very BUSY spiders!

I have just started an Eric Carle unit with my Kindergartners and First Graders! Eric Carle is one of my favorite artists, so I was so excited to start this unit with them.

I showed them pieces and parts of the movie "Eric Carle: Picture Writer", focusing on the parts where he makes his painted papers.

So, I loaded up the tables with different colored bright paints, texture rollers, and big brushes and let the kids go to town making some painted paper.

The next day we read Eric Carle's book "The Very Busy Spider" and discussed the theme of WORK! To begin with, we made webs on black paper with white crayon (make a big X on a paper and make circles around the intersection...easy peasy way to make a web!)

They then used their painted papers (I cut them down into smaller pieces and passed them out randomly!) to cut out a body (large circle), head (small circle), and 8 skinny legs. This week we were focusing on scissor techniques.

Lastly, we used googly-eyes for the eyes on our spiders! Everything is better when a googly eye is involved! (I had a parent donate literally 5,000 eyes...better use them up!)

Stay tuned for LOTS more fun Eric Carle artwork coming to We Heart Art! 

common core in ART?!

This was  a dandy of a little art lesson based on color theory and (*GASP!*) writing. That's right, folks...descriptive writing in the art room. This attention-getter was the first 5-minute lesson I used in my unit on color with my fourth graders. 

I got all these paint chips at my local Home Depot (I grab a handful every time I go in...I have quite an extensive collection!)

"Purple is the color of the flowers I got on my first daddy date". I die.

What lessons are YOU doing to bring Common Core into your art classroom?! Please share!

Mondrian Spider Webs!

I found this idea on Pinterest and the lesson came from HERE. I just loved it and had to do it with my second graders! I just love how they turned out!

Geometric Shape Monsters

These were some cute 1-day geometric shape monsters made by my third graders after discussing geometric and organic shape! All the shapes were cut by a volunteer on our Ellison machine and I had tons of them on the tables for kids to layer and create!

Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend! I have a few scheduled posts for next week, but I will not be around...I'm off on a CRUISE with my family! 

Marshmallow Stamping!!

First of all, NO I AM NOT CRAZY. The title of this post sounds just as fun as it actually was...and it wasn't messy at ALL!! I am a firm believer to teach kids to be creative with everyday objects and things they could easily find in their house or in the garbage. My students had a BALL with this project and I loved their results!

First, we read the book "Leaf Man" by Lois Ehlert. I know that most of you reading this are from areas where leaves change with the seasons. Here in Florida we do not see "color" on the trees, so this is sort of a foreign concept to my kiddos. Reading "Leaf Man" allows students to see real, colorful leaves in all their glory. So, we talk about that.

Next, I taught my Kindergartners to make "Y" trees. If you are not familiar with this, it is SUPER easy to teach them how to make good looking trees without making "broccoli" trees (as I call them, the ones with the puffy green tops.) Start with a giant letter Y and make smaller Y's off the top. Voila, a good-looking tree that isn't cartoon-ish or broccoli-ish.

I then gave each table a plate of red, orange, and yellow tempera paint. I put 3 marshmallows on short skewers and had the kids go to town filling up their fall tree with "leaves". The way the marshmallows bounce off the page is just SO much fun!

I used the jumbo marshmallows. You do not have to do this, though. You could easily use mini marshmallows and use a toothpick instead of a skewer. This was just a matter of personal choice!

They really had SO MUCH FUN, and even though everyone did the exact same process, all the results were different, which is what I LOVE about Kindergarten art. It is just so honest and natural...

...and they are always THRILLED with their results! "I DID IT...LOOK HOW AWESOME THIS IS!!!" are exclamations I hear daily with my Kindergartners.

Have you stamped with marshmallows before? What did you make?! Please share...I will definitely be doing this project again!