Several years ago at a conference, I was inspired by a Statue of Liberty Unit that another art teacher had done with her middle school students. I had a copy of her visual packet (it did not copy well so I ended up borrowing images and using books to show most of the visuals) but little else for the unit. The theme of our summer school this year is 'History of America' so the Statue of Liberty was a perfect topic. A couple of years ago, we had the same theme and I focused on Abraham Lincoln, this year I wanted to pull out that packet and my notes from the conference and develop it into something really great. 

Day 2 Today we started sketching ideas for a Statue of Liberty inspired painting. Students could honor the symbolism of the original artist, or they could inspiration from examples by Peter Max---American pop artist, who paints the Statue of Liberty every 4th of July OR Romearo Britto---and his red-white-blue painting of the lady liberty entitled 'Freedom'. I encouraged students to draw 3-4 versions on a piece of 9X12 paper, we folded it into 4 squares so they would have lots of practice spots. Once they had settled on an idea, they needed to transfer it to 12X18 colored construction paper. This was a great way to use up those faded, old pieces of construction paper. I encouraged them to draw BIG and LIGHTLY and make sure to add a background. Once their drawing was sketched on the big paper, they were ready to paint. Not everyone was ready on day 2, so I encouraged early finishers to use modeling clay to make their own Statue of Liberty for fun! Some students wanted to focus on the torch, instead of drawing the face----I let them do that in this project, but if you were focusing on the portrait you might want to be specific about your expectations. 

Day 3 For the first day of painting, I encouraged students to paint the background first. I always do this with bigger paintings, because they tend to jump right to the main subject and neglect the background....but by painting the background first, they are forced to plan it out in advance, and it helps them to finish everything on time! One big thing----if they decided to paint fireworks or lots of small stars or something like that, they need to either choose a background color that works (like purple or black), or they need to paint the entire background before starting on the tiny sparks of the fireworks. Several students ran out of time because they started with the fireworks and then tried to paint around each little 'dash'. Once the background base layer is painted, they can mix up a special 'green', or paint the 'skin' of the statue however they want. I encouraged them to save outlining and small details like the eyes, nose, and mouth for the next day so that the base layer could dry properly. 

Day 4 Final details! Today was our last day for painting so I brought out the silver, gold, and copper metallic paint so students could give their painting a little sparkle! This was a great chance to jazz up the background with fireworks---I showed an example of how to paint them with a thin brush using lots of dashes and small lines. I also think these paintings look great when they are outlined in black paint---so I encouraged them to either use a small brush with black paint, or at least go back and draw the details on in black sharpie if they painted right over the eyes and nose last time. 

NOTE: One girl who is a GIFTED artist, was struggling with this project. I know that she is really good at animals so I said, 'You could just use the statue's pose as inspiration....and make an animal' instead!' She came up with the OH-SO-CUTE cat below! She spent so long drawing it that she ran out of time for painting---she colored hers with construction paper crayons instead. I LOVE IT!

If you are considering this unit, check out my PinBoard with lots of visuals and ideas!

Yes, I do hang up a few 'line' drawings of coloring sheets and even a few step-by-step drawing tools---especially on a project we only have a few days to work on, it helps them stay on track and get done on time so that they aren't spending a lot of class time 'figuring out' what to draw....I also have lots of books, visuals and examples by artists for inspiration. 

This year the summer school theme is 'Countries of the World'. It only took me a couple of minutes to decide on New Zealand. When I was in college, I got to visit New Zealand for a couple of days and it was amazing!

Since I have my 4th-6th grade students 4 days in a row for one hour and fifteen minutes each day, I knew that it was important to provide them with a multitude of activities. Also, students aren't always there every day since the program is for enrichment, so I have to develop a unit of study that is flexible if a kid misses one day (or more). I pasted my daily lesson plans for the week below, but I added one addition element to keep things flowing.

Much like my Abraham Lincoln Enrichment Unit from last summer, I knew I wanted to reward the students who completed every single task for the week. I designed a sheet of art badges for my students to keep track of their progress as they completed each activity and mastered each skill for the week. Some activities we did together (like the 1st video on the S'more flyer below) and other activities they had to master on their own: Like learning the New Zealand te ao kori games: hipitoitoi and hei tama tu tama. On the last day, they could turn in their badge sheet for a reward: for every 3 badges they earned, they got to select a piece of candy or small school supply (like a sticker or eraser) up to five total.

I know, I know, I probably shouldn't give out candy....but it is summer school and I wanted to reward the kids that worked extra hard and provide some incentive to the slackers. ;-)

Overall, I've been really impressed with the results of the 18X24" Kuro paintings which were inspired by this Pinterest pin and this artsonia gallery. A great coloring page of the Koru can be found here. We've been using neon paints and I gave the students the choice between red, black and white as their base paper color.

