3rd GRADE--Winter Landscapes

The students learned that a landscape is a picture of the land or any part of nature outside. They also learned what the foreground, middle ground and background is, and that by having these three parts it creates distance in a landscape. The foreground is in the front and these objects/people are the biggest. As you go into the middle and background things objects/people get smaller. We also discussed what feelings or words come to mind when they see or think of the cool colors. Students were able to use the cool colors for their sky. We brainstormed many different ideas for a winter landscape and students came up with their very own scene making sure to incorporate things that were in the foreground, middle ground and background. Finally students were able to use a variety of coloring supplies to add color to their landscapes.

3rd GRADE--Bee Sculptures

In 3rd grade the students study all about bees. So in art we decided to take their knowledge about bees from what they learned in their classroom and create 3-D bees out of paper mache. The students reviewed the life cycle of a bee, what they eat, the three main body parts of a bee and what pollination is. Your children are now experts on bees!

3rd GRADE--"The Starry Night"

The students learned about the artist Vincent Van Gogh
through the book, Van Gogh: Getting to Know the World’s
Greatest Artists Series. We looked at his artwork and
talked about how he expressed his feelings through his
artwork. Van Gogh used an impasto technique, which
is short, thick brushstrokes. Students replicated Van Gogh’s
style by using short, wavy lines to create their sky. We
also discussed what an architect was and students designed
their own houses and buildings for their city. The students
were able to use the cool colors to create a their very own“Starry Night.”

3rd GRADE--Self Portraits

The 3rd grade students created their very own self-portraits! We look at a variety of different self-portraits done by various artists. We discussed the many similarities and differences between all the self-portraits. The 3rd graders also learned about facial proportions and learned where certain facial features go. After their portrait were finished, they wrote a poem about themselves.

3rd GRADE--Crazy Socks

The 3rd grade students learned and discussed what a pattern is. They were able to find examples of patterns around the room. A pattern is repeating shapes, lines or colors. Students also review the different types of lines, which are straight, curved, zigzag, horizontal and vertical. The 3rd graders were able to create a pattern using lines, shapes and colors to create a “Crazy Sock.”

4th GRADE--Aztec Suns

The 4th grade students learn about the Aztec Sun Stone. The Aztec Sun Stone was an enormous calendar that was 12 feet high, 4 feet thick and weighed 24,000 tons! The Aztec calendar was different than our calendar today because they had 18 months each containing 18 days, which still equaled the same amount of days in year. The Aztec Sun Stone was the inspiration for many people to create artwork revolving around suns. The students were able to see a bunch of different examples of drawings, paintings, ceramics, and sculptures all dealing with suns. The students had to create half of their sun using wavy or curved lines and the other half using straight lines. We also reviewed the warm/cool color schemes. Students were shown how to blend colors using oil crayons. Finally students had to create half of their sun with the warm colors and the other half with the cool colors. Then they used the opposite color scheme for their background. This created contrast and really made their suns pop!

4th GRADE--"The Scream"

The 4th Grade students learned about the artist Edvard
Munch and his famous artwork, “The Scream”. Students
learned that Edvard Munch is the person in the painting
but he is not actually screaming. He is in shock because
he thought that nature was screaming at him due to the
the bright red sky against the dark land. The two people
in the painting are Edvard Munch’s friends who continued
to walk. Students also learned that “The Scream”
was stolen twice, but they were able to get it back both
times without much damage to the painting. Students
were able to recreate their own scream using their picturein their

artwork.

4th GRADE--Camouflage Lizards

The 4th grade students reviewed the warm and cool color schemes. We also discussed what camouflage is and what it does for animals and people. Students were able to choose either the warm or cool colors to create a camouflaged background. Then they chose an animal that uses camouflage and used the same color scheme to create a camouflage effect in their artwork. Finally students reviewed what three-dimensional is and made their animal pop out of their work.

4th GRADE--Geogia O'keeffe Flowers

The 4th Grade students learned about the life and artwork of Georgia O’Keeffe. Georgia O’Keeffe grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and has become one of today’s most famous painters. Her mother thought art was very important, so growing up O’Keeffe had many art lessons and was encouraged to go to Art College. O’keeffe loved nature, so most of her paintings were of flowers, mountains, seashells and even animal bones. O’Keeffe often simplified her paintings, creating more emphasis on the beauty of nature. Eventually O’Keeffe moved to New York to start showing her artwork. After being in New York for a while, O’Keeffe took a teaching job in Texas and loved the clear skies and the bright sun there. After teaching for a few years Alfred Stieglitz, a famous photographer, offered Georgia to come back to New York and he would pay for her expenses and all she had to do was paint. It was hard for O’Keeffe to leave the beauty of Texas, but she could not pass up the offer and this was the beginning of O’Keeffe’s fame!