Wednesday, December 17, 2014

6th Grade Advisory Mid-Year Feedback



:)




5th Grade - Chalk Pastel Winter Wonderland!


'Tis the season for fun little winter projects!





5th Grade drew a winder landscape and then traced over their lines with glue. 
Some made snowmen on skies, others a quiet forest. 


When the glue dried, we used chalk pastels, focusing on blending techniques. 
The bright colors contrasted beautifully against the black paper. 



They turned out looking quite mysterious, just like a chilly winter night!

Monday, December 15, 2014

3rd & 4th Grade - Clay Coil Turtles

Several weeks ago 3rd & 4th graders made clay turtles using a coil technique. 

This week we are trying out a new way of coloring clay that I have seen all over the inter webs(thanks Pinterest!



After looking at many pictures of turtles on the iPads and noting their unique shell textures, we wanted to achieve this look on the clay turtles. So, instead of paint or glaze, we used crayons and then a wash of black watercolor. 




Students had to add several layers of crayon in order to fill in as much of the surface as possible. 




Here are a few finished turtles after their dive into the paint bucket!



We were all quite happy with the results, and I think will be experimenting with this some more! 


Tuesday, December 9, 2014

1st & 2nd - Yarn Wreaths



Here is a quick little project we worked on this week... 






I took some pool noodles that were left over from our summer camp program 
and cut them intoinch pieces. 




Next, we cut 3 foot pieces of yarn, tied on to the little rings, and wove the yarn all the way around. 


There is something very cozy that our 1st and 2nd graders LOVE about yarn! 


Friday, December 5, 2014

5th Grade - Group Sand Mandala

5th Graders studied the 5 major religions of the world in their classroom. So, to tie into this, we looked at Buddhist artwork, focusing on Mandalas. 


We watched this video of a time lapse making of a sand mandala
We loved it!


It started with a trip to the Wrightsville Beach to collect sand....




Students gathered sand in plastic bags, we then added RIT fabric dye....
Oh what fun it was to mosh the sand and dye together!  



We worked collaboratively to come up with one design. After researching the symbolism of colors used in sand mandalas, students carefully selected colors and object to include. 



From here, the mandala began to take shape... 





We identified some of the key Buddhist beliefs as being - self control, patience, and kindness. 
These traits were all present in the making of our mandala! 






Out design represents the four seasons, with a tree changing colors. A sun is in the middle, and the whole image is surrounded by a blue border, representing the waterways surrounding our area - Cape Fear River & Atlantic Ocean. 







Here is our finished Mandala!



In true tradition, after the Mandala was finished we used brushes to swirl the sand together. 

The sand was then returned to the water, completing the cycle. 



Thursday, December 4, 2014

3rd & 4th - Under the Ocean


3rd & 4th Graders explored tints and shades by mixing deep sea colors. owwww....



Students selected an area to begin with a white circle. 
They gradually added small amounts of either blue or purple paint, working outward towards the edges of their papers. 




After the paint dried....




We cut out silhouettes of sea animals on black paper and glued them to out oceans. 


These turned out so wonderfully - sharks chasing little fishes, sea turtles swimming with jellyfish, and evan a few angelfish amongst the crowd!