piggie tails and artsy afternoons

Now that the weather is gorgeous, and the days are longer, we are taking advantage of spring by getting our art on.  When we were kids, my sister and I were always doing some type of art, and I hope that Everly will enjoy creating as much as we did, and still do today.  Now that we are moving past eating everything, and starting to listen when I ask her not to eat something other than food, crayons and paints are becoming a fun way to spend the afternoon.

Painting went surprisingly well.  I was picturing her covered head to toe in paint, but after I showed her where to put the paint, she did pretty well of keeping her painting on the paper.  And while we are on the conversation of some firsts, check out those piggie tails!  After three tries, I finally found the right little hair ties for her baby locks.  Now mind you, she still cries when I'm taking the 30 seconds to put in her piggie tails,  but she left them in for the rest of the night.  So now we just need to have daddy practice of the art "doing hair". 

mom blogger note: completed this post before work - turns out being out of the classroom for a district training is practically like a Saturday - work from 8:30 to 3:00 with an hour lunch, this is the life!

ten on ten [3.10.14]

ten photos over ten hours on the tenth of each month

see other ten on ten sets here

see last year on this date here

and two years ago here

6/52

 "A portrait of my daughter, once a week, every week, in 2014."

celebrating Dr. King with positive/negative art [out of the files]

it is no surprise that I do A LOT of art with my classrooms, and many times I re-use and tweak art lessons to fit any of my classrooms.  However, one of my favorite art projects of all time is one that I have only had the opportunity to do ONCE with my own students.  So, seeing as how it is that time of the year again [happy birthday Dr. King] and once again I have no chance to do this art project with my own students, I'm sharing it here so hopefully many kids out there will get to experience the awesomeness of the project!

I have shared this lesson on this blog twice now [here & here].  I have only taught this lesson with my 5th grade students, but I would say that it is very doable with 4th graders on up.  If you teach 2nd or 3rd and your students have been introduced to many art projects, are fairly proficient with scissors, then go for it.  When I taught my 2/3 combination I was really my students first introducer into the world of art, so we skipped this project for the year [they would have been able to do something of this level by the end of the year, so you just have to judge your own class].

Now yes, I know that it is the Friday before the holiday for Dr. King, but it is not too late to do something with your classes to celebrate his birthday.  In fact, a four day week sounds like a perfect time to fit in some Dr. King art and writing.  I am guilty of being an inspiration only teaching blog, and I'm not one to add linkable resources for the projects I do here [sorry, that's probably not going to change].  However, Nicole over at Teaching with Style is one of those awesome teacher bloggers who includes the goods with her posts!  So, Nicole was inspired by this lesson, did it with her 2nd graders, and linked up some freebies to do the lesson with your own kids.

If you haven't done positive/negative art before, I suggest looking at the Blick lesson plan to help you out [it was the only one that made sense to me, and Nicole used it too, so it must be helpful].  I would also make sure to make your own Dr. King example [probably a few to make sure you really have it]before starting this with your class, or disaster may strike!

This lesson will really challenge your kids with following directions, something that all our kids need practice with!  Also, I was lucky enough to have a document camera [ELMO] to use while doing this project with my kids.  It is a STEP BY STEP project.  Because you need ALL the paper you are cutting, having kids go off on their own can turn out problematic.  Also, make sure your kiddos have clean hands before starting this project because once you get glue stick, dirty ball wall hands, and white construction paper together you can kiss those squeeky clean projects goodbye!  I love baby wipes to get this done quick and easy by the way.

I paired this art with some "I Have a Dream" poetry writing with my kids, but you could really take the writing portion anywhere that works for your kids.  Good luck and if you try this project out, I would love to hear how it goes [and see a picture if possible].

sometimes you just have to think of the simplest thing

reading and following directions is hard

at least, that's what it seems like every time I'm in the classroom

I work very hard to make sure every lesson is clear

and expectations are clearer

however, there are those times when I need my students to be able to complete a project

or assignment with multiple steps

and being able to read and follow directions is key

but I'm finding that even in middle school I am having to teach very simple

direction following skills

in the past I have given directions with a nice little numbering system

to let them know the order in which to complete the steps

however, even this has not always proven to be successful 

this week I stumbled onto something so simple

and it actually worked

give them a check list to complete while working on the project

I'm telling you, that little line where they actually "check off" as they go

made my life so much easier

and for the most part, it seemed to be the best my kids have ever

independently followed written directions

there must be something to the hand to paper connection as they go

or maybe it is just "interactive" enough to keep them focussed

whatever it is, I'm doing it again

here's just one example of our "Good vs. Evil" character comparison posters

from the story we read this week

and yes, guns can be "school appropriate" if found in our literature

or history lesson

so there you go

sunday's "so they said" [back for another school year]

we've been back in school for almost a month

and it is time to get back into "so they said"

one of my favorite quotes from this week was when I heard a student say

"I think I do more art in history than I do in art class."

I'm glad they are loving the art integration, but I'm curious as to what art class look likes.

