WOW! Another school year is almost here........

...the 2010-2011 school year is just around the corner - be on the lookout for new and exciting lessons! I have many great art lessons coming your way!

3rd grade - Spiral Weavings

3rd grade students created radial (spiral) designs by using a paper plate as a loom. Students learned about weaving techniques and terminology, cultures that use weaving and answered questions of why do we weave and what is weaving. The students looked at radial designs all around us in nature and used colorful patterning in creating their weaving. After the weaving was completed, they turned their weavings into decorative art by making a wall hanging.

Olympic Fever - Winter Olympics 2010

The students at DCES caught the Olympic bug! Excitement was in the air during this historical time. Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd graders created their own Gold Olympic Medals! Using clay, and their own shoe, students pressed the pattern from underneath their shoe onto a piece of clay to form a medallion shape. Each medal was individual depending on the pattern underneath each students own shoe. The students also created a crayon and watercolor resist painting to commemorate a fantasy of themselves in an Olympic event. The excitement was unbearable as each student received his/her gold medal in a make shift ceremony as I called each student up by name - what a wonderful memory for the students (and for me as well!).

Houses for Haiti- DCES faculty and their children come together for a great cause

Houses for Haiti is a non-profit organization dedicated to building houses for homeless families living on the streets of Cite Soleil, the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. With no jobs, education or public assistance, many families have no hope for ever living in a concrete dwelling. We believe that every person deserves to live in a safe environment, free from disease and filth that is ever present on the streets of Haiti. Please check out their website: Housesforhaiti.org

Duncan Creek faculty and their children donated their time after school to make house pins for this organization. Pins were made and sold in the front office and all funds were donated to help the people of Haiti. See just how great our teachers and staff are when working together!!!

3rd grade - Gyotaku fish printing

Japanese fishermen would record their catch by using this printing method. Before reading and writing was learned and used by everyone, visual means of record keeping of fish species and size would be recorded this way. No one could embellish the size of their catch by this method! Students were able to print with rubber fish AND a real fish ~ yuck ~ and even though many opted to print with the rubber fish, all wanted to see and feel the real one!

1st grades - have a heart

Pinch pots were the items being made in this beginning clay lesson. Our students created pinch pots by using lizella clay and pinching and forming the pot shape in their hands. Students turned these into heart shapes and glazed them as gifts for Valentine's day.

2nd grade - Kokeshi Dolls

These students studied a Japanese form of dollmaking - Kokeshi Dolls! Kokeshi dolls are carved from wood and were made as a less expensive way of having dolls for the children, as opposed to the more expensive porcelain dolls. Our students worked in recycled materials and paper mache. They used left over fabric scraps and ribbon scraps to create uniquely individual dolls - the boys even enjoyed this! As the students finished up their dolls, they made books and wrote stories to go along with their own kokeshi dolls. Take a look and see their wonderful characters!