I haven't been as impressed with the Crayola air dry clay. I like the texture of it, but it breaks so easily after it dries that it really isn't good for necklaces, it just isn't as tough as real, fired clay, but I opted for it for this project because I needed something that would be ready in a couple of days.

Monday: Introduce the art of New Zealand and demonstrate how to use the S'more flyer. Explain how the badges work. Sketch ideas for clay necklace using handouts and visuals on the S’more flyer. (students watch the video and read about carving on their own.) https://www.smore.com/b5z1m/edit?ref=show_author

Supplies: Pencils, erasers, handouts, copies for free time, iPads, 8X12 white paper

Tuesday: Create clay necklace pendant out of air dry clay. When finished, use S’more flyer to learn about Maori painting designs. Sketch an idea for painting, could be Koru or design inspired by Maori facial tattoos.

Supplies: Air dry clay, needle tools or pencils, iPads, 8X12 white paper for sketching, markers for adding color to sketch a plan for the painting, pencils and erasers, visuals

Wednesday: Field Trip

Thursday: Begin painting (using sketch). Draw on big paper, start with a 2-3 colors, paint the large areas. If desired, paint clay necklace, or put on string and take home.

Supplies: Twine for necklaces, paint, brushes, 18X24" paper for painting

Friday: Finish painting, add details and dots, outline some spots with permanent markers. Use iPads to learn more about New Zealand and play some New Zealand games if desired. Turn in badge sheet for rewards. Paint clay necklace and take home if you didn't yesterday.

Supplies: Paint, permanent markers, brushes, iPads, games for free time, candy for games

The first set of pictures are from the students going into 6th grade next year and the pictures in the slide show are students who just finished 3rd grade. I still have 2 more weeks of summer school, I can't wait to see what the students come up with!

For the first time ever, I came back from Spring Break without a carefully crafted schedule of lessons to finish out the year for my kindergarten through 4th grade students. I'll admit I had vaguely written 'Ocean art' on my lesson plans...but that was about as far as I had gotten prior to my week off. When I walked in the building Tuesday morning, I went through everything in my ocean art visual packet, hoping to pull out the perfect lesson plan based on something that I've already taught.

When I wasn't impressed by any of my old lessons, I started to search Pinterest for something to help me figure out a plan for my K-4 classes. I would never condone planning an entire unit for 5 grade levels on such short notice, but between my master's classes, a spring break wedding, and getting caught up from snow days, prepping for art shows and other stuff going on at school, the lesson planning took a backseat. Fortunately, I was able to wave my creative wand and prep an amazing unit--I channeled the pressure to develop something great as my muse. I didn't over think the lessons, I just kept them very basic and it was a very successful unit. I narrowed down the topics and objectives that we have already covered this year, and I was able to hone in on the needs of individual grade levels. Planning for 5 grades requires a lot of prep, especially if every grade is using a different media. This can be a real headache if you are setting up special supplies for each group that comes through the door.

Basically, I selected a different subject matter for each grade, but the process was relatively the same for each. I added a little more emphasis on 'cool colors vs. warm colors' for some grades, while others were introduced to adding salt to the water, or focusing on texture or craftsmanship. The process involved a guided drawing lesson, followed by some painting, and then the following week, we colored and outlined with oil pastels and then used a little more watery paint for the water.

I hung everyone's artwork in the hall, because the entire unit was so successful. Working with 18X18 paper made for a very large colorful installation which makes the entire building look cheerful and happy.

You may have gotten a sneak peak at this unit on my instagram: @nelliemaeii

3rd grade--18X18 white paper, draw sea turtle in pencil, draw lots of texture on the shell. Outline in sharpie. Paint the body of the turtle with neon green tempera paint.

Week 2
Use oil pastels to color the shell. I encouraged mostly 'hot' colors, but some used browns and neutrals which looked nice too. I encouraged lots of patterns when coloring, also reminded them to press down hard. Outline the neon green paint with black oil pastel and draw texture on the 'skin' of the turtle. Paint the water with the same watered down turquoise, purple, blue and green, but add salt in the watery areas for a neat texture. I demonstrated this salt technique at each table.

2nd grade-- Use a pencil to draw the hermit crab step-by-step. (we did not have time to outline in sharpie because we watched a video of the book House for Hermit Crab. This worked well for me, having them watch a video of the book, but I could just as easily read it aloud to them. Honestly, the idea for this lesson came from this blog. Hers are much better than mine!! Paint the crab with florescent red paint.