This week I also realized that teaching ancient history and the middle ages

is harder for kids to grasp the concept of exactly

how long ago we are talking about

and I'm thinking I need to take some time doing some type of timeline activity

I think I remember doing something with receipt tape

and spreading it across the room, so I'll get back to you on that one

once I figure it all out

and here is the quote that made me realize I need to back the bus up

when doing acrostic poems on the Roman Empire

I came across the line for the letter "m"

"Most Romans had cars."

oh, ok

well that's good

at least most Romans had cars

overall I feel the project went well

the poems worked as an assessment piece for the chapter

[some got it, some didn't - obviously]

and the mosaics went perfectly with the project

but I'm also glad that I caught the confusion

because I think everyone could use a little time reference

because I was also asked

"Are we still in the Middle Ages?"

sure, it was our very first day of the unit so I'm good with this question

here's to making pre-teens realize the difference between old, and old-old

have a great rest of the weekend - now it is time for me to get ready for my baby shower!

so excited to see everyone and celebrate miss everly mae

everly mae

naming a child is really quite the experience

and for the mr. and I it seemed pretty effortless

we did not officially start talking names until we knew if we were having a boy or girl

and once we knew, it still wasn't a major conversation

one thing we did know was the name we had always talked about for a girl

was no longer an option

it had become too popular, and when both parents have very common names

we wanted something a little more unique, without being crazy

when I first got pregnant I had an interesting conversation with one of our uncles

where he starting telling us how the baby will name herself

and you will just know when you have landed on the right name

now, I must admit I kind of left that night thinking, umm, okay

but the craziest part is that I now completely agree with this statement

the mr. and I never could come up with a boy name

and we always kind of joked that it was because we were not going to have a boy

and that happened

and then as soon as we found out little lewis was a girl

nothing but E names came to me

I would send the husband several texts with names that I loved

and ALL of them started with the letter E

he started to get that there was a direction with the name

while perusing popular names from the 1920's & 1930's 

I came up with the name Everly

and I knew it was it

the husband loved it pretty much right away

but took his time letting me know that it was "the name"

his reason for waiting?

he said it just seemed "too easy to name her"

the middle name was set years ago

Mae is the most beautiful middle name I've ever heard

it also happens to be the middle name of my best friend

and the name of a band that has been a pretty big part of my adult life

so there you have it

how we came up with the name for our little E

it has just the right amount of vintage elegance for us

and it is different without being crazy

Everly Mae, we cannot wait to meet you

thank you to Meg for making so many beautiful signs for the upcoming baby shower

they are even more amazing than I could have imagined

having artistic family members is very beneficial

expectations for art in the classroom

last year I realized that art in the classroom was kind of my thing

and when it came to teaching nothing but history

I realized how crucial these projects were going to be for our success

however, I know that doing a lot of art in the classroom is not always easy

 for teachers to begin

and one of the biggest complaints I hear from colleagues is that they hate doing art

because the projects never turn out how they want

so I've decided to share a few things I do, or expect, from my students 

when it comes to each and every project

so here they are - expectations presented to my students for each and every

art project we complete in class

and a few helpful hints to make art projects a happy experience for all

#1 a pencil plan [just pencil on final paper]

 must be complete before ANY art mediums are used

#2 no pencil is showing on final projects

#3 always give students a number of art mediums you expect them to use on the project

I start out with 2 different mediums and then move up from there as the year goes on

#4 NO highlighters may be used on final art pieces

#5 markers are for outlining, not coloring in large spaces

#6 suggest which coloring supplies are going to work for parts of the project

[small pieces need color pencils, not crayons, etc.]

#7 colored chalk can be your very best friend, and the kids love it because they can add SO much color to their piece in very little time, and you will love it because it looks awesome

just make sure to remind students to use the chalk on the side and don't be afraid to get their finger tips dirty from blending!

#8 ALWAYS show examples of finished projects - this may be hard because many times that means you the teacher have to take the time to make the example yourself, but it is SO worth it

#9 ALWAYS give students the grading rubric at the start of the project

I create my own rubrics for each project but it works pretty much like a check-list for students to remember the details for that particular project

 like how many symbols they need to use, how many art mediums, etc.

and when they see that they are actually given points on the project just for "neatness" it seems to help them slow down while working

and last but surely not least

#10 COMPLIMENT THE HECK OUT OF EACH AND EVERY PROJECT

monitoring while students are working on their art is crucial

find something, anything, that can be complimented

I know this seems obvious, but I'm telling you, it is the true key to success

you can see the kid literally light up as you find something special in their piece

and confidence with art will take them so far

want proof?

well here are some pictures from the very first art project I have done with my 

6th grade students this year:

all my history students completed this mandala project on the topic

"what makes history?"

just let me know if you are interested in seeing the worksheet I created to help them begin this project

and the best part, I already had some examples from last year 

when my 8th graders made mandalas for our unit on slavery

well there you go, hope this helps

sorry, it turned out to be a little wordier than I was hoping

also, thanks to meg from oh happy day for suggesting I write this post!

