tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21112582385363207772024-03-13T00:28:31.734-07:00Creating Art With KidsRenee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-14294996480330877422016-06-21T07:56:00.001-07:002016-06-21T08:29:33.824-07:00sky, land, and the horizon line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You know how it is when kids draw; first a line of grass at the bottom of the paper, then a line of blue sky at the top, with everything floating around in the white space in between. It's normal, and just about every child does it, but oh, all that wasted middle ground! This drawing lesson is all about the horizon line ... that place where the sky meets the land.<br />
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It's simple, it's essentially foolproof, and the directed drawing element gives kids enough choices for types of lines and shapes that each child's composition maintains a personal feel.<br />
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It's a great art lesson for a spring or summer day... any day when there are some puffy clouds in the sky. I taught it on a sunny, spring day in a Kindergarten class. I knew I would be back another day that week, so I took photos, printed them later at home on card stock, and brought them back to finish off the art work another day.<br />
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First, I read a book about clouds and we spent some time looking at the illustrations. We talked about the shapes of the clouds; using descriptive words like <i>puffy</i>, <i>stretchy</i>, <i>misty</i>, etc. Then we went outside and actually looked at the clouds. On the grass.<br />
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This lesson uses a directed drawing strategy.... I call it "my turn / your turn".... and starts with the horizon line, which can be straight, curved, or a little wiggly to suggest some rolling hills. Clouds on top, flowers on the bottom, and the drawing part is pretty much done except for the shading. In my lesson I gave lots of options for clouds, using those descriptive words again, and demonstrated different shapes before having students draw. Flower shapes varied from very simple to more detailed and again, I demonstrated several ideas first, then had students draw theirs. Then I showed how to shade all the foreground and all the sky, leaving no white space. While they worked on theirs, I got the bright idea to take the photos. Thank you, iPhone in my pocket!<br />
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It's the addition of the photo that makes the composition come alive and really emphasizes the concept of foreground and background. I had to do some experimenting at home to get the size correct, because I wanted the people to be too tall to fit only in the grass or fit <i>on top</i> of the grass.<br />
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Cutting out their photos gave these Kindergartners some serious, careful cutting practice. I encouraged them to try their picture in different places before gluing it down.<br />
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We did this lesson just for fun, but it would fit beautifully as part of a unit on seasons, or weather, or clouds.... there are so many possibilities! It's a simple lesson that introduces art concepts in a natural way, guides students toward learning to use the whole paper by drawing full backgrounds.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Art-Lesson-Landscape-Directed-Drawing-2603172" target="_blank">This lesson</a> is available in my TeachersPayTeachers store. It includes step-by-step directions, sample drawings of horizon lines, clouds, and flowers, and two 'art reflection' worksheets to add a little personal art analysis and a writing component. Look for it <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Art-Lesson-Landscape-Directed-Drawing-2603172" target="_blank">here</a>..... and enjoy!<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-35733632466822880962016-02-13T14:41:00.001-08:002016-02-13T14:46:44.396-08:00march into green art<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Simple paper sculptures are a perfect introduction to 3D art for Kindergarters and first grade students. I have done these in a variety of colors, but during March when students are learning about leprechauns, I have them use only green paper.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmIfoTfTFo04Nya7XlQKU17vPfBUdJIuDGI8giKoZB9ywdJzyRiFw3m6kM0I23b_mU3OKVO0gofeIx-EJ6cwgtah2kseCKfJ0CRe7asrsezc8Ed8iOlh68fxauGJNhicSnoGkjQ54d2l-/s1600/green3dfederico2r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmIfoTfTFo04Nya7XlQKU17vPfBUdJIuDGI8giKoZB9ywdJzyRiFw3m6kM0I23b_mU3OKVO0gofeIx-EJ6cwgtah2kseCKfJ0CRe7asrsezc8Ed8iOlh68fxauGJNhicSnoGkjQ54d2l-/s400/green3dfederico2r.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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With these green "Leprechaun Playgrounds" I encourage students to create as many three-dimensional elements as possible. Of course I demonstrate twisting and folding techniques, but it's amazing what they can come up with on their own.</div>
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Prep is easy; simply cut tons of paper strips from the 9" end of 9x12 construction paper, roughly an inch wide. No measuring is necessary so don't worry about the width. In fact, variation in widths of the paper is even better. In fact, if students are fairly practiced with scissors, it's even better to have them cut their own strips.</div>
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I like to also provide a few 4x4 inch squares on each table for kids to make cylinders, or to cut out shapes to use along with spirals, accordion fold, circles, or whatever else they might come up with. Some students may decide to make paper chain loops that hang loose. Once I even had two little girls attach several strips to end to end, creating long, long tails that hung down to the floor.</div>
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This simple art lesson that delivers a lot of learning for little ones: lots of scissor practice, lots of use of those fine motor skills, lots of experimenting with paper folding, and lots of just plain fun... all in the context of an authentic art lesson that introduces children to sculpture as an art form! </div>
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Check out this lesson .... and two more 'green art' lessons for St. Patrick's Day, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/St-Patricks-Day-Green-Art-Lessons-506292" target="_blank">here</a> in my TeachersPayTeachers store! Enjoy!</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/St-Patricks-Day-Green-Art-Lessons-506292" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkG6eDfzYB2EGK_Ln90Sbn7ui-KVEc21E36KhchFrwYjhsADd4VQrrT1yDZ3MboSaK8col9lD9hC8NqAhqQBDVM2Y6ytgPsGB-XHMsoqVWXutnkzr0D9xE548SRQeVncCZT2SfhaX5GkV/s320/greenart1coversquare.jpg" title="Green Art for St. Patrick's Day by Renee Goularte" width="320" /></a></div>
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Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-43367567954276262612016-01-23T12:29:00.000-08:002016-01-24T09:32:57.853-08:00on coloring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Coloring is big right now. Real big. Everywhere you look, you see coloring books. Adults are coloring big time. So it's not just for kids anymore.<br />
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So what's the deal?<br />
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Coloring is relaxing.<br />
Coloring is meditative.<br />
Coloring is great for fine motor practice.<br />
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But let's be honest. Coloring other peoples' drawings is not the same as making art.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgsmyeN3A6c1sDkwI5HK-CwmB2EXruOwvr4eoNdjllJ2Tf5VMmmVE6O0BaSx4rB2X20yavMMGyazNOmwnMOtV1bmbwH4oNnJZld1Cr9Qz6yUrcle28Ilhe-7myKzGj5DDxFU6zWiqNMJ_/s1600/kidartselection2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgsmyeN3A6c1sDkwI5HK-CwmB2EXruOwvr4eoNdjllJ2Tf5VMmmVE6O0BaSx4rB2X20yavMMGyazNOmwnMOtV1bmbwH4oNnJZld1Cr9Qz6yUrcle28Ilhe-7myKzGj5DDxFU6zWiqNMJ_/s640/kidartselection2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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As an art teacher who works hard to make sure that my art lessons are a combination of instruction in specific techniques or subject matter and a focus on kids' own creativity, the proliferation of coloring books and the focus and attention on coloring is something I look at with a dubious eye, because I know that a drawing of a family created by a child is so much more interesting than a coloring page of a family.<br />
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Coloring is fine, but it should not be used replace real art instruction, especially in today's standards-based, test-heavy classrooms where students creative opportunities are already cut to the bone.<br />
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Don't get me wrong. I am not anti-coloring. But I am pro-art education, and I know the value of allowing students to create their own masterpieces. That can never be done with a coloring page, because all the student is doing is filling in somebody else's idea. A student who draws herself inside a tent on a rainy day with the sun shining and flowers growing is learning a whole lot more than a child coloring in a traditional picture drawn by an adult.<br />
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In classrooms, coloring pages are often used as filler, handy for when a student finishes an assignment, or easy for a rainy day recess. And there's nothing wrong with this, as long as we recognize what it is: a relaxing activity that might help develop concentration, eye-hand coordination, and small motor skills.<br />
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But please, please, let's not call it art.<br />
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If teachers must use coloring pages in the classroom, I would at least like to see them add a bit of a challenging twist by giving students some parameters:<br />
• use only analogous colors<br />
• use only two contrasting colors, and do some shading<br />
• use only one color, with different values<br />
• draw and color a linear pattern in the background<br />
• use only primary, secondary, or tertiary colors<br />
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Or better yet.... give kids some blank paper and a marker and let them create their own coloring pages! Or give them scissors, paper and glue and see what they come up with!<br />
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But most importantly, don't tell kids they get to do art and then hand out a coloring page.....<br />
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.... because coloring is not the same as making art.<br />
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Check out <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Goularte-Share2learn" target="_blank">my TeachersPayTeachers store</a> for teacher-friendly, authentic art lessons that rely on student creativity and which easily integrate across the curriculum. Enjoy!</div>
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Need some ideas? Start with this free resource: <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Making-Time-for-Art-230374" target="_blank">Making Time for Art</a>.</div>
Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-73486885213043786292015-11-17T09:33:00.000-08:002015-11-17T13:53:49.968-08:00fostering artistic sense, creativity, and visual thinking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqnImQ3cBF9t7GNUq10swmGMpbdLFszsSOR7MwAATZ6SuFji0DFT0MKmODgaOTClnm4IwA4MC5rl9HFGI_O-qbupOirnqKcjBT_z7wPhMLlU2mUQeXUdd8SYDrAnq2yzCy1LOqsteaqBl/s1600/artfocuswall3nilsson12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqnImQ3cBF9t7GNUq10swmGMpbdLFszsSOR7MwAATZ6SuFji0DFT0MKmODgaOTClnm4IwA4MC5rl9HFGI_O-qbupOirnqKcjBT_z7wPhMLlU2mUQeXUdd8SYDrAnq2yzCy1LOqsteaqBl/s320/artfocuswall3nilsson12.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Too many standards to cover?</b></div>
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<b>Too much testing to deal with?</b></div>
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<b>No time for art?</b></div>
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These nine easy ideas can help foster creative thinking, problem-solving, and art appreciation in the classroom, with no extra time required!<br />