Week 2
Find a yellow or orange oil pastel and add texture to the sand. Use oil pastels to color the details of the hermit crab's shell decorations: star fish, anemone, urchin, etc. Outline in black oil pastel (BE CAREFUL NOT TO SMEAR THE BLACK), make sure to trace the leg segments of the crab and the shell. I set up some watered down 'sand' neon paint for the sand at a painting center, and students could go over at any time and paint the sand. On each table, I put a container of watered down purple, blue, green and turquoise paint for them to paint the water and add a little color to the shell.

1st Grade-- Showed a video about seahorses being super killers. Turned our 18X18 white paper so that it looked more like a diamond or rhombus. Draw seahorse step-by-step: used a modified version of this. Draw a line 'behind' the seahorse for the sand, from corner to corner across the center of the paper, make sure it doesn't go 'through' the seahorse. Add starfish, seaweed, bubbles, etc. Trace over seahorse in sharpie. Paint seahorse with florescent yellow paint.

Week 2 Use oil pastels: add texture to the sand at the bottom with an orange or yellow oil pastel, trace around seahorse with black oil pastel: re-draw the mouth and eye and some texture if it isn't showing up after painting. Be careful NOT TO SMEAR the oil pastel. I set up some watered down 'sand' yellow/orange combo neon paint at a painting center, and students could go over at any time and paint the sand. On each table, I put a container of watered down purple, blue, green and turquoise paint for them to paint the water, I had to remind them to be careful not to let the 'water' drip onto the neon yellow of the seahorse.

Kindergarten-- I decided to go with 12X12 for this grade. The classes are very large and I didn't think it would be as successful to work at the 18X18 size. Also, 12X12 looked very small by comparison after working with the larger size for my other grades. The lesson came from this site.

Watch a YouTube Clip from finding Nemo. (In retrospect, this would've been a great clip to show the the 3rd grade!) I showed them a book cover with a clown fish and we discussed how clown fish live in an anemone. Draw the clown fish step-by-step. Add the anemone, and outline in sharpie. Use neon orange paint to paint the stripes on the fish: DON'T PAINT THE WHOLE FISH!

Week 2
Since we only had a little bit to do to finish the fish, I had them cut out some starfish from a tissue paper covered paper that we had created earlier this semester and add some sequins. Once that was done, we used oil pastels to color the anemone, then we outlined the fish with black oil pastel, thickening the edges of the fins a little, and re-drawing the eye and mouth if it was covered last week with paint. Finally, we painted using the turquoise, blue, green and purple that the other classes used.

As a tribute to Pablo Picasso, our Artist of the Month, we created these 18X24 chicken paintings in 1st grade.

I demonstrated how to draw the chicken step-by-step on the big white paper using black oil pastels.

In their egg-carton pallets (shared amongst about 4 students per table), I gave them red, yellow and blue tempera paint and a brush.

First, we painted a few things yellow...then we mixed with red to make orange...then we used straight red....(we didn't wash our brush between these hot colors). Remind them not to use all the yellow, we will need it for green later!!

I demonstrated and painted right along with them, on my own version at the front of the room.

THEN I let them wash out their brushes before we painted with the cool colors.

Blue on the rooster first; then we mixed with yellow to make green. Finally, we rinsed our brushes and made purple, mixing what was left of the blue and red.

Then they could finish off the painting with any colors they wanted, I just told them not to mix every color together (it would make gray).

Last, I squirted white into their pallets and allowed them to experiment with tints to finish the background.

Finally, when the paintings were done, we used oil pastels to 're-draw' some of our mistakes and add a bit of texture on the feathers.

***Edit: I had a comment requesting a step-by-step example on what I demonstrated for the drawing. At the front of the room, using a black oil pastel, I drew a big 'candy cane' for the top of the head. Most kids could do that pretty good. The paper was 18X24 so it is much larger than anything we normally use! From there, we added the face and details, adding the body and legs and tail at the end. My quick sketch above illustrates the basics. Hope this helps!

Shapes, lines, colors, OH MY!!

This incredibly simple painting project is one of my favorite new projects for kindergarten.

Step 1: Write names on craft brown paper. Draw shapes with pencil. Encourage the kinders to draw BIG shapes: this is hard for them. Connect the shapes with lines. Make lines that go to the edge of the paper.

Step 2: Paint over the pencil lines and shapes with black paint.  Should we have waited a week for the black to dry...SURE...but did we? NO! If you have 2 thirty minute sessions, I would suggest saving the color for the 2nd session, letting the black dry. I have one 50 minute session each week with kindergarten so I'm always looking for an activity to last a while.

