Pretty Peacock

Second grade used oil pastel to create these brightly colored peacocks. I printed several images of peacocks from the web for them to use as reference. We discussed texture, color and blending. They cropped the images of the peacocks closely before they drew them.

 

Block Towers

The Kindergarteners loved this project because it had so many different componets. First we discussed 3-d shapes. I brought in a huge box of wooden blocks and scrap wood for them to dig through. They chose blocks to build a tower with, then did their best to draw the shapes. After they completed their drawing, they covered the lines in crayon and painted using watercolor.

Little Fishy

These whimsical fish sculptures were made by pre-k girls. We used Crayola air-dry clay, and discussed fish parts before we began. We also discussed the shapes necessary to make a fish, starting with an oval for the body and using triangles for fins. After a week of dry-time, the girls painted them using tempera cakes.

Paper Relief

The second grade classes enjoyed creating these textured reliefs. We discussed pattern, balance, texture and variety before the girls began creating components to their reliefs. They had fun inventing new ways to make the individual pieces, and loved seeing the results of adding several pieces to create a new pattern.

Sea Intaglio Prints

Fourth graders made these beautiful metallic sea creature prints using foam plates and metallic pencils. First we discussed composition and cropping. The girls chose a sea creature image from a variety of sources. They cropped the image and then reproduced the picture on a piece of printer paper. The printer paper was laid on top of the foam plate and while applying pressure, they retraced the lines of the drawings. After they completed the tracing, they removed the printer paper revealing the engraved plate. To make sure the indention was deep enough, the girls retraced over the plate with a dull pencil. They were able to choose between a variety of colored printing paper for the print. When the print was dry, they colored over the image with metallic pencils. The results were amazing!

Texture Assemblage

I do this project every year with my pre-K class. We begin by talking about what exactly texture is, and the girls give some examples of textures--(usually soft, bumpy and smooth). Next I give them a sample of textures, which consists of several small pieces of fabric, bubble wrap, sand paper and other types of materials. We have a short "texture hunt" where I call out a texture, then the girls find a material in their texture samples that fits the description. Next I lay out loads of different materials and objects for the girls to glue to a paper to make their own texture assemblage.

Texture samples