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•••Let's get started!•••<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">1. Have students occasionally use colored pencils for writing. </span></b>Why not? Maybe they can color code their paragraphs and essays - topic sentences in one color, supporting sentences and details in another color. Or maybe writing in color would be just plain fun! And more interesting!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4faGT-Wl0luRUUUTOPsYO1T5d_y3Azh61qrv4e6q0TH7d9vSSpZB_CG14x4oEoS-sfLDO36XecQJOo2OMowP_izv0YxTzS0A8PAqke4KYvTdAzPt_xViofKyg4s8LZCHGGKkr4G9t26n/s1600/chagall2coen15chartrealfantasy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4faGT-Wl0luRUUUTOPsYO1T5d_y3Azh61qrv4e6q0TH7d9vSSpZB_CG14x4oEoS-sfLDO36XecQJOo2OMowP_izv0YxTzS0A8PAqke4KYvTdAzPt_xViofKyg4s8LZCHGGKkr4G9t26n/s320/chagall2coen15chartrealfantasy.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">realism and fantasy a la Marc Chagall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>2. Use examples of well-known art works to teach, reinforce, or review</b></span> selected Language Arts strategies or Math vocabulary. Compare two art works. Make inferences about the artists' thinking or the actions or thoughts of people portrayed in art works. Use descriptive vocabulary to describe art works.<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Integrating-Art-Across-the-Curriculum-Looking-At-Art-with-Kids-1768654" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">This freebie can give you some ideas and get you started.</a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">3. Have students illustrate at least half of their writing</span>, not only stories and poems but also their persuasive essays, responses to informational text, and other types of writing required by standards. OK, this would require a little extra time, but it's worth it. Or it could be assigned for homework! (See #8)</div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">4. Ask students to draw their responses to literature or
informational text.</span></b> Drawing responses activates visual thinking and can include details in ways that just writing cannot do. In fact, if students draw *first* and then write, you might see more detailed, more descriptive writing. <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literature-Response-Draw-and-Write-SAMPLE-1080317" target="_blank">Try this free Draw and Write Literature Response sample!</a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkfBd5w_Mq456h9-xtCqtHdMESR3iPd8K6Osu35ddDxaHXjO1iQzHw2BR7TXnQR49QozniYro6J0Q2LDWH4Nd1RlZhQ1OkcsX6OPrRpiKBxH0SV2Fn6aJb6lEQem8b13tKpo7mYSB0EZF/s1600/turkeyanalogous2coen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkfBd5w_Mq456h9-xtCqtHdMESR3iPd8K6Osu35ddDxaHXjO1iQzHw2BR7TXnQR49QozniYro6J0Q2LDWH4Nd1RlZhQ1OkcsX6OPrRpiKBxH0SV2Fn6aJb6lEQem8b13tKpo7mYSB0EZF/s320/turkeyanalogous2coen1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd grade - analogous colors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>5. Make coloring pages more creative.</b> </span>There is nothing more uncreative than just coloring somebody else's drawings. Yes, it's relaxing. Yes, it's meditative. Yes, it is an important fine motor skill and more kids definitely need to color. But what if you gave directions for coloring that required a little thinking on students' part? Add some problem-solving to simple coloring pages by asking students to do something like.... </div>
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• use three analogous colors <a href="http://creatingartwithkids.blogspot.com/2014/11/coloring.html" target="_blank">(see this blog post)</a></div>
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• color with the page upside down</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• color, cut the page into squares, rearrange and mount on another paper<o:p></o:p></div>
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• use only one color, varying light and dark shades<o:p></o:p></div>
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Presto! Coloring becomes problem-solving!</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">6. Have students keep a sketch book.</span></b> Make simple sketch books with copy paper folded into a construction paper cover. Have students sketch when their work is finished, or give a weekly sketch prompt as morning "bell work" instead of a worksheet. Have them sketch every Monday morning, something that reflects their weekend. Use the sketch book not just as an "extra" but incorporated into the existing curriculum or schedule.</div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">7. Put homework (or other worksheets) on colored paper.</span></b> How easy is this? Just for fun, once in a while, bring color into the mix. I wonder if homework on colored paper would be more likely to be returned? </div>
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<o:p><b><span style="color: purple;">8. Assign drawing for homework.</span></b> Draw a scene from a television show. Draw your family. Draw what you see from one of your windows. Or just draw.</o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6SCBmFoeqCKGSyG3pdtj0Rt6sRBn8QAY_292eGFQYmQGBwpW5z65KSdk_-soj1BC0Ee6i5sJhbgyj_cWi8pnmHmcvstJ8fwB1M1NjlOC6ABU3hCIRIUN9AFn-R39p9j8CYGZUpJ4KeLE/s1600/artmaterials2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq6SCBmFoeqCKGSyG3pdtj0Rt6sRBn8QAY_292eGFQYmQGBwpW5z65KSdk_-soj1BC0Ee6i5sJhbgyj_cWi8pnmHmcvstJ8fwB1M1NjlOC6ABU3hCIRIUN9AFn-R39p9j8CYGZUpJ4KeLE/s320/artmaterials2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">basic art materials - nothing fancy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p><span style="color: #990000;"><b>9. Most importantly, have basic art materials available at all times.</b> </span>Invite students to use them as they desire, not only for art activities but to add a creative element to everyday written work. A small space is all you need, stocked with colored pencils, extra crayons, glue, construction paper scraps, scissors, and markers. These are common materials available in most classrooms. Rather than thinking of them as "art materials" what if students knew they were able to use them at any time?</o:p></div>
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<o:p>Bring creative thinking into students' lives without creating more work for yourself. Giving students creative choices for their regular class work and homework might.... just might.... help develop visual literacy, a creative sense, and appreciation for art that's all around us on a daily basis.</o:p></div>
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<o:p>Try it! And enjoy!</o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-48473610979547617082015-10-10T12:51:00.001-07:002015-10-10T12:53:14.441-07:00zen pumpkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHzsg-uPNe0sVv2XNlfKUbUYht9norKURfJ-5gakVQ5ZtqMBhifrTrU8DdBLRxbfBfKaOd9sTKHUSINL0j3E3ETa-fIcnchQTbr9kDJlbE-3rDyg30L-26xEG5pPjfO89zFIb5z1dFBZu/s1600/pumpkinzenmysample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHzsg-uPNe0sVv2XNlfKUbUYht9norKURfJ-5gakVQ5ZtqMBhifrTrU8DdBLRxbfBfKaOd9sTKHUSINL0j3E3ETa-fIcnchQTbr9kDJlbE-3rDyg30L-26xEG5pPjfO89zFIb5z1dFBZu/s400/pumpkinzenmysample.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This easy art activity is perfect for anytime in October. Students work with lines and patterns, and teachers get some great art for display! </div>
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All you need is orange and black construction paper, some sharpies (or black crayons), scissors and glue, and about an hour at most.<br />
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To draw the pumpkin shape, have students draw ... with pencil.... a "flattened" circle and add a stem a little way down in the center. Then show them how to draw the vertical lines, just a little curved, with some going "backward" from the base of the stem. These gently curved lines are what gives the pumpkin drawing its three dimensional look! In fact, it's a very simple technique for giving a flat shape a three-dimensional look!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fpX2E_T-O-gsrikRiglO_XcWhUMyOlz7QwYZOEKEIAJq3wDPWtxtYn1PCblah6UMba41oVTI2QaEjcAtQrRsoh5glYczBJbXM2Rfdrgkq_iGNU0HUYJZr7RkeOsadC2AplLWNAuixQSs/s1600/pumpkinzen2coen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fpX2E_T-O-gsrikRiglO_XcWhUMyOlz7QwYZOEKEIAJq3wDPWtxtYn1PCblah6UMba41oVTI2QaEjcAtQrRsoh5glYczBJbXM2Rfdrgkq_iGNU0HUYJZr7RkeOsadC2AplLWNAuixQSs/s400/pumpkinzen2coen1.jpg" width="400" /></a>Trace carefully over the pencil lines with a black sharpie, then fill each space with a different pattern, using lines and/or simple shapes.<br />
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It doesn't hurt to talk about patterns before drawing... and even doing some simple examples. The key here is that every space needs to have a different pattern!<br />
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When the patterns are finished, color the stem green if desired, cut out, mount on black paper, and it's done! It's easy, it's fun, and, like all Zentangle work, it's totally relaxing.<br />
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Perfect when you need to just take a break!<br />
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For more comprehensive Halloween art lessons, visit my TeachersPayTeachers store! Just click on the TeachersPayTeachers logo up there on the sidebar!</div>
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And enjoy!</div>
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Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-41541706894905576992015-07-16T07:26:00.003-07:002015-07-16T07:26:53.160-07:00making time for art [a repost]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QMTNZJAHFB5UbYJq6nKNCrVKvj3oMuB2Sjo1x_G_aoCAuhk7MZ05Nd0VIuAnIsHVnrCEcrU7EP05NTEUCigNFEvq9WeWynao8_fsL5ZOTELcxtJdNugSwiHdpKiKzrAUvGtpwd-7SwRo/s1600/waxresistland4palmer2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QMTNZJAHFB5UbYJq6nKNCrVKvj3oMuB2Sjo1x_G_aoCAuhk7MZ05Nd0VIuAnIsHVnrCEcrU7EP05NTEUCigNFEvq9WeWynao8_fsL5ZOTELcxtJdNugSwiHdpKiKzrAUvGtpwd-7SwRo/s320/waxresistland4palmer2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Another school year will be starting soon, and I look ahead to creating art with kids when substituting in my friends' classrooms. It's great fun to watch students be creative, to help them see that there is more than one right answer to an art-making challenge and to see them learn that creativity means letting go a bit and taking some risks.<br />
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I also love just giving them some time to use their imaginations and express themselves.<br />
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Sadly, I hear more and more teachers say they don't have time for art.<br />
And I can help!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvNJOdHWOHQuOnZPNZGA66TIrbh3yPyCLEu6vp5d7U7zT3djJyd_Qr5WO3dKzZDjsmRA07oj2yMKb2ylaq6H-HqoNvkwuH3XfhyphenhyphenvXRmfIJSbt8dUIKe-nMC77_NdNgmtmZWo6zY7XT3Ts/s1600/time4art1coverrev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvNJOdHWOHQuOnZPNZGA66TIrbh3yPyCLEu6vp5d7U7zT3djJyd_Qr5WO3dKzZDjsmRA07oj2yMKb2ylaq6H-HqoNvkwuH3XfhyphenhyphenvXRmfIJSbt8dUIKe-nMC77_NdNgmtmZWo6zY7XT3Ts/s200/time4art1coverrev.jpg" width="153" /></a><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Making-Time-for-Art">Making Time For Art</a> is a <b>free</b> download in <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Goularte">my store</a> at <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/">TeachersPayTeachers</a>. This resource offers suggestions and ideas for finding and making time for art. It includes:<br />
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• ideas for integrating art into other subject matter<br />
• a basic list of art materials to have on hand<br />
• ideas for teaching students to think and act like artists.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1z70PLeCB-Gdpff8f_4NsSOVSb3-Ow-hNsW474riPP7P3tszCn3gpkRk2stFqnALKLETHDzmwsN9Yn5F5CjsAVR4A8LtJ06vs8nhdKOJmM1mRKlrk9JXAEoTnJ1DZCxVTR82mtN-ypVW/s1600/startartsamples2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1z70PLeCB-Gdpff8f_4NsSOVSb3-Ow-hNsW474riPP7P3tszCn3gpkRk2stFqnALKLETHDzmwsN9Yn5F5CjsAVR4A8LtJ06vs8nhdKOJmM1mRKlrk9JXAEoTnJ1DZCxVTR82mtN-ypVW/s320/startartsamples2.jpg" width="239" /></a>Making art is important for all students, and it's especially important for those who learn best with hands-on experiences and those who learn visually. Art experience is instrumental when students need to illustrate a story or poem, create a graph or chart, or use pictures or other graphics to supplement or support their writings.<br />
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Need a place to start<br />
<b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b><b style="text-align: center;">Start With Art</b><span style="text-align: center;"> includes five comprehensive, open-ended art lessons that introduce young students to the elements of design and allow them to work with a variety of simple, common materials. Each lesson takes about an hour, including an introduction and a "talking about art" session where students analyze the success of their own art work.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXlPmKH3vpYIZnV6yyjjy2_mwwGNVUdAe3fGWUoPv2K3Lr_ceJo-S-iKzkfgm4qFU9RG6hyoRpshyphenhyphenAVOqgoBD-IQ2cZ4prqjIhIMy0pm9UKVBOvr6fchQv5em0fs44wNb2-Jd_0xX4ziY/s1600/startart1covernewest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXlPmKH3vpYIZnV6yyjjy2_mwwGNVUdAe3fGWUoPv2K3Lr_ceJo-S-iKzkfgm4qFU9RG6hyoRpshyphenhyphenAVOqgoBD-IQ2cZ4prqjIhIMy0pm9UKVBOvr6fchQv5em0fs44wNb2-Jd_0xX4ziY/s200/startart1covernewest.jpg" width="150" /></a>These art lessons are written with "non-art-oriented" teachers in mind, with detailed directions, photos of students art work for reference, and ideas for integrating across curriculum. <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Start-With-Art">Start With Art</a> is also available in <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Goularte">my store</a> on <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/">TeachersPayTeachers</a>,<br />