Step 3: While the paint is drying, demonstrate how to paint 1st with yellow. Try to pick the shape that is the most dry. Then (using the document camera), demonstrate how to mix a little red into an empty egg carton spot with yellow to make orange. Paint one shape orange, then paint one shape red. At that time, pass out the water cups. Put the brushes in the water (letting paint dry a little more).

Step 4: Demonstrate how to mix yellow and blue to make green. Paint one shape green. Then rinse, paint one shape blue. Rinse, and mix to make purple. Encourage students to paint with GREEN, then BLUE, and Purple last.

Step 5: Once students have finished with the secondary colors, add some white to palette, tell them to rinse out the brush really good, and add some white to one of the colors, watching it change to pink or a lighter version of the green. Paint the whole paper, if time allows.

The results are so sophisticated looking: I am so proud of how these turned out!

I love to throw in a little Christmas joy at the end of the 1st semester with each class. Here is a random sample for you.

Collaborative murals, painted in art club.

2nd grade paper poinsettias.

Draw santa without using RED! Color with play color paint markers.

Collaborative gingerbread houses. Two students per house. A 3/4 view of the house. Paint, chalk, glitter, OH MY!

Have a Merry Christmas!

It's a marker. It's paint. It's an oil pastel.

It was hard to explain to my students exactly what we were using....but the results are kind of awesome.

Normally, this lesson is done with white paint the first week on a dark color of construction paper, like black. The 2nd week, I have students use chalk to draw the details of the owl over the top of the dried white paint. This year, I took the plunge and invested in a class set of the Play Color and Metallic Play color poster paints. We used them in place of the chalk pastels. 

The colors were so vibrant! Also, these poster paints basically eliminated the mess that chalk creates with this project. The initial investment is rather expensive, but now that I have the class pack, I can order another one and I will always have some extra in the future. 

I did remind mine NOT to twist the color all the way out. I noticed that one of the reds had been mistreated...and the tip broke off...but I pushed it back into the hollow tube and it worked okay for a while. I also show them not to rub the paint at first, it will feel wet, but it dries fast. I like these because they don't smear like oil pastels. 

I was very happy with the class pack. It was just enough for my 13 classes of K and 1st to do this project. I still have some left over, but probably not enough to do a big project like this again.  The metallic silver and gold are exceptionally nice. 

Week 1
Materials Required: black 16X10 construction paper, white crayons, white tempera paint, books about owls, owl pictures, 

Goals & Objectives: The primary goal of this lesson is for the student to use lines and shapes.
GLEs Accomplished In Lesson: 
Kindergarten
PP 3. G Create an original artwork that communicates ideas about the following themes: Outdoors (seasons, nature) EP1.A Identify and use lines 1.B Identify and use shapes, Categorize large and small 1.E Identify and use color
1st Grade
PP 1.A Fill an area with solid color/value using crayon, pencil, or marker
1.B Apply paint with a dragging, not pushing motion
EP 1.B Identify and use triangle, circle, square, rectangle and oval shapes
Categorize large and small and medium

Procedure (Guided Lesson, Instructions, etc): 
This year, I requested my librarian to order some new books about owls. As a result, there are many cute ones to choose from. I selected the book: Little Owl's Night. It is SO cute!

Project (Steps, Examples, etc):
1. Read the owl book to students. I showed everyone what they could do after painting, because the painting really doesn't take the whole art time. I show them all of the owl books in the room, I have some art centers set up with an owl magazine, a coloring page of an owl, and markers to use for that. I also have a couple of 'worksheets' about owls that they can do. Many choices. 
 2. When I distribute the paper, I demonstrate where to write their names. I have all of the papers folded 'tall and skinny' in half.....so that the back is making a peak in front of them when I set it down, and we will flip it over, and do the painting on the other side. I quickly have them write their names on the back, with a white crayon and then put on a paint shirt. I pick up all of the white crayons as soon as they are done with names...so that they don't accidentally try to draw the owl. 
3. I demonstrate on my painting, how to paint a large 'B'. Put the stem of the B on the fold. It HAS to be on the fold. Paint the curved lines of the B and fill the whole thing in solid white. 
4. Fold over gently, rub the back of the paper (one boy threw his on the ground and stomped on it….it did make a cool texture for feathers)……open it up and see a symmetrical owl…This is a really big "WOW" moment..I make a big deal of of it...ARE YOU READY FOR THIS? before I open mine up. 
5. Lastly, demo how to add a tree branch, stamp the brush for leaves, add a full or crescent ‘c’ moon, and add a few small stars. Mention that they should be careful not to totally cover the paper with white paint…it will be a snow scene and the owl won’t show up….Explain that next week, we will draw on the details, once the white paint is dry. Students need to put them in the drying wrack to dry. 
6. Pass out the paint, let students work…cleanup.


