discuss this in the weeks to come.

I decided that today was going to be the day that I go to Habitat For Humanity. And the kids are coming with me! Lots of people have told me to go there and now I know why. No I do not need doors. I actually was looking for tiles for a mosaic project. Wondering through the aisles we saw many interesting things. The kids had lots of questions and suddenly i noticed Lex picked up a piece of metal tubing (for dryer vents?) that he had to have. My first instinct was really.. you have to have this THING this piece of accordion tubing?? yeah mom we could make something out of this. Yes we could. Yes we could. And we decided on robots instantly.

Lucia my 5 year old made this one.

Lex's Robot

 Can you tell which ugly doll Lex and i made?

This is going to be a great way for me to communicate with Primavera families and everyone else taking my Home Studio Art Camps. Stay tuned while I get this organized.

Title: School Starts!
Location: Primavera Montessori
Description: Classes begin!
Start Time: 8:00
Date: 2009-08-24