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I know that there IS time for art in every classroom, if a teacher uses time creatively and understands that visual literacy is just as important as other kinds of literacy.<br />
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Creating art with kids ..... enjoy it!<br />
<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-80985731434697602342015-04-26T16:27:00.001-07:002015-04-26T16:28:57.969-07:00flowers, shading, and the creative process<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's a common art lesson: close-up, enlarged flowers inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings. In this case, instead of paint, we used oil pastels. And because this particular second grade class had not used them before, I did do some modeling before turning them loose to work, showing them how to put down a bit of color and then spread it out with their fingertips to create the shading. They came up with the word <i>smear</i> during the demonstration.<br />
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First we did look at several examples of O'Keeffe's flower paintings. I chose ones that showed the centers, and made sure I had at least a few that went "off the page" because that was what I was going to ask them to do. They noticed that her paintings used bright colors, that the centers of the flowers had extra petals or other interesting parts, and one student noticed that there was a lot of shading. Yes! So on the chart I was creating, I set that word aside and gave it some prominence. I also wrote the word <i>close-up</i> off to the side, and reiterated that they would draw a flower in close-up, then shade it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zgiAD3LM38Sx8Soyc7stdMKo7t8JnO-LkagiUcPqekOWVQDV2MnjvISjF-Jy0ClWE4CO-9hvJLGrsX9A_lQxd4oOM9HoKV_OD0qkLquVfoZ6X8Um4bAyajLr8-Ab7u_qztufLmSjriVH/s1600/flowerdraw2coen15c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zgiAD3LM38Sx8Soyc7stdMKo7t8JnO-LkagiUcPqekOWVQDV2MnjvISjF-Jy0ClWE4CO-9hvJLGrsX9A_lQxd4oOM9HoKV_OD0qkLquVfoZ6X8Um4bAyajLr8-Ab7u_qztufLmSjriVH/s1600/flowerdraw2coen15c1.jpg" height="320" width="318" /></a></div>
To demonstrate how to draw the flower itself, I showed them how to position a loosely drawn circle near the center of the paper, but not directly in the center, they to draw petals that went totally off the paper. I made a dramatic display of completing the petal shapes -- in the air, but not drawn -- going beyond the paper's edges. After demonstrating how to use the pastels, I posted several large, close-up photographs of flowers and had them take a look at color, shape, and some of the details in the centers of the flowers. I had intended to get into a discussion about radial symmetry, but decided to leave that for another time.<br />
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So I sent them off to create their own.<br />
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And we ended up with some beautiful results.<br />
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But before we got to this end point, some interesting things happened. Like one student doing the shading with the side of her fist. Like another student pressing some of the oil pastels so hard that the color was thick on the paper, with tactile texture, and the black lines from the Sharpies were missing. Like a few of the students deciding to color their flowers with each petal a different color.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWfrUuN6XNZSiukc6rAsf2nsCuaw4YFFgmiH2bUEts-5eS00oPUYM15B3pT432xEkyXPDiABy9qJ8WuiwR6tP8QkESUXl876rMubjo0eMAL_jRC4JLbyNCKD7EerrLijQbZisvo7DmzJe/s1600/flowerdraw2coen15k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWfrUuN6XNZSiukc6rAsf2nsCuaw4YFFgmiH2bUEts-5eS00oPUYM15B3pT432xEkyXPDiABy9qJ8WuiwR6tP8QkESUXl876rMubjo0eMAL_jRC4JLbyNCKD7EerrLijQbZisvo7DmzJe/s1600/flowerdraw2coen15k.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a></div>
I don't know if it's right or wrong, but I redirected these multi colorings in a direction that was more scientifically accurate, such as petals that were the same all the way around, whether they were one color or several colors.<br />
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So I learned some things, too, and had some things to consider. Like, how much modeling is enough? How much is too much, and how much is too little? Like, how much explanation is necessary? Like, at what point should a teacher just let the students mess with the colors, and at what point does the teacher step in and suggest something that is liable to produce a result that is more likely to follow the initial directions?<br />
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I want them to be creative, but I also want them to learn art technique that works, how materials are used to their best advantage, and to end up with a successful piece of art work that still shows their personality, and not mine. And most of all, I want them to think about what they are doing in the process, to take care with it, care about what they are doing, and like and be proud of it when they are finished.<br />
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I think these pretty much fit that bill:<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-18713174934696343232015-04-03T18:07:00.000-07:002015-04-03T18:07:28.035-07:00haiku for all seasons<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Grade Work</td></tr>
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Haiku is one of my personal favorite poetry genres, rich with images, spare of words. Teaching children to write Haiku is not difficult, and it gives them a little practice with syllabication. It's a great supplement with units on seasons, animals, habitats, or other science topics!<br />
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For this lesson, the Haiku writing is only the first part; to me, they are incomplete until illustrated. I have done this lesson with second graders, at-risk students, English language learners of all elementary grades, and with fourth and fifth graders. The basic format of the lesson is identical for each of these groups; differentiations are made for specific needs. For example, a little more work on syllabication with second graders and English-language learners, and a push for more rich and detailed vocabulary with older students.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Grade Work</td></tr>
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<span style="clear: left; color: black; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">It's important to help students understand that Haiku does not tell a story, but simply presents an image for the reader to visualize. And I always tell students that it's more important to get a clear, beautiful image than to have the exact syllabication, so a little fudging is allowed. </span></div>
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I always do a shared writing activity first, writing a Haiku with students. I model making a word bank, trying out different words, testing the syllables, and trying substitute words if the syllabication is not correct. But that 5-7-5 pattern can be tricky, especially for little ones, so I do make sure they know it's ok to leave a syllable out or add an extra, if they can't make their image work with the words they want to use.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fourth Grade Work</td></tr>
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Children can write a Haiku pretty quickly if they have an abundant word bank, so I do like to have them try two or three and then choose their favorite for publishing with illustration. Most often, I have students do a torn paper collage for the illustration, but cut paper collage, drawings, and even just a colorful tissue paper collage are just as beautiful.<br />
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Illustrated Haiku is a wonderful way to integrate Art with Language Arts, and it also can easily connect to Science as well. Any nature-oriented subject matter is appropriate, and the results make a beautiful, colorful, and maybe even informative bulletin board display.<br />
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This lesson, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Illustrated-Haiku-for-All-Seasons-An-Integrated-Writing-and-Art-Lesson-996711" target="_blank">Illustrated Haiku for All Seasons</a>, is available in <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Goularte-Share2learn" target="_blank">my Teachers Pay Teachers store</a> for those who would like step-by-step directions.<br />
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Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-71504273232978436662015-03-15T15:38:00.003-07:002017-03-11T08:11:05.227-08:00what can you do with an old map?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzW-CjPWD0ymQA-nWz3DBpz_NRIm9K7twHWEPXBl52SvdiBk8op_y-tFq70bWKhXbkByvFI95GrUtRbaRV_BUkU1n4k0p_KP4GwXLxcYzcCa43syzw0orZ7Q6alyrfSTOyqxQ8xK6n3-3v/s1600/tissueskymapcity2coen15d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzW-CjPWD0ymQA-nWz3DBpz_NRIm9K7twHWEPXBl52SvdiBk8op_y-tFq70bWKhXbkByvFI95GrUtRbaRV_BUkU1n4k0p_KP4GwXLxcYzcCa43syzw0orZ7Q6alyrfSTOyqxQ8xK6n3-3v/s1600/tissueskymapcity2coen15d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Like a lot of people, I scout around on Pinterest for ideas. When I find an art activity that looks interesting, I post it to my own "Art Things To Try" Pinterest board. So the other day when I was getting ready to substitute in a friend's second grade classroom, I went looking on that board for something new to do. I landed on two different ideas that intrigued me. One was using bleeding tissue paper with just water to create colored paper; the other was creating a cityscape collage using the classified pages from a newspaper. Jumping off those two ideas, I came up with this cityscape idea.<br />
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To create the colorful background, the students used bleeding tissue paper, applied to wet paper. I happened to have an overabundance of blue and pink tissue paper, so I encouraged them to mix the blues and add a little pink to suggest a morning or evening sky. They just needed to brush on a little water, apply a torn piece of tissue paper, and continue applying sections of tissue until about half the paper was covered. We let it sit for about a half hour, then peeled off the tissue paper.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Auludk5hKRDqfe0C1jHuaHte_Z8xXYYQ1-kj1mSNCb3eEXcbyR83MapMMGWPUb-ebyb0s2gPngwW0NBcCWYToaepSz7L5LgTZ12t7dZXNnuiD-96z5Kmam_f9fI_BdWF_2RXQjoQ7nAT/s1600/tissueskymapcity2coen15f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Auludk5hKRDqfe0C1jHuaHte_Z8xXYYQ1-kj1mSNCb3eEXcbyR83MapMMGWPUb-ebyb0s2gPngwW0NBcCWYToaepSz7L5LgTZ12t7dZXNnuiD-96z5Kmam_f9fI_BdWF_2RXQjoQ7nAT/s1600/tissueskymapcity2coen15f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Since I had recently discovered about thirty old maps in my filing cabinet, we used those for the buildings. I cut up several, handed them out, and showed the students how to draw rectangles in between the folds with black marker or crayon, draw windows, and then cut them out. I suggested that they make eight or nine buildings of different sizes, and encouraged them to draw some interesting rooflines. I demonstrated putting the taller ones in the back with a little space between them, and then the shorter ones in front, to create a feeling of depth.<br />
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I love the colors of the buildings drawn on maps, and it was interesting to watch kids actually choose sections of maps to use. One student even flipped her map over and drew a building on the list of cities. The skies are particularly beautiful. We had talked about leaving white space to represent clouds, and many did, but the best part of this was that no glue was involved at all... just water! The colors are brilliant and the blending is actually more interesting than with a tissue paper (with glue) collage because the water helped bleed the tissue color more fluidly than glue.<br />
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This lesson will definitely go into my file for future use... and I still have a ton of maps!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Art-Lesson-Morning-Cityscapes-with-Recycled-Maps-2579183" target="_blank">The full lesson</a>, available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, has easy, step-by-step directions and includes an art reflection worksheet for students, designed to help them think about their own art work and their creating process. Enjoy!</div>
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-17297580953577243002015-01-10T08:33:00.000-08:002015-01-10T08:33:42.155-08:00what artists do<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I was teaching art on a regular basis, I created some very simple visuals to remind students that art begins with observation, that artists think about what they are going to do before they do it, and that before they start they have to make some choices... about materials, size, format, composition, etc.<br />
