build-a-burger!

I saw these super-cute colossal burgers on Artolazzi's blog, and I just HAD to do them with my fifth graders! This spurred a whole class discussion (for the duration of our project, which was 2.5 classes) about the food challenges on Man v. Food. It was so much fun!

Each student got a sheet of black that was 24x12. They started with the "placemat" and then the bun. For the bun, they ripped some corrugated cardboard to expose the bumps and filled up their burger from there!

I love the different textures and elements the kids managed to fit into the burger. This was a great lesson to teach the kids how to fill and entire composition, too!

voice your view: art in our community

Back in February I wrote this post about our fabulous visitors from FireBug Studios. Because time got away from me (I hate it when that happens!!!) I neglected to put up any pictures of the finished products!

This project was a grant submitted by me as a Building Blocks PLUS grant to the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, Inc. The grant was about students participating in the entire artistic process, from idea-generating to production to galleries. This was the second part of the grant: making glass sculptures. Each student was supplied with a round piece of glass and had MANY different sizes and shaped pieces with which to work from there. The artists from FireBug taught the kids how to cut the glass and we had very FEW injuries!

I purchased the wooden stands from FireBug for $2 each (the entire glass project cost about $20/student) and they currently reside in our display case at school!

This is, of course, agonizing for the kids as they want to take their work home SOOOOO badly! I am transporting every single one of them to our Art Show next week at the VUCOC, so they have to endure a wait just a little bit longer!

I thank the Education Foundation from the bottom of my heart for granting us the money to do this project. I know it is something the kids will remember (and cherish!) forever!

recycled sea turtles

I love doing paper-making activities with my kids to teach them about recycling and repurposing "unwanted" scraps. This also comes with a heavy (messy) price, but my kids have fun nonetheless!Materials needed: Light green and dark green paper pulp for each table/group *I added glue to the pulp also* Glad Cling Wrap Paper Bowls LOTS of paper towels! Paper, eyeballs, background for Day 2. I gave each child a paper bowl and some Glad Cling Wrap (trust me!). They turned the bowl over and wrapped the bowl with plastic wrap. They then used their hands to scoop out paper pulp and put it on the top and side of their bowl. Water was running everywhere, but my second graders had a BLAST! We used sponges to soak out the excess water and allowed them to dry in the sun for 5-7 days.

On Day 2 we popped the bowl out, carefully took off the plastic wrap, and made them look more like sea turtles. I gave each of them a blue piece of paper to create a "habitat" for the turtle to swim in. *Honestly this "habitat" isn't the greatest, but it was the ONLY picture I remembered to take!

A fun take on papermaking, and a "different" method of creating sculpture!

winner winner!

For the third year in a row, my student has received top honors in the CVS/Caremark "All Kids Can....CREATE" art show in the state of Florida! Last year we had a student win and he made the trek up to Washington, DC to participate in the show opening!

We got word today that my fifth grade student, Meredith, has created an artwork which is one of two finalists headed to Washington, DC to be judged by CVS and the VSA. Meredith has overcome many obstacles, is an amazing artist, and I couldn't be any more proud of her! Congratulations, Meredith!