Monsters Love Colors

I was at Target today and saw this book, Monster Love Colors, on the shelf.  Being that I am an elementary art teacher, I was instantly drawn to it and, of course, had to buy it.  It  reminds me of, Mouse Paint....but with monsters   Who doesn't love cute colorful monsters   The primary colored monsters color secondary monsters.  I  already foresee a cute monster color theory lesson plan in my 1st graders future.  I would definitely recommend this book!

* a quick side note....  This book was $15.99 at Target, but they price match Amazon, so I only paid $10.87 :)

Color Wheel Pizza Time!!!

This is a great lesson that I got from the blog Art Lessons for Kids.  My 2nd graders have been spending the last few months discussing color.  This lesson was a great way to review what we have learned.  I definitely perked their interest when I told them we were making color wheel “pizzas.”

We started by tracing a circle on white tag board.  Then we used a ruler and drew a line to split the circle in half.  I was able to add some math in the lesson, at this point.  Then I had them put a dot in the center.  We drew and X, which split the circle into 6 segments aka “slices.” I found it worked best when I had the kids number their slices.  We then talked about primary and secondary colors and colored our slices. 

Once they were finished coloring…the real fun began.  I set up stations around the room of different “toppings” the kids could add to their pizza.  There was felt, paper, foam shapes, pipe cleaners, glitter, feathers, and small pom poms.

 

It was neat seeing all the different ideas the kids came up with. 

When  students finished I took pictures of them pretending to take a bite out of their pizza.  I had one student even cut out a bite…too funny.  Then students put their pizza on the drying rack, aka “oven” to bake. 

Lastly, to end the color unit with 2nd grade, we watched some chapters from Getting to Know Color in Art. 

Warm and Cool Landscapes

This is one of my favorite chalk projects.  I got the idea from Artsonia, and have had success every year I have taught it.  I did this project with 2nd grade and it took 2-3 class periods.

One the first day, we draw the landscape together on black paper.  I then tell the kids we are going to draw with glue.  They look at me all confused, which I think is funny .  I show them how to trace their pencil lines with the glue.  I have them practice on scrap paper first.


On the next class period we start the chalking.  I demonstrate how to blend colors.  We look at the color wheel and I show them how colors near each other blend nicely.  The choose either warm or cool for the foreground and the opposite for the background.

I make sure to pass out wet and dry paper towels so the kids can was their fingers before changing colors.

  This student was absent on the day we did the glue, so she used chalk first and then outlined with black oil pastel.

Christmas Cubism… with Tints and Shades

I really was happy with this lesson.  My students learned important concepts, while making a fun Christmas project.  I got this idea for this lesson from the blog Kids Artists and adapted it for my 2nd graders. 

1) We briefly talked about Cubism and Pablo Picasso.

2) We used rulers to draw a large triangle on 12x18 paper.  We then added a trunk and star.  Next we used the ruler to break the picture into different segments.

3) We went over our pencil lines with black oil pastel.

4) Then we began to paint.  I introduced the students to the words tint (adding white to a color) and shade (adding black).  We also reviewed how to make green.  I gave each table a plate with yellow and blue.  They mixed green and painted a section of their tree.  Then I gave them a dab of white paint to make their first tint.  They painted another section.  We continued this process until we made 4 tints.  The next class we continued this process but made shades.  Then we repeated the process with red. 

5) In the final step we used oil pastels to decorate the tree.  I also had students go back over some of their black lines.  This project took 3 class periods.




In the future I think the kids would like to had sequence for ornaments. I also hope to get them done in time to hang them in the hallways.  Live and learn!

Warm Mittens in the Cold Winter

I was going through some of my old pictures and was reminded on this winter lesson. Students traced their hand to make mittens and decorated with warm colors. Then they used white oil pastels to add snow in the background and colored with cool colors. I believe I found this idea on Artsonia a few years ago.

Mouse Paint....Learning about Color

Every year I introduce the Elements of Design to my 1st graders. We we have been learning about color and just completed our Mouse Paint project. I saw this idea on Artsonia probably 4 years ago and having been teaching it ever since. The kids always seem to enjoy this lesson.

Day one: We start by reading the story and discussing primary and secondary colors. Then we add circles of the primary colors on white 12x18 paper. The we mix the secondary colors and add circles. Then I let the kids mix all the colors together to get brown.
Day two: We use black sharpie and turn our circles into little mice. We then add extras like cheese, paint buckets and the cat. We finish by adding crayon. I like how this student colored the background.

Warm leaves in the Cool wind...

Today my 2nd graders finished this lesson. I was really happy with the results. We started by making leaf rubbings and then painting them with warm colors. I was able to review the term texture that we discussed last year. Next, I showed the painting Starry Night, and we discussed what Van Gogh's swirls represented. The students used cool colored oil pastels and made swirls on 90lb. white paper. We used tempera cakes (with lots of water) to finish the background. Finally, on the last day, we cut out the leaves and glued them onto the background. Some students added green leaves by printing with cardboard and tempera. This was a fun fall project that reinforced art elements learned last year.