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My original "posters" were simple, hand-drawn with Mr. Sketch markers (my favorite! and yes, I know they smell, but the colors are outstanding), created quickly on the fly one morning before school started. I displayed them in my classroom and found that I was referring to them quite often during art lessons to remind students to slow down and take care with their creations.<br />
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Somewhere along the line I decided to offer them for <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Be-An-Artist-Artist-Behavior-Posters-1082016" target="_blank">free</a> in my TeachersPayTeachers store, and they've been picked up by many, but I always meant to update them with new drawings. And then the other day I shifted gears, got an idea, went into my clip art files, and revised them using clip art from my absolutely favorite TeachersPayTeachers clip artist -- <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/A-Sketchy-Guy" target="_blank">A Sketchy Guy</a>.<br />
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These days, I occasionally drop in to teacher friends' classrooms to do art lessons with their students. I always write LOOK.... THINK....CHOOSE....DO on the board before starting, but now I'm thinking of just printing these out, having them laminated in a strip, and hanging them up before every art lesson.<br />
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I just love the way these look. Wander on over to <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Goularte-Share2learn" target="_blank">my TeachersPayTeachers store</a> and pick up <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Be-An-Artist-Artist-Behavior-Posters-1082016" target="_blank">a free set for your classroom</a>. And while you're there, visit <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/A-Sketchy-Guy" target="_blank">A Sketchy Guy's TeachersPayTeachers store</a>, too. You might find something you can use in your own classroom!<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-70750606396245411702014-11-24T07:51:00.000-08:002014-11-24T07:51:50.523-08:00coloring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes I work backward, like with this little color theory activity. One day on Facebook I came upon a free turkey-coloring page that was filled with pattern. Normally I avoid coloring pages like the plague, preferring students to be creating their own drawings. But there was just something about this one. I thought maybe I could give some color instructions, like use all warm colors or all cool colors.<br />
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But then I had another idea: use analogous colors.<br />
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Rather than just tell students what analogous colors were, we would make a color wheel! <br />
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I thought all this through on the drive to school (40 minutes, mountains to valley, a view to die for... but I digress....)<br />
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I started by having students draw a large, equilateral triangle on the top half of their paper. It had to be large, so I checked for size right away. If it seemed small, I had them turn it over and make it bigger. That triangle was superimposed by another triangle the same size, but "upside down" (which, of course, is a misnomer, since a triangle is a triangle no matter what direction it sits in, but I digress again....)<br />
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At the very top, I asked them to make a yellow circle and color it in, then do a red and blue on the other vertices of the first triangle. They knew what happened when red and yellow, blue and yellow, and red and blue are combined, so we drew and colored in circles of those colors in their appropriate vertices.<br />
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Under these triangles, I had them note "primary colors" and "secondary colors" and then we went on to the tertiaries. (I love that a box of crayons has all the colors one needs for this, but again, I digress...)<br />
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Finally, we were able to talk about those analogous colors... the ones next to each other. Once I felt confident that most of the students could identify three analogous colors using the color wheel (I had made a large one, along with them, as a model), I showed them the turkey page and gave directions to choose four analogous colors for coloring. The key was to have them show me their color choices before I gave them the coloring page. If they had an outlier, I asked them to look again.<br />
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As they finished coloring their turkeys, I had them write "This turkey is analogous." on their paper and then write on the back of the paper what analogous colors are.<br />
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They had a great color lesson, a relaxing coloring session, and got a little writing in to boot. I found something interesting to do with a plain old coloring sheet. Win-win for everybody!<br />
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The coloring sheet was found at http://doodle-art-alley.com.Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-7536060314997976462014-11-16T09:02:00.001-08:002014-11-16T09:02:46.583-08:00still life contour drawing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Drawing is all about seeing, and still life drawing lessons are particularly good for emphasizing the importance of careful observation. When teaching this still life lesson, I started by "thinking out loud" to show how I observe and define shapes and lines. With a quick model drawing, I showed how to overlap items, talked about how those items in front are a little further down the page than those behind, and talked just a little about shadows and shading. Then I turned the kids loose with colored pencils in secondary colors only.<br />
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The drawing subject matter is always simply a collection of random items I have lying around the house, plus a few gems from a box I keep in the garage labeled "candles and trinkets".... you know... those items you don't really want to throw away quite yet, but don't really want out, either.<br />
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In this case, I also brought in a selection of colorful gourds and a bouquet of autumn-colored chrysanthemums, so each of three tables had a bud vase with flowers. Each table had a slightly different selection of items and every student already had a mini pumpkin on their desk so I invited them to add those to their drawings. I also suggested that they did not need to draw every item, that they could draw only those items they wanted to draw. Other directions included not to color everything in, and to think about overlapping and shading.<br />
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And to look, look, look very carefully at the items they were drawing.<br />
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I love the vastly different results from different students. Some drew small, some drew large, some overlapped the items, some had them lined up across the center of the page. Some paid great attention to details, others drew in a more general, stylized way.<br />
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This drawing lesson followed a "looking at art" activity in which we looked at Norman Rockwell's "Freedom From Want"... an activity that included talking about what was going on in the painting, which turned into talking about main ideas and details. If someone said it looked like Thanksgiving, I asked how they knew, which turned into a discussion about details. I thought that would be a nice segue into a "harvest" type still life drawing, but realized pretty quickly that I had too many generic items in the set-ups and not enough "harvest" items. Something to remember for next time!<br />
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Still life drawing is a great way to add a little seasonal art to the classroom, and it's a great way to integrate science, too! It requires practically no prep, other than gathering the items, and it's amazing how much attention some students will give to their drawings. This art lesson is available in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Goularte-Share2learn" target="_blank">TeachersPayTeachers store</a>. Look for <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Still-Life-for-Kids-Two-Science-Connected-Observation-Drawing-Art-Lessons-315912" target="_blank">Still Life For Kids</a>:Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-11011473239657459902014-10-11T11:23:00.000-07:002014-10-11T11:23:26.816-07:00harvest moon and spooky trees<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nhceDk-KsyjtkPT79NqtI9ViQlfWE6eZIskZneG-GnQBX3MDSepcWsPDRlys6VgzcuqqChyphenhyphenPvAUd9nmLSaWVOdf6KAs6TFez3bbS1Aopqh7COHSrV7Z66jvgC-ygFlfnSPeb81RPey2U/s1600/tptpin-harvestmoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nhceDk-KsyjtkPT79NqtI9ViQlfWE6eZIskZneG-GnQBX3MDSepcWsPDRlys6VgzcuqqChyphenhyphenPvAUd9nmLSaWVOdf6KAs6TFez3bbS1Aopqh7COHSrV7Z66jvgC-ygFlfnSPeb81RPey2U/s1600/tptpin-harvestmoon.jpg" height="640" width="355" /></a>Sometimes I get inspiration for art lessons from random pictures, and that's how this one happened. <span style="text-align: center;">One day my Facebook feed presented a photo of a tree silhouetted against a huge moon and this art lesson immediately formed itself in my mind: tissue paper collage moon + spooky tree. I could see the end result in my brain, and backtracked through that image to develop the lesson for a second grade classroom.</span></div>
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At first, I thought it would be a fine idea to have the students create the circle using a compass, but no compasses were to be found so I opted for a hand-drawn circle, which turned out to be a huge benefit! The circle was filled with tissue paper collage, and while that dried, we made the trees -- basically a line drawing outlined with another continuous line, cut on the outside line, and flipped over.<br />
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My suggestions to the kids:<br />
Don't put the moon in the exact center of the page.<br />
Don't put the tree in the exact center of the moon.<br />
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Some of the kids had a little trouble cutting out the tree shape, especially if they had crossed branches, so I helped by showing them how to cut into a closed shape. For a "first time" try, I think these turned out great! I wrote up the lesson and had a few other teachers try it out, and it was a hit with everyone!<br />
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It's a great art lesson for teaching how to use space, talking about the use of warm and cool colors, and working with interesting lines. It was fun, easy, a little messy, and generally pretty successful. And it's perfect for October! Just spooky enough to be "Halloween-y" without all the Halloween hype. This lesson, with step-by-step directions, is available in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Goularte-Share2learn" target="_blank">TeachersPayTeachers store</a>. Look for <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Harvest-Moon-Tree-Silhouette-Art-Lesson-1454377" target="_blank">Harvest Moon Tree Silhouette</a>!<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-60842522087192370882014-09-13T07:38:00.002-07:002014-09-13T07:38:47.062-07:00what is art?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAr4eoWIuboWUHCuyXJjyCaVdbZR59I8iqzdLKthKqCR1o7309n7bXeEb1qQH1u8hhxTAcmIwgYayZ_bVyTVB-yGX4L9Tr-TFRumz-4U09mOBNfgF-_RR6SFcz89kz5vdmkPqPq-ePPEz/s1600/artis2coen14chartfactopinion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAr4eoWIuboWUHCuyXJjyCaVdbZR59I8iqzdLKthKqCR1o7309n7bXeEb1qQH1u8hhxTAcmIwgYayZ_bVyTVB-yGX4L9Tr-TFRumz-4U09mOBNfgF-_RR6SFcz89kz5vdmkPqPq-ePPEz/s1600/artis2coen14chartfactopinion.jpg" height="400" width="371" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAr4eoWIuboWUHCuyXJjyCaVdbZR59I8iqzdLKthKqCR1o7309n7bXeEb1qQH1u8hhxTAcmIwgYayZ_bVyTVB-yGX4L9Tr-TFRumz-4U09mOBNfgF-_RR6SFcz89kz5vdmkPqPq-ePPEz/s1600/artis2coen14chartfactopinion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><span style="text-align: left;">I often ask kids the question, "What is Art?" And of course, they are quick with the "drawing" and "painting" but they are also quick with the "beautiful" and "fun" and that always leads me to a confusing explanation in an attempt to define the difference between what art actually is and what people think about art. </span></div>
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So the other morning as I was driving through the rolling hills toward the school where I was scheduled to substitute in a friend's second grade classroom, I was going over the three components of my lesson -- talking about what art is, looking at some art work by Wasily Kandinsky, and then having them work with circles.<br />