Week 2
MATERIALS
Play Color Poster Paint, glue, 12X18 paper for the frame

Procedure/Steps/Examples
1.Today we are finishing the owl. The white paint is dry. I taught students this fun owl poem:
The Owl
There’s a wide-eyed owl
With a pointed nose.

He has pointed ears
And claws for toes.

He sits in a tree
And looks at you.

Then he flaps his wings
And says, “Tu-whit, tu-whoo”

2. Since coloring the owl does not take the whole art time, I had supplies available for students to make an owl puppet. I have a cute printed mini owl that they can color and cut out and attach a puppet stick. 
3. Demonstrate how to use the Play Color Poster Paints to add the details. Draw the eyes, add a beak (I showed an easy way and a hard way), add feathers for the wings...students could put one wing and a belly or two wings. Demonstrate how to color the tree, leaves, moon, and stars. Remind them that they do not have to color the sky since it is already black like night, but if they want to make it more spooky, they can put purple and blue around the background like a spooky haze.
4. Demonstrate how to add a frame around the edges. I had 3 colors for them to choose from. Students had to glue the owl in the center, and put lines around the edges. I demonstrated how to draw the lines on the bottom, then turn the paper all the way around as they add lines to each edge. 

Assessment and Reflection: The students will use the play color poster paints to color a night owl scene according to a teacher constructed rubric. Students should be able to use the white paint, the poster paint, draw the shapes, and color essential parts of the composition with little or no teacher assistance.

Way back at the end of September, students painted a 12X18 sheet of white paper with hot colors. Most of them mixed all the colors together to create a lovely, textured orange paper. In October, I cut the papers in half for students to create a pumpkin collage. I still had tons of the paper left over, so I decided to design a project to use up the last of the paper. 

I designed this specifically for K, but I am going to use it for 1st grade as well. 

At the end of this post, I will explain my modifications for each grade.

Supplies: 
Black and white oil pastels
Previously painted orange papers (could use construction paper...might be able to add fur texture with orange oil pastels)
Black crayons
glue
black yarn cut into small bits for whiskers
12X12 turquoise paper
white speech bubble (I pre-cut all of these)
Sharpies

Step 1: Demonstrate how to draw the fox with a black crayon. I had my kinders draw this step-by-step with me...since I wanted them to draw this BIG on the 9X12 painted orange paper, I knew that I needed to model this step perfectly. 
Step 2: Color in the white cheeks with an oil pastel. Also color the black nose and eyes with a black oil pastel (could just use a black crayon). I demonstrated how to add a white highlight on the eyes.
Step 3: Cut it out. Be careful not to cut off the nose or ears...if an ear is snipped off, I demonstrated how to use a corner scrap to make a new ear.
Step 4: Glue to the 12X12 turquoise background paper. Could use either a glue stick or white glue.
Step 5: Explain what a 'speech' bubble is...and how to put it on the paper. Make sure the point, is pointing at the fox. Give a few suggestions for 'what the fox says.' Write the sentence or phrase in sharpie. Sign name on the front in sharpie then glue the speech bubble in place. 
Step 6: Add black whiskers with a big dot of white glue. I point out where the whiskers should go...and mention that some kids have used the black yarn as eyebrows and eyelashes as well. 

When students were finished, I allowed them to color a fox coloring sheet to take home or look at a book. The fox coloring page is from Feed Your Soul Art. Please head over there to print your own free version!

I also allowed them to watch the video during the last few minutes of art. I projected it on the smart board. If they wanted to get up and dance around, I also allowed them to do that. Here it is on YouTube if you haven't seen it. 

I asked them PLEASE do NOT torture your classroom teacher with the song all afternoon. PLEASE do not sing it in your classroom!! This was a special treat today, and the classroom teachers will be so mad at me if everyone is singing this song all day. 

In the slideshow above, you will notice that I have a few foxes with the body and legs....I tried that with my very first class of kindergarteners...it was super hard for them to cut out the legs...so I changed up the design for kindergarten, and decided that the HEAD only would be best.

 For first grade, I will demonstrate BOTH methods and allow them to choose which one they want to do on their painted paper. 

This lesson would be best for a 30 minute art time....stretching it out to 50 minutes was a little tough to keep them busy the entire time because they will race through the fox. It might be good to squeeze in a little fox poem or book if you have one. I have 1st grade for one hour, so I will plan an additional activity at the end....

Please let me know if you try this lesson, I would love to see a link to your student work in the comments! Some of you may have seen a sneak peek of this if you follow me on Instagram at nelliemaeii.