Babushkas!

Students in Grade 3 and 4 have loved designing their own contemporary babushka doll sets.

Each 1 is unique and have been created using water colour pencils and fine liner. Students have themes including Super Heroes, the Incredibles, The Adams Family, Robots and many many more!

Students explored the tradition of Russian Nesting Dolls and the way the craft has spread globally. After much research students devised their own unique babushka sets.

As more are completed I'll post them too.

Scream!

My Grade 1 and 2's had so much fun exploring Munch's Scream, discussing their reaction and observations and creating their own personal scream works.

This isn't the most original lesson idea but it was the first time I'd done it. What I was amazed at was the reaction of students from all ages to the displays around the school. Having uniquely animated faces of students was a real crowd pleaser. Munch would be proud!

Warm and Cool Colours

I usually introduce Primary and Tertiary Colour theory to my Grade 1 students, with colour mixing activities and then revise again in Grade 2 with an extension including Cool and Warm colour tones.

This year during a school camp it became quite obvious that the older students had missed out on this fundamental colour lesson when only a few were able to name the primary colors as part of a trivia quiz.

So colour theory 101 it was in Grades 4-6.
When introducing the concept of warm and colours we took it fairly slowly and simply.
Warm colours: Red, Orange, Yellow
Cool colours: Blue, Green
Sometimes colour: Purple - Red purple (W)
                                          - Blue purple (C)

My Grade 4's loved this excercise!

Warm and Cool Colour Shapes: I found this lesson here http://www.mrsbrownart.com/3rd.htm

Fairytale Figurines

Grade Level: 4
Duration: 3, 50 minute lessons
Materials: PVA glue, Scissors, fabric remnants, wool, felt, googley eyes, 15cm tall wooden figurine (I bought them from Zart Art in Melbourne), paper/Vvsual diary and grey lead and coloured pencils, several fairy tale picture story books as references.

Lesson 1: Read Roahld Dahl's Revolting Rhymes as a stimulus to the fairy tale theme.
Brainstorm the various characters from familiar fairy tales.

Students then select a fairy tale character- try to make sure no double ups and they create a full colour design/draft in their visual diary.

Lesson 2: Students complete their draft and them begin creation of their figurine. Using PVA, fabric remnants and any other collage materials students creat their own unique fairy tale character.

Lesson 2: Students complete their figurine and then begin their reflections.
Students pair up and conduct interviews.
Asking questions such as:
             Who is your charachter?
             What are you most happy with?
             What did you find challenging? etc...
Students then report back to the whole class or small group (if time is limited) sharing the reflections of their partner. This ensures active listening not just active sharing.

Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland

Fairy and Tinkerbell

Peter the Pumpkin Eater

Robin Hood

Red Riding Hood

Cinderella

Pop Art

This year my Grade 5 students have been focusing on Pop Art.

Term 1 they covered some basic Pop Art History, being introduced to Wahol and Litchenstein's portraiture and the concept of the everyday becoming art.

Using a light box students reproduced a Pop Art inspired portrait, rendering with either pencil or water coloured pencils. The finished works were breathtaking. Every student experienced success creating a vivid work representing the characteristics of the Art movement.

In Term 2, I extended the student's understanding of the movement, introducing Pop Art sculpture. After exploring the way scale was played with by Wahol students created their own Pop Art ceramic sculptures. Students were encouraged to create everyday objects in a greatly exaggerated scale. So we had miniature couches, giant hamburgers and hollow cupcakes. The students really embraced the projects and have all taken away a deeper understanding of the revolution that was Pop Art.

Introducing Me

Hi All,

I have created this space as a way to make connections with other creative educators across the world.

As the only Art specialist at my primary school in Sandringham Melbourne making connections and sharing creative ideas can be challenging.

This blog, I'm hoping will be an opportunity to share some of my creative experiences and those of my students.

I've been teaching now for 3 years as an Art specialist, and there's nothing else I'd rather do!
I get to share a creative journey with over 430 students from ages 5-12 years. As most primary aged students the kids at my school are eager to get in and get messy every week in their art lesson

We explore art making, art theory and a bit of art history. I have tried to formalize the learning through the introduction of Visual Diary's from Grades 3-6. These creative journals capture a students designs, drafts, doodles and reflections over the 4 year period.

The younger year levels get to explore basic colour theory, mixing and of course art making using dry and wet media and paper construction. I introduce students to verbal reflection on their own artworks then build on these to form reflective conversations in small and large groups. These conversations help to formulate a Art vocabulary and to explore constructive reflective discussion.

We participate in community based art projects and competitions. I will hopefully create some spaces to showcase these efforts.

Thanks for your interest
Leanne