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And as I drove along, it suddenly occurred to me that I could incorporate a little "fact vs opinion" into this lesson. Why had I never thought of this before?<br />
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In the past, whenever I've done this introduction, I've always explained why I could not put the words "beautiful" and "cool" and "awesome" on the chart, because my goal was geared more toward documenting different media, the elements of design, and sometimes who is involved. But this time I used their opinion words, but I sorted as I wrote their responses, with the factual responses in one column and the opinion responses in another column. When the responses were exhausted, I then defined "fact" as something that is true for everyone and "opinion" as what somebody thinks, something that other people might not agree with. I then reviewed each word on the chart, and threw in some examples here and there.<br />
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This strategy made it a lot easier to talk about opinions later on, as we were looking at their art work at the end of the day. I could ask, then, "Is that your opinion or is that a fact?" and we had a lovely anchor chart for reference.<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-58199632118375740622014-08-20T10:01:00.001-07:002014-08-20T10:35:17.567-07:00art goes back to school<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiPdG2ee62J0KZJDzpmVGCFXyYBK2qhc6jRivqyoinV8ZM_gG6r37w4F_Oes8PNc1AKeLJURkeQn1kURlrJxGikjhLEivhScHAraqDDxxWG0hb_XiLqze4oW9EEpB1I3EquXe-85AKCki/s1600/multi1pop1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiPdG2ee62J0KZJDzpmVGCFXyYBK2qhc6jRivqyoinV8ZM_gG6r37w4F_Oes8PNc1AKeLJURkeQn1kURlrJxGikjhLEivhScHAraqDDxxWG0hb_XiLqze4oW9EEpB1I3EquXe-85AKCki/s1600/multi1pop1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><span style="text-align: left;">In </span>the back-to-school preparation frenzy, art education is the last thing on many, if not most, teachers' minds. And yet, what could be more fun... and even relaxing... than a little art during the first week of school? Best of all, teachers can find out a lot about students' fine motor and other skills, as well as their work habits and level of responsibility and concentration. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiPdG2ee62J0KZJDzpmVGCFXyYBK2qhc6jRivqyoinV8ZM_gG6r37w4F_Oes8PNc1AKeLJURkeQn1kURlrJxGikjhLEivhScHAraqDDxxWG0hb_XiLqze4oW9EEpB1I3EquXe-85AKCki/s1600/multi1pop1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiPdG2ee62J0KZJDzpmVGCFXyYBK2qhc6jRivqyoinV8ZM_gG6r37w4F_Oes8PNc1AKeLJURkeQn1kURlrJxGikjhLEivhScHAraqDDxxWG0hb_XiLqze4oW9EEpB1I3EquXe-85AKCki/s1600/multi1pop1.JPG" height="243" width="320" /></a>One of my favorite things to do as an art teacher was to start the year with a little multimedia exploration. I set it up like Kindergarten stations, with four different media on four different tables for 1st and 2nd graders, and 3 different media on 3 tables for Kindergarten. Students started in one place and took their papers with them to the next station and added to their design. Kindergarten students used the same paper for the whole exploration, while 1st and ends used two sheets of paper, mixing two media on each paper.</div>
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First and Second stations included all of these, and Kindergarten stations were the same, minus the paint:</div>
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• tempera paint with brushes and straws for blowing<br />
• crayons<br />
• colored pencils with shapes to trace<br />
• construction paper, scissors, and glue</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHWqnwgYadPLFVzI0CPF2rfwSELyazw9kkgsfhtwAcGE6eCJXA0DLkQtKMfMyx3KTQOXt2N5NSVAhLTXlqQMNDJnBmTfOYL9-AzpnDtQ6pYXUA2j5IdD5uVgU5Y85HCS5ChcHtUNw-1wE/s1600/multiKplu.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHWqnwgYadPLFVzI0CPF2rfwSELyazw9kkgsfhtwAcGE6eCJXA0DLkQtKMfMyx3KTQOXt2N5NSVAhLTXlqQMNDJnBmTfOYL9-AzpnDtQ6pYXUA2j5IdD5uVgU5Y85HCS5ChcHtUNw-1wE/s1600/multiKplu.JPG" height="221" width="320" /></a>It took a little extra thinking to decide in which order to arrange the stations for rotation, because each group of students started with a different media, and I wondered how feasible it was going to be for those who started at the paint table. In the end, I decided to just not worry about it and see what happened. Before starting the activity, I quickly introduced the materials at each station and explained the procedure, including making a point of explaining to students that they would keep the same paper when they moved to a new station. Other than that, I didn't really give any earth-shattering directions, because I really did want this to be an exploration.</div>
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An interesting side benefit of this activity on our first meeting day was that it gave me an instant overview evaluation of important skills: use of scissors, glue, and brushes; painting technique development; pencil and crayon grip; and fine motor and eye-hand coordination skills. It even revealed what kind of sense students had in putting together a composition, including whether or not they thought about what they were doing. It was especially interesting to see some students just start cutting shapes and gluing them on the paper at random, while others would spend time arranging their shapes just so while gluing, or giving slow, thoughtful attention to how and where they applied paint to paper, or how they lined up shapes for tracing.<br />
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Some students were obviously organized and/or methodical, and some students were obviously less so:<br />
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For those teachers and administrators who think art is just an extra for random Friday afternoons before vacations, I propose that there is much to be learned, by students and teachers, when children make art. Teachers can learn much about individual students' fine-motor skills, spatial sense, responsibility, and more, and students can learn how to develop concentration, practice motor skills, and more.... not the least being able to express themselves and create a little beauty for this world.<br />
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So.... how about starting the school year with a little mixed-media exploration? <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Renee-Goularte-Share2learn" target="_blank">My store at TeachersPayTeachers</a> has lots of art lessons for teachers who don't have art background. This mixed media exploration is included in the bundle <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Start-With-Art-Five-Art-Lessons-to-Start-the-Year-262412" target="_blank">Start With Art</a>, and you'll find a couple of free art lessons, too! Check it out!<br />
.Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-24082106452338502512014-08-04T12:31:00.001-07:002014-08-04T12:31:19.546-07:00start with art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKulz6eHGxJto7F3apUL7I2z0GCWoqsWsGnOhf7edmf4jA-QOmDNBtWMLbu7e4sq35btZN_T92KKlWUfd0pCc3A1Zujx0wWEO9rb0Ny8ODjmiJDqoa5OcR7FwhnSzlRcEDXYW9NNNSp1Hv/s1600/startart1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKulz6eHGxJto7F3apUL7I2z0GCWoqsWsGnOhf7edmf4jA-QOmDNBtWMLbu7e4sq35btZN_T92KKlWUfd0pCc3A1Zujx0wWEO9rb0Ny8ODjmiJDqoa5OcR7FwhnSzlRcEDXYW9NNNSp1Hv/s1600/startart1.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></div>
I don't normally use this blog for direct marketing, but since TeachersPayTeachers is having a site-wide Back to School sale (Aug 4 & 5), and since I have a store there, I thought I'd take the opportunity to blatantly peddle my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Start-With-Art-Five-Art-Lessons-to-Start-the-Year-262412" target="_blank">Start With Art</a> lesson bundle designed for elementary classroom teachers who are not necessarily art teachers.<br />
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This collection of five art lessons is a great way to start the school year with lower grade elementary students. It introduces the elements of design -- line, shape, color, pattern & texture, and space -- with open-ended explorations designed to allow students to use a variety of art materials and techniques. And... it gives teachers a great opportunity to observe students motor skills, work habits, creativity, and responsibility!<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Start-With-Art-Five-Art-Lessons-to-Start-the-Year-262412" target="_blank">Start With Art</a> is a big seller in my TpT store, and it's 20% off for two days -- August 4 and 5. With the TpT promotion code (BTS14) you save an additional 10%, for a total savings of 28%!<br />
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Check out my store, and while you're there, download my free resource, <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Making-Time-for-Art-230374" target="_blank">Making Time For Art</a>. It's filled with ideas and suggestions for incorporating more art lessons into the classroom. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-28248093790641191442014-06-23T18:38:00.000-07:002014-06-23T19:42:49.296-07:00got chalk?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: center;">Left to their own devices and given a few simple materials, kids will make art on their own. Shouldn't this tell us something about our innate need to create, to beautify, to express ourselves?</span><br />
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Give a Kindergartner some sidewalk chalk and leave him or her alone and some happy things might happen! These two sidewalk chalk drawings were done by Kindergartners at recess on two separate occasions. In each case, no adult told them what to draw, how to draw it, or made any suggestions.<br />
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I love the sun's rays and am impressed by their evenness of distance from each other as well as their length. And the sun's face is just too cute! <span style="text-align: center;">The drawing of the person was done on a cloudy day when rain was threatening. It is hard to tell from this photo, but the drawing was much larger than life size, stretching across the sidewalk to a length far beyond the height of its artist.</span><br />
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But one does not need to be a kindergartner to enjoy sidewalk chalk art. Just today, taking a short break between starting and finishing this entry, I stepped out to the grocery store, and found this drawing on the sidewalk just outside the grocery store door. Considering it's careful symmetry, I'm supposing this was drawn by someone far beyond Kindergarten, a reminder that art really is for everyone, that personal expression can be spontaneous and very public, and that with just a little sidewalk chalk (or a crayon, or whatever!) anyone can make our world just a little happier, just a little more fun, just a little less boring.<br />
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Seeing this on the sidewalk outside the grocery store was a happy surprise that made me smile. I hope many others smiled when they saw it, too!<br />
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Got chalk?<br />
Got a sidewalk?<br />
Go out and make some art!<br />
.Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-46384420265369601982014-04-13T11:45:00.002-07:002014-04-13T11:46:55.929-07:00looking at art with kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With the idea that I would have students do some "mystery paintings" of faces.... white crayon on white paper with watercolor resist overlay.... I started out by having them compare two works, one by Pablo Picasso and one by Paul Klee. I chose these two works because I intended to have them do a contour drawing of a face and then use color blocks of watercolor over the drawings, and these two works are perfect examples.<br />
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We started with my standard question: "What do you notice?" I charted the students' responses, encouraging them to identify whether their "noticing" was of the Picasso, the Klee, or whether it applied to both of the works. I asked students to use the artists' names rather than saying "the one on the left" or pointing and saying "that one" or "the round one" or "the pencil one." Those attributes that applied to both were charted down the center. Since these particular second graders are familiar with Venn Diagrams, they understood right away how to read this finished chart after I added the "boxes" around the lists.<br />
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On to the students' art making...<br />
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I started with a short demonstration of the "mystery painting" technique, drawing a large face with lots of lines for hair and showing students how I could almost see the drawing if I held the paper up to the light. I added a line pattern in the background for interest, and then modeled painting in blocks of color. I emphasized that I was not following the lines, but letting the drawing come through on its own as I painted.<br />
