Art Games

Last quarter I introduced a few art games into class.  I was inspired by our school's dedication  to developing the "whole child" as well as our fabulous drama teacher that constantly plays games with her kids.  As someone who grew up in a pretty average middle class family (who loves playing board games!) I didn't realize how much kids learn from play until we had Game Day at the Incarcerated Youth Program.  The kids at IYP were so excited about playing but also had a hard time with simple things like sharing, accepting losing, and taking turns.  It was a wild and memorable day as students passionately fought for their positions!  I recently introduced 3 new games to my 5th and 6th graders- scrutineyes (a where's waldo type game), Bubble Talk (similar to Apples to Apples only with photos and captions) and Telestrations (which is like the game telephone only with illustrations, my personal favorite of the bunch).  They were a big hit, I plan on incorporate more games into class as the year goes on.  

3 vessels

5th graders created their own vessels.  We started with a basic pinch pot and then experimented to come up with original designs including etched symbols that represent the artist.  Once they dried, we painted them with acrylics and sponge painted gold on top to create a shiny glow.

Celebration Photos

Prior to coming to Capital City, I had never heard of expeditionary learning and I definitely had never heard of a Celebration of Learning.  Celebration of Learning is an important part of the expeditionary school model.  From what I understand, as a COL newbie, is that they usually happen to celebrate student process and products.  The process and demonstration of learning is as important as final products and students are expected to be able to present some part of their work to families, friends, and other vested parties.  Our COL was truly celebratory as students raced around the day of to put the final touches on their products and prepare their classrooms for presentations.  It was really exciting to see students EXCITED about subjects like math, science and humanities.  In my classroom, I had both gallery displays set up demonstrating our process and products but also stations set up where students could physically show their families how to make artworks.  Watching student presentations really gave me a good gauge on how well students had learned artmaking techniques.  It was a wonderful night.  Below are some pictures from the night.

Celebration of Learning!

Capital City Middle School is celebrating student learning with an open house tonight from 5:30-7:30.  I will have art workshops open and art on display for friends and families to enjoy.  Please stop by if you are in the neighborhood!

Looted/Disputed Objects

 The final set of looted and disputed objects.  I think they turned out well!  Some quotes from their reflections:

"I created a piece called the Euphronious Krater, which is a vessel used to mix wines"
"I think the best part is my background because I took my time to draw and paint it"
"I learned about designs and colors commonly found in Peruvian art."
"You had to use colors to represent your country, you had to use a shape that represented your place and you had to have the artifact on the painting"
"I used colors that appeared a lot in Mexican culture and I painted examples of their patterns."
"I like the silhouette best because it shows how detailed and unique my looted object is."
"I struggled with the painting, there were only a few main colors for Mexico and I tried not to paint the same pattern of colors"

Completed Looted/Disputed Art

Some students completed artworks this week, some will finish next week.  I love these!

Work in Progress: Letters

 7th graders working on their letters.  They are in the final steps, gesso-ing then painting.  Final pictures will be posted in the next week or so!

NAEA National Convention 2013!

Pic from the convention last year in NYC

I just got word that Capital City will help me go to the National Art Education Association's National Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, March 7-10.  I can't wait to go! Last year I made it to a number of different speakers focused mainly on educating at-risk and incarcerated youth.  This year I hope to focus on teaching methodologies and materials workshops.

Letter Stamps

5th grade students have completed their stamps!  They created stamps of a letter of someone or something that is important to them.  Many choose their initials or initials of family members.  I really love how these turned out!