Thankful Thursday: Thanks to Harry Wong & co.

Yesterday our back-to-school started off great with 3 hours spent learning from & listening to Harry Wong, his wife Rosemary and featured speaker Chelonnda Seroyer...

If you have never have the pleasure of seeing Harry in person, you are missing a great experience! His book, The First Days of School, was life-changing for me, even though I had been teaching for several years before reading it.

He has followed that up with his newest book (which the publisher offered to us at a great price)...

I'm also thankful for the online resources they directed us to at www.teachers.net. On this website, anyone can access more than "12 years of columns featuring teachers and administrators who have implemented" both of these books.

On the home page, click on 'magazines' in upper right corner

Then 'current issue' in the drop down menu. On the next page look for 'back issues' in lower right corner of top masthead

Here are a few articles spotlighted during the 3 hour presentation:

I can't wait to explore the whole site - I hope you find something here that you can use for a successful year! Enjoy...

Online Museum Resources for Art Educators

On the 5th Tuesday of each month, I'd like to share info about some of my favorite online museum resources. Today the National Gallery of Art will be highlighted. As you can see from the above clip, there are 3 specific areas that we can access for the benefit of our students on their Education/Teachers page: Lessons and Activities, Teaching Packets and Video.

On the Lessons and Activities page the description reads: "Organized into thematic units, each grade-level-specific lesson plan focuses on a single work of art and can be executed within one to two class periods. These lessons meet National Art Education Association (NAEA) Visual Arts curriculum standards." I found these possibilities that would be a good fit for my kids...

Teaching packets are explained as "... designed to permit flexibility in use. All are part of our free loan program with many available for immediate PDF download. They include a printed booklet with in-depth background information, suggestions for student activites, supplemental image CDs or slides, and often with color study prints, timelines, and bibiliographies. We encourage you to review them, to select those images and information that are most useful to your teaching needs, and to adapt and shape the materials to your specific instructional objectives." Here are the packets currently available...

A few of the other packets available for download or borrow caught my eye...

I have used the Islamic Art packet with great success in my classroom previously. I found the process of acquiring and returning the materials to be quite easy!

There are also printed packets only available to borrow. Here are a few...

Interested in videos? "Covering a range of topics from ancient art to the twentieth century and studies of individual artists, DVDs bring art to your classroom or learning setting. Borrow for free, or preview select titles online. All are closed-captioned." So many video choices - it was hard to decide which to feature here...

Please take the time to visit the NGA site and be inspired! I hope you find something that you can work into your curriculum this school year.

I would like to hear from you about your favorite museum site online and how you have used their resources in your artroom - leave a comment below to let the rest of us know of your inspiration!

First Day in the Art Room

This is the first installment of a recurring theme of Rerun Sundays (even though I missed the deadline by an hour or so here in AZ).

One of my most popular posts was back '12 concerning what I do on the first day of Art class for each of my many groups. Since this is what I'll be preparing for in the next week I thought I would post the link here for those who may have missed it the first time around.

I'm a firm believer in starting out the school year with structure, teaching routines from the get-go. That first day is packed full of routines that will be repeated every week. For returning students, it's a comfort - something familiar in the weeks/days ahead that are full of new experiences with new teachers, new classmates and new expectations.

The procedures start at the door with my greeting while students wait for permission to enter and end with line-up practice. In between these actions, my students learn my behavior expectations, safety rules (fire & lockdown) while I become familiar with their drawing skills through an assessment drawing. Of course while this busy period plays out I use my observational expertise to begin to formulate which students would work well together in the table groups that would be assigned in the following class period.

In the comment section, please share what your first day will look like in your artroom...

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the support of my co-workers who believe in me and what I do for my students.

Today I am thankful that we only lost power for 2 hours this morning which meant the AC was up and running long before we hit 112 degrees this afternoon.

Today I am thankful for the new roof that goes on our house tomorrow and money in the bank to pay for it!

What are you thankful for today?

Mixed Media Portraits

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I've been out of commission for a while (stress will do that to a person!) but credit my Partner in Crime (aka. the Artologist) for giving me the push I needed to get back here to post.

Today I stopped by our District office to see the current art displays, get ideas for new projects & take photos so I could share with you. I plan on posting student artwork pix by our amazing teachers the 4th Tuesday of every month - the displays are changed monthly - so be sure & stop back to see the latest! This month, I'll concentrate on the 2D display exhibited in our Personnel office but if you'd like to see the current featured 3D exhibit, check out my P.I.C.'s (Partner in Crime) blog post here - she will be covering the current 3D display & posting pix soon!

The two-dimensional work is highlighted on 2 bulletin boards directly facing all visitors to come through the main door of our district office. This way, the student artwork is seen by a large audience which includes both district staff as well as community members. It's great PR for what we do!

Currently on display are mixed-media portraits created by second graders taught by Ms. F at one of our K-5 schools. She was kind enough to explain the process for this post.

Day One: Students create a textured background in a 4-step process. On a sheet of 12"x18" white drawing paper the artists apply a thick layer of white tempera. Next, they press white tissue paper into the paint followed by another layer of paint. Paper is set aside to dry for the next class. The result is a sturdy, interesting surface for the next stage.

Day Two: Pencil is used to draw an abstract portrait outline consisting of hair, head/face and shoulders. Papers from torn pages of text (discontinued library books, old magazines or newspapers) are glued to face area.

Day Three: Colored papers (wrapping paper, magazine pages) are cut and applied with glue to shoulders/chest and hair.

Day Four: Facial features and outline of portrait are drawn in with oil pastel .

Vocab stressed in this lesson: Portrait, Abstract, Texture
Techniques used: Collage, Drawing, Mixed Media
Media used: Pencil, Tempera Paint, Oil Pastel, Glue, Paper

Glad to be back in the saddle again!