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Then I switched gears and decided to invite them to draw anything they wanted with white crayon on white paper. Together we brainstormed subject matter: animals, flowers, landscapes, and... of course.... faces.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">As they drew, I reminded students to press hard with the crayon and try to use the whole paper, either adding more to their subject matter or perhaps including a pattern in the background for interest. As they were ready, they painted over their drawings. </span><br />
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These were just plain fun to do. Watercolor resist is a popular art-making activity and really does not need a lot of prep or explanation, but the introduction with these two art works gives an added art-appreciation and art analysis dimension to the lesson.<br />
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Looking at these two art works helps the students see how a face can take up a whole page, and to realize that one doesn't need to "follow lines" when painting. It also gives students the opportunity to see and talk about representational abstract art, and to become comfortable with the idea that a face drawing does not need to be absolutely realistic to be successful.<br />
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This art-making session ended with students writing about their art work. I gave them the choice of simply telling about their own process, describing how to create a "mystery painting," writing about the difference between Picasso's and Klee's faces, or comparing their own art work to either Picasso's or Klee's. Most students chose to just write about their own process, but two students did write comparisons... one compared his art work to Paul Klee's, and one compared the Picasso and Klee faces.<br />
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All in all, a successful lesson, during which a good time was had by all!<br />
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Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-40689219191082625972014-01-31T11:37:00.000-08:002014-01-31T11:37:19.765-08:00what can you do with a heart?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What can you do with any shape, really? One would think it's pretty easy to just decorate a shape... any shape... with lines, patterns, color.... but what I've found lately when substituting is that kids seem to be getting less and less creative at a frighteningly increasing pace. Giving them free reign with a blank piece of paper seems like such a good idea on paper, but I've found that many need a little push of some sort... some examples, some modeling, sometimes even a whole lesson, or at least a mini-lesson, on drawing patterns or borders.<br />
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One day in a second grade class, with a little free time to kill, I just thought I'd have students draw a large heart and make it beautiful. The word "decorate" just didn't seem right to me, but it was precisely that word that finally made the difference. I did do a little modeling to begin with, just to give them some ideas, and invited them to use as many colors as they wanted, as many designs as they wanted, and to fill the paper completely.<br />
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One of the only requirements was that they had to draw the heart freehand, so we would have a variety of heart shapes, not a set of cookie cutter hearts all the same. I wandered around as they were working, suggesting that they think of patterns they could use, and giving a hint now and then about using bolder colors or perhaps outlining the heart for emphasis.<br />
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It was interesting watching them work. While most of the students really got into it and showed some thought in their designs, a few seemed at a complete loss as to what they could do with their heart. When I teach art lessons to kids, I always emphasize how artists usually create a plan, think about what they want to do and choose colors carefully. There are so many times that I see students just slap something together, or don't really look at the space they have to work with. It's very intriguing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofkmUmifQNeAWPy33_D69c2DG4eAMs-APCreX1WmRuizaPYtRYN2UK4o7BV4MzHEC26zQX4JvvCPO6XyHLpAw6z3TxgSNC9caKPAhUowg37gn4pw7AkgqB-fPtTg0rHBUIXaxvYA4Q24b/s1600/creativeheart2duggan12c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgofkmUmifQNeAWPy33_D69c2DG4eAMs-APCreX1WmRuizaPYtRYN2UK4o7BV4MzHEC26zQX4JvvCPO6XyHLpAw6z3TxgSNC9caKPAhUowg37gn4pw7AkgqB-fPtTg0rHBUIXaxvYA4Q24b/s1600/creativeheart2duggan12c.JPG" height="243" width="320" /></a>In the end, the results of this activity were interesting. We only worked with crayon on this particular day, but if I had planned it out beforehand I might have had some watercolors available, or some scraps of paper, especially decorative paper, for them to use to enhance their hearts even more. I might have done more modeling (as much as I hate to!) or a short lesson on patterning, or bordering, or ways to combine different types of lines. I guess I just really believed they would do all that all by themselves. They did produce some fun designs, and they had a good time, and maybe that's the best thing.<br />
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The most interesting thing of all to me in this whole lesson is that this is the same class that created some beautiful Zentangles just a few weeks before. I fully expected that would carry over to this activity, and it did not, but maybe that's ok too!<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-51903734701464387322013-10-25T18:03:00.000-07:002013-10-25T18:03:34.035-07:00drawing on halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One day while looking through some images looking for something (I don't remember what), I saw a little orange and black witch profile art piece that got me to thinking. I had a subbing day scheduled the week before Halloween in a second grade class in which the students are particular adventurous, so I figured they would be a good group to try out a new lesson that would require them to use a viewfinder, make preliminary sketches, draw a large version of one of their small sketches, then crop their design, paint it, and frame it. I had visions of bold, black contour drawings with bright orange textured background, and lots of options for cropping.<br />
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It's hard to get some kids to draw something bigger than their pinkie, and I wanted them to draw large, and boldly, giving some attention to placement, scale, background, and detail. That's a lot for a second grader, but we went slowly and used pretty much the whole day for the lesson.<br />
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We started with a picture walk through the book <i>Look! Look! Look!</i> by Tana Hoban, then I taught them how to make a small viewfinder. I had them look at my face, move the viewfinder closer and further away, look at their own hand, and look around the room in general. This was to give them an opportunity to look at the environment the way an artist does, blocking out unneeded parts and just experimenting with placement in the viewing window.<br />
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The next step was generating a list of Halloween nouns, for them to use for ideas for drawing. This was followed by having them fold a piece of scratch paper into fourths and do four different small drawings. They chose one of these to draw bigger on a white paper, using only a black crayon, with instructions not to color anything in because these were contour drawings. I let them know that we would be painting them later.<br />
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Next, they made a cropping window and placed it over their drawing to help them choose how to crop their composition. This was kind of like using a giant viewfinder. They drew a pencil line for the cropping lines, then sponge painted inside that square with orange watercolor.<br />
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By now it was about one hour before the end of the day. There was just enough time left to cut on the pencil lines to trim the excess off their drawings and mount their "close up" compositions on black paper. And to show off.<br />
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After we had a chance to look at everyone's work, I had a few students choose someone else's picture and tell what they liked about it. They were remarkably articulate! "I like the collar." "I like the pattern in the background." "I like the spider web." "I like that it looks scary."<br />
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This turned out to be a pretty successful lesson with a lot going for it. The students were intrigued by the viewfinders, and I was thrilled to see that hardly anyone drew tiny pictures. I think making the preliminary sketches (and modeling that process) helped a lot. If I had wanted to stretch this lesson out even further, I could have had the students do all the measuring for their cropping window mats; I would definitely do that if I were teaching this to an older group. And just to show how great this class is, they put all the painting sponges back into color-coded baggies with no mistakes!<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-74024734725317894542013-09-28T12:30:00.000-07:002013-09-28T12:33:48.708-07:00just plain fun... and a little geometry!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On a day when I was subbing in a second grade classroom, wanting to do an art activity but not in the mood to bother with a full-blown lesson, I decided to focus on shapes and patterns. Usually when I do a patterning lesson, I get into a whole "math chat" mode and ask a lot of questions about what patterns are, how we know, and other identifying information. This time, I just put up a sheet of butcher paper, labeled it "Patterns in the Classroom" and asked students to describe, with words, patterns they could see around them. The key here was describing with words. I specifically asked them not to indicate what they were looking at, but simply to describe a pattern they found. As they described what they saw, I drew the patterns, as I understood them, on the paper.<br />
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Once we had several examples, I talked about how even if what I drew wasn't exactly what students saw, we still ended up with some interesting patterns. U explained that is called "getting an idea" or "getting inspiration" -- that the patterns they saw could be changed to create new patterns.<br />
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The actual art-making part of this activity was very simple: Trace some shapes onto white paper (I had brought my collection of cardboard and plastic shapes with me) and then color in the resulting spaces.<br />
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I introduced the words <i><b>overlap</b></i> and <i><b>intersect</b></i> and modeled tracing a few shapes to demonstrate the meanings of the words. I made sure students understood that each shape needed to overlap at least one other shape, so that all the lines would intersect. I then explained that each resulting shape/section would need to be filled with a pattern, and that no pattern could be repeated. And just to throw in another math concept, I asked them to trace an odd number of shapes, more than two and less than ten. They traced the shapes with a pencil first, then colored the spaces in, and then went back and outlined each original shape with a black crayon.<br />
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Students had cleared off their tables, so I just tossed a lot of assorted shapes in the middles of their tables and they went to work. As they got down to it, the classroom became quieter and quieter. There was some real concentration going on! A few students were not working real carefully, so I reminded them to be sure to think about what they were doing, and to slow down. I always tell students who rush that I am going to want their work to look like they were thinking about it. That generally works.<br />
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This was an easy, easy lesson that needed no prep at all. It would be great for a substitute (well, I was substituting!). I happened to have shapes with me, but I would bet that in most primary classrooms one would be able to find some shapes to trace. If not, students could make their own, with each student making one shape and then all students at that table sharing each others'. And there's no rule that says they have to use geometric shapes, but I do think the resulting shapes from overlapping are very interesting and it would be a great math extension to have them name all the resulting shapes, or some additional art concepts could be included by having students use all warm or all cool colors, or some other defined color combination.<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-86362261406241564412013-08-20T08:31:00.002-07:002013-08-20T08:31:50.603-07:00learning to cut<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Third day of school.<br />
Kindergarten.<br />
Choose a color.<br />
Cut into strips.<br />
Glue onto black paper.<br />
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I can't begin to count the number of second and third grade students I've seen in the past few years who could not efficiently use a pair of scissors. So when working as a support helper for the first three days of school in Kindergarten, I manned a center where the kids only needed to cut. Not on lines, not on shapes, just cut. I showed them how to use the scissors -- thumb in the small hole, fingers in the big hole -- and how to hold the paper -- vertically, with the scissors pointing to the sky -- and asked them to cut their paper into strips.<br />
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Each student was able to choose a color, and in a group of six, everyone had a different color (there were about nine bright colors to choose from) so nobody's strips got mixed up on the table. Everyone also got a sheet of black paper to glue their strips on, and to make things easy, I brushed watered-down white glue all over the black paper and they just needed to lay their cuttings down onto the wet glue. This job was all about cutting and nothing else.<br />
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I always encourage / teach kids to hold their paper vertically, cut pointing to the sky, and to turn the paper instead of the scissors. This helps them be able to see exactly what they are cutting, because the paper and scissors are at eye level. This is particularly important if they are cutting on a line, or cutting out a shape, but for this activity, there were no lines to follow at all, so each child was able to just cut their strips the best they could. I gave no directions on how to glue them on the paper, and it was interesting to see how the children had different methods for gluing, some being very meticulous and orderly, others gluing the strips in a more haphazard manner.<br />
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When they were all finished, we had a beautiful assortment of line art, all ready to go on the wall. Even though each child had the same directions, no two of these were alike. I think they made a perfect first art activity!<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-45455861317847555372013-08-01T09:25:00.003-07:002013-08-04T08:31:00.284-07:00about art materials<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6GyDwmTAIJ3oPXArATxNeG-_I_Qu9pGuQ_GlM_zv3qSofQBVHy2jtV9SFPeoR2jSDjriJkVRG6LRTKFmlQsKyDgrajP9-cYr7AhecUxakxLKoVnYD0ZAPIqj6QUuSJjZ4QBPwCw2Bsil/s1600/artmaterials1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6GyDwmTAIJ3oPXArATxNeG-_I_Qu9pGuQ_GlM_zv3qSofQBVHy2jtV9SFPeoR2jSDjriJkVRG6LRTKFmlQsKyDgrajP9-cYr7AhecUxakxLKoVnYD0ZAPIqj6QUuSJjZ4QBPwCw2Bsil/s400/artmaterials1.JPG" width="400" /></a>When I taught art in Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades for two years, I had the luxury of a generous budget and was able to buy all the art materials I needed for a basic art curriculum. I didn't wander off into anything fancy; I stuck to the basics and the process of creative art-making. These days, I am retired and subbing in other peoples' classrooms, and I am intrigued (and sorry to say, not in a very good way) about the lack of quality art materials out there for kids to use. When it comes to buying art materials, my philosophy is to always buy the best quality possible. The cost may be initially higher, but the returns are greater: they generally last longer, work better, and produce much better results. I stick pretty much to the basics and stay away from most "specialty" items like glittery watercolor or tapping glue bottles. I follow this philosophy both for classroom art materials and for my own art-making process, because I want kids to feel like artists when they are making art, not to struggle with the materials they are using.</div>
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What do I consider basic? And are some brands better than others? Does it really matter what brand you buy? You bet! My favorites...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtqq0HT6xpWKxMOlDsduqBZZgopXDojALLmqVmKZbMQlY5xJoMayd0L6btA6GWCUrBmIKL8WzCazfO79zQq7RMGr0z5b82HqZef4zkG31aSfsTx-bAgv50rG_uRzHOPgW1R_d5-hqrM10/s1600/artmaterialscrayonbaggie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtqq0HT6xpWKxMOlDsduqBZZgopXDojALLmqVmKZbMQlY5xJoMayd0L6btA6GWCUrBmIKL8WzCazfO79zQq7RMGr0z5b82HqZef4zkG31aSfsTx-bAgv50rG_uRzHOPgW1R_d5-hqrM10/s200/artmaterialscrayonbaggie.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtqq0HT6xpWKxMOlDsduqBZZgopXDojALLmqVmKZbMQlY5xJoMayd0L6btA6GWCUrBmIKL8WzCazfO79zQq7RMGr0z5b82HqZef4zkG31aSfsTx-bAgv50rG_uRzHOPgW1R_d5-hqrM10/s1600/artmaterialscrayonbaggie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">CRAYONS</span>. </b> Good quality crayons have better color, probably due to the ratio of pigment to wax (I'm not a crayon scientist, so I'm guessing here). Poor quality crayons have more wax and the colors are not as bright, no matter how hard you press. I won't buy anything but Crayola. The reds are bright. The yellows are strong. Many teachers buy cheaper brands and my experience is that the colors are just very bland. And by the way, I want the colors to be named what they are. I came across some crayons in a friend's classroom that had color names like Blueberry Swirl or Grape Soda (I am making those up, but you get the gist), which are very cute and all, but were not even that accurate. Colors have names and don't need to be cutified. I like that Crayola names their blues Indigo, Blue, Cerulean. These are real names that artists use.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-weight: bold;">CONSTRUCTION PAPER CRAYONS </span>are great to have on hand. They are made for drawing on dark colored construction paper. They have some kind of reflective material in them. Kids love using them! They are made by Crayola, and are wrapped with black paper so they are easily distinguished if they get mixed with regular crayons. For general storage, I like to keep crayons in zip baggies instead of in their boxes. It's easy for kids to find the color they need, and a whole class set will fit in one shoebox-sized plastic tub.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130;"><b>MARKERS:</b></span> I like Crayola markers for kids' use. They seem to last a pretty long time and the colors are pretty bright. I always store them with the tips facing down. This way, the ink is always saturating the tip and they stay nice and "juicy" instead of drying out. Laying them down in a tub works, also. For my own use, on charts and for art lessons where I do demonstrations, I use Mr. Sketch. The colors are very vibrant and the chisel point lets me make bolder lines so that the charts are easy to read. I like the smelly ones.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><b>COLORED PENCILS:</b></span> Crayola again, although there are other brands that are pretty good, too. I like having a good supply of multiple, basic colors. I generally buy boxes of 12 colors and then dump them all in a plastic tub. They are great for still-life and other observation drawing.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><b>GLUE STICKS:</b> </span></span> I only buy UHU. It's firmer than cheaper glue sticks, doesn't clump or squish into a mess, and lasts a lot longer than any other brand I've used. I once put in an order for UHU glue sticks when I was teaching art, and the school secretary substituted a cheaper brand. I was working in three schools at the time, and guess at which school the glue sticks got used up first? These are definitely noticeably more expensive than other brands, but very well worth it in the long run. They have a "screw" top which I like. For some reason, kids seem to smoosh them less. Maybe because they are less smooshable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JC3NqJt6h84hyphenhyphenJAiDzPrR5IoU9wZ1cAuCXxO_3xoKFoU3nHlBCFODO93NSv__sb3KSDoaOH1RtQbI015WmN7Lc_6ChNM3gglFlmTgsQEWLASa9-4QzVZYipvdiXIKeXJxPqKWQfH7f3o/s1600/artmaterialselmerstop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JC3NqJt6h84hyphenhyphenJAiDzPrR5IoU9wZ1cAuCXxO_3xoKFoU3nHlBCFODO93NSv__sb3KSDoaOH1RtQbI015WmN7Lc_6ChNM3gglFlmTgsQEWLASa9-4QzVZYipvdiXIKeXJxPqKWQfH7f3o/s200/artmaterialselmerstop.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: right; color: black; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><b>WHITE GLUE: </b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: right; color: black; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;">Elmers. The regular kind. Not the washable kind, the school glue kind, the clear gel kind (oh, that's the worst). Just the regular "Glue-All" kind. What I really really hate is those tapping bottles that drive me crazy when kids are doing collages. I think teachers buy them because they are tired of kids wasting glue, but it's not that hard to teach kids how to use small dots of glue. As for longevity, I always made sure to remind kids to close the stopper and wipe the glue off the tip, and then store the bottles standing up. It's that easy. The bottles will last practically forever.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>SCISSORS:</b></span> I like "pointy" scissors, even for Kindergartners. They just seem to cut better. They seem more serious. Fiskars makes a pretty nice pair of scissors for little hands, and they seem to work fine for either hand, so you don't need any special left-handed ones. </div>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;">PENCILS:</span></b> Dixon Ticonderoga. Nothing else will do. They are great for drawing. They have good, soft erasers. They sharpen well without breaking. They are worth the extra few cents per dozen. They last longer, write smoother, sharpen easier, and erase without smudging. I could write a whole blog post just about pencils. Another time. When the erasers go, as they will, I offer Pink Pearl erasers, not one for each student, but several stored near the pencil sharpener. (Which is a whole other post, but I swear by a good pencil sharpener.)</div>
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And last, but definitely not least ..... <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><b>PAPER! </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ileZlPqZec2cUQnDSBDlu5Lk0r7dCRkIZlgJEOK7-YF7fBsfxQwFp2piyX6anhfp26ysitjWCzHfcGeC7o_sS38cmCDqX4mVhQgs-m6pvAgPA00FVzuTLcOAP4diTFseBh5FnCe3Xbzh/s1600/collagetable1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ileZlPqZec2cUQnDSBDlu5Lk0r7dCRkIZlgJEOK7-YF7fBsfxQwFp2piyX6anhfp26ysitjWCzHfcGeC7o_sS38cmCDqX4mVhQgs-m6pvAgPA00FVzuTLcOAP4diTFseBh5FnCe3Xbzh/s320/collagetable1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">I like good quality <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">CONSTRUCTION PAPER,</span></b> like Tru-Ray, because the paper is smoother and the colors are nice and bright. </span>And by all means.... save all the scraps for collage-making! <span class="Apple-style-span">It's a good idea to invest in some white </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">DRAWING PAPER</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">. It comes in reams and is not too expensive. I like having both 9x12 and 12x18 on hand. It can be used when construction paper is not really needed but copy paper or newsprint is too thin. </span>Regular, ordinary <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">COPY PAPER</span></b> is great for pencil drawing. It's nice and white, relatively inexpensive, and looks great on the wall in a gallery. Under no circumstances would I ever use any kind of newsprint for art lessons. Ever. Not even for sketching. It's just too ugly.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><b>FOR BEST RESULTS, TREAT STUDENTS LIKE ARTISTS</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYgj4pnMuVwamv83XFwyWolD_OXFtwplySIbpg6fiGXHG0l4Je7JTQUGOeimIyN-756f8Ut_98hftNzy2_ysdy8GlEmht_R323-yiPfbD17MEfqzURz9A1ONKkeCg5KUg2uG6L9t5a7XZ/s1600/be-an-artist.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmYgj4pnMuVwamv83XFwyWolD_OXFtwplySIbpg6fiGXHG0l4Je7JTQUGOeimIyN-756f8Ut_98hftNzy2_ysdy8GlEmht_R323-yiPfbD17MEfqzURz9A1ONKkeCg5KUg2uG6L9t5a7XZ/s320/be-an-artist.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
If you buy the best you can afford, or even go a little over your budget, it will pay in the long run. When the budget is limited (and when isn't it, but I mean seriously limited) and you're tempted to buy cheaper materials, consider buying less units and get higher quality instead. Maybe it's better to have 10 boxes of high quality crayons and have kids share, than to have 20 boxes of poor quality crayons with drab color. Maybe it's better for three students to share a good stick of UHU glue stick than to have each student have their own stick of gooey, messy substandard glue stick. Every student does not always need their own everything.<br />
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Treat students like artists, and maybe they will make great art!<br />
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Enjoy! Create!<br />
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<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-6397523593595681082013-07-24T07:29:00.000-07:002013-07-24T07:29:50.839-07:00art teaches kidsI found this photo on Facebook.<br />
I couldn't have said it better.<br />
There is nothing to add:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKp6v1kXmLQh8Xxc5wLlEV1tW5B6rkW__1fHpY9qxj3I6lfaedYAE423MLfj7SPKLeVshScXcOXURFRQBrdqkn_wSjTGziq-URrJgCWtIxer2v4fNQGi0XmgzQKtcUxnNiAAgq9BQueJW/s1600/artteacheskids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKp6v1kXmLQh8Xxc5wLlEV1tW5B6rkW__1fHpY9qxj3I6lfaedYAE423MLfj7SPKLeVshScXcOXURFRQBrdqkn_wSjTGziq-URrJgCWtIxer2v4fNQGi0XmgzQKtcUxnNiAAgq9BQueJW/s400/artteacheskids.jpg" width="352" /></a></div>
<br />Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2111258238536320777.post-16797597241955396792013-07-23T17:33:00.002-07:002013-07-24T06:45:33.485-07:00lieber award<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfp0f4OBu7WBpQr99Z5ghhDMZpwTD8WMkuqY1p6FO9lEbpDbalTHdOmLmUOxEndHFU6W1DIVlgkFYVWSKuiSmHkC4QBFrfXn-yRTrKPPN4MJJdk4pNIK78MTpEXgnf60cckwsegfu_0KYC/s1600/blogaward-liebster-blog-logo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfp0f4OBu7WBpQr99Z5ghhDMZpwTD8WMkuqY1p6FO9lEbpDbalTHdOmLmUOxEndHFU6W1DIVlgkFYVWSKuiSmHkC4QBFrfXn-yRTrKPPN4MJJdk4pNIK78MTpEXgnf60cckwsegfu_0KYC/s320/blogaward-liebster-blog-logo1.jpg" width="320" /></a>OK.... so about a week ago or so in the space of two days three different TeachersPayTeachers bloggers nominated Creating Art With Kids for a Lieber Award. A what? Hmmm. I had no clue what this was, so I started googling and found very little information. One thing I discovered is that "lieber" is a kind of endearment word in German, so basically the award goes to a blog you like. :-) The best information I found on the origins of this award is at two blogs called <a href="http://sopphey.onimpression.com/2012/05/liebster-blog-award-origins.html">Sopphey Says</a> and <a href="http://smoothreentry.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/origins-of-the-liebster-award/">Smooth ReEntry</a>.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"> Apparently it is an award designed to sort of pay forward some attention to blogs that are maybe just starting out, or sort of plugging along without a lot of notice. The directions I received and read from my nominators are that awardees need to do the following:</span><br />
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1. Link back to the blog that nominated me</div>
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2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers</div>
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3. Answer the questions posted for me by my nominator</div>
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4. Share 11 random facts about myself</div>
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5. Create 11 questions for my nominees</div>
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6. Contact my nominees and let them know I nominated them!</div>
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.... sort of like a chain letter :-) It's an award for which you get to do stuff! YAY! Kind of like when my daughter's soccer team made the finals in a weekend soccer tournament, the reward for which was to play more soccer. But I digress.....</div>
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Interestingly, I did find that the requirements have changed over time. At one time, you had to nominate a blog with less than 3000 followers. How it got to 200 I do not know. Also, originally it was 11 face, 11 questions, and 11 blogs to nominate. I'm glad that part changed to 5-11 because I am sticking with five. More on that later.</div>
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So, since I got three nominations in two days I decided that I would deal with all three nominations in the same blog. My nominators were:</div>
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<a href="http://www.mrsmathishomeroom.com/2013/07/me-ive-won-award-really.html">Mrs Mathis</a></div>
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<a href="http://tinytoestpt.blogspot.com/2013/07/what-honor-liebster-award-times-2.html">Tiny Toes</a></div>
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<a href="http://1teachermom.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/i-have-been-nominated/">1teachermom / CatiaD</a></div>
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So I have 33 questions to answer:</div>
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From Mrs. Mathis:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">How long have you been teaching?</span> I taught for 20 years and am now retired.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Why do you teach?</span> I loved the creativity part, the making of my own stuff, and watching kids be creative.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">If you weren't a teacher, what would you be?</span> Hmm. Maybe a veterinarian.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">What are your favourite hobbies?</span> Reading. Writing. Making Art.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">What's the last book you read? </span>Quiet, by Susan Cain.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">What was your favourite book as a child? </span>Charlotte's Web</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Who is your favourite band, singer and why? </span>I have many favorites, but currently I find myself grabbing the Queen CD more often than not when in the car. Why? I dunno.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Do you believe in soul mates? </span>Absolutely.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Do you believe in love at first sight? </span>Absolutely.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Who (or what) inspires you? </span>Trees. The wind. Water.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Who was your favourite teacher when you were in school and why? </span>Mrs. Amori, my Kindergarten teacher, let me teach myself to read in the days way back when Kindergartners were supposed to only play.</div>
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From Tiny Toes:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Are you married? How long? Children? </span>I was married 18 years. Been divorced quite a while now. I have two children in their 30s. My daughter works for the city of Campbell, CA and my son is a professional musician.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Do you prefer a snowy winter or a hot summer? </span>Winter, definitely.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">How early do you do your Christmas shopping? </span>Um.... Around Dec. 20 if I'm lucky.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">What is the one thing you've always wanted to do but haven't been able to? </span>See the Grand Canyon. Live on the beach.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Which gift certificate would you most want to recieve? </span>DickBlick Art Materials.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">What drink (alcoholic or not) do you most order when you eat out?</span></div>
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Diet Coke or water, or, if I'm at Sierra Nevada Brewery, then beer. Crystal Wheat.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Have you ever wanted to learn to sew, crochet, or knit? Can you?</span></div>
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I can sew and knit, but not crochet.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">What does you ideal date night look like? </span>At home, alone, with the phone turned off.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">If you could bring your act to X-Factor... what would you bring? </span>I don't know what X-Factor is.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Are you a night-owl? </span>Not really. I'm up before 6am even in the summer.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest ability...where do you put your technical abilities at school? </span>Well... gosh... I'd have to let my former students answer that.....</div>
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From CatiaD:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Where are you from? </span> I am a California native, through and through. NORTHERN California, I might add. :-)</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">How many languages do you speak fluently? </span>This one.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">If you could learn a new language, what would it be? </span>Español</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">What is your favourite thing to do when you need to relax? </span>Draw or watercolor. Or read. Or wander in the garden.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Name 3 people that had a huge impact on your life and tell us why. </span>My mom.... because she's my mom. My kids... because they made me be real. My Kindergarten teacher... because she bucked the system for me.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">What is the dream you most wish to have come true? </span>I am happy the way I am.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Favorite animal and why. </span>Cats. I have six. Because they are cats.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Coffee, tea or neither? </span>Both, at different times. Coffee in the morning. Tea when I'm sick or feeling like I should be more healthy.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Where do you usually go when on holidays? Beach, camping, cruise….? </span>What's a holiday?</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Something or someone that makes you get up in the morning with a smile. </span>My cats. They are very entertaining.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">If you could describe yourself in one word, what word would that be?</span></div>
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Unencumbered.</div>
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Whew! That was a lot of thinking!</div>
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OK.... so.... here are 11 random facts about me....</div>
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1. I have six cats. </div>
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2. I love snow.</div>
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3. I have read <i>Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance</i> five times.</div>
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4. I would rather watch than participate.</div>
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5. I miss teaching.</div>
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6. I am half Sicilian, half Portuguese.</div>
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7. I know how to pronounce "biscotti" the right way.<br />
8. I know how long it takes a family to make 3000 homemade raviolis.</div>
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9. I love pizza.<br />
10. One of my former students ran for governor of California.</div>
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11. In my next life, I plan to be water.</div>
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Now.... here are my five nominees, followed by the questions I have for them:</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://adayinbcasfirstgrade.blogspot.com/">A Day in First Grade</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://leapingintolearning.wordpress.com/">Leaping Into Learning</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://specialedpro.blogspot.com/">Read-Write-Create</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://teaching.casadelindquist.com/">Casa de Lindquist</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://desktoplearningadventures.blogspot.com/">Desktop Learning Adventures</a></div>
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And here are my questions for them:</div>
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1. Why did you become a teacher and how long have you been teaching?</div>
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2. What subject do you most enjoy teaching?</div>
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3. What is your favorite "teaching" book?</div>
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4. What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you in the classroom?</div>
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5. Do you teach art in your classroom? If not, why not?</div>
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6. What is your best-selling product in your TpT store? Why do you think it is a best seller?</div>
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7. How long have you been a seller on TeachersPayTeachers?</div>
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8. What do you do when you are not teaching?</div>
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9. Who or what inspires you?</div>
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10. Do you have pets? How many? </div>
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11. Rock, paper, or scissors?</div>
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And with that.... this blog post is finished. </div>
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Thanks!</div>
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Renee Goulartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10436681655348252530noreply@blogger.com1