there probably are a million other things I could have spent time on

but oh well, I wanted to get crafty yesterday, and that's just what I did

not to mention I have ample wall space in my new classroom

so I figured a little canvas art would be fun

I had a ton of crayons left over from when I did this project with some previous students

and I couldn't wait to try the crayon melting with all the colors of the rainbow

now it is time for me to get back to work

the classroom is almost put together, and I have gotten started on 

back to school projects for my newest bunch of students

this year I will be teaching 6th grade English and History

with one period of 7th grade History

so yes, if you have been keeping track,

I now can say I have officially taught every grade, kindergarten through 8th grade

I think I want a shirt that says that!!!

hey, so I feel like I disappeared for a bit

well, busy doesn't quite explain things lately

so I'm back from my mini blogging break and ready to share

just one of my projects that have been keeping me occupied

and I just can't wait any longer to share it with you

so last week I mentioned that I got to teach my old students for an afternoon

and that is just what I did

now let me tell you that being back in my old classroom was bittersweet 

to say the least

but seeing my kids, and how happy they were to see me

made it oh so worth it

and the best part, we made this

each student created their own flower and used chalk and oil pastels for color

they helped hot glue on the crayons

signed their name on the edge of the canvas

and I brought it all home to start melting and mod-podging away

now let's hope it brings big bucks at this year's crab feed this weekend

fingers crossed

sometimes pinning can turn into a project

and tomorrow, not only will I be trying out some inspiration from a pin

I get to do it with my former kiddos

yup, I'm heading back to my classroom from last year

and I can't wait to share what we make together

I always love doing something new

and getting to teach an art lesson to former students

 is surely something new

and awesome.

Out of the Files - Remembering Dr. King

so if you have been reading this little blog long

you are probably feeling a tad bit of deja vu right about now

but, seeing as how this week many amazing teachers are going to be introducing 

their students to Dr. King, I figured we could always dig this one out of the files

and since I am on a bit of a crunch with my own curriculum

I'm not going to be doing it with my students (slight tear for my elementary days)

so, maybe you will be inspired to try it!

Last year when I came up with this project I went here to learn how to do

positive/negative space art

and this was just about the only place that explained it in a way that made sense to me!

To make my stencil I used my smart board to outline an actual picture I found of Dr. King
split the image in half and then copied one half onto the white construction paper
This project is a little time consuming to plan - you want to make a few trial runs at it yourself
before actually teaching it
but I really do think it pays off - the kids LOVED this project
and it looks so striking in the room - I kept this bulletin board up extra long!
and of course to really finish off this project I would suggest
some poetry writing for students to really dig a little deeper
Last year we created poems where the students compiled
 their own dreams for the world/society
repeating the historic line "I have a dream..."
they were pretty touching - but you could go just about anywhere with the written piece
good luck - if you have any questions please just ask!!!
oh - and tomorrow is our first ten on ten of the year - so grab your camera - and go!

traveling back in time

this week we have been preparing for our town hall debate.  students were already starting a little "pre-debating" today.  hearing 13 year olds talk about loyalists, patriots, and neutralists without me prompting them is pretty much magic.  hoping tomorrow goes as well as the preparing has.  check out that propaganda!  awesomeness.

just art...

last weekend I spent two days working on all things art integration for my masters

and I found it odd when my professor continued to bring up

rationalizing art integration to parents and principals

I just kept thinking, hmmm, never had to do this
I guess she is just setting me up for my art rationale paper that is due

at the end of the month

well,  I must have jinxed myself

let's just say, today, I had to do a whole lot of rationalizing to a parent

apparently, my students have done nothing but draw in my class

and that my methods are very "elementary"

being super passionate about what I do made this attack feel super personal

and I know that these kinds of things happen

and it's all part of the job

I guess the first time is the hardest

the funniest part was when I got home and went to my district's webpage

right there on the main site was a video about a particular middle school site

and how they are doing some amazing things

what are those amazing things you ask?

well, it was all about art integration in US history

geez people.  that's all

remembering nine-eleven

we talked.  we watched.  we painted.  we learned.

why study history - and a bit of a middle school rant

So I'm a tad behind on this post but things have been a smidge hectic around here.  I decided that before jumping right into curriculum to do an intro project, not to mention I needed art on my walls, and stat!  Well, goal achieved with these partner posters.  This project was completed through several homework assignments and class articles where the students eventually organized the following - why do we study history, how can we learn about other societies through history, and most importantly, how does history make us better citizens?  They responded to these questions in the top three boxes.  Then they were asked to choose any three events in US history they were interested in, draw a picture or symbol representing the event, and ultimately write a paragraph explaining how this event impacted or changed our nation.  Enjoy the prettiness, I know I am daily.

And finally, on a more serious note, I'm still feeling SO lost in the middle school scene.  I know the names of maybe five teachers, I make elementary mistakes daily, and I am still not lovin the whole repeating myself thing.  Not to mention trying to keep track of 180 students is a nightmare.  I know I'm lucky to have a job and blah, blah, blah, but seriously, I'm lacking my usual passion, and well, that just sucks.  I'm trying to build connections with my kids, and I know they are coming, but just at a much slower pace than I'm used to.  My desk is already covered with stacks of paper larger than I have EVER had in my years.  I guess I just need to remember that change is hard.  I was just hoping that in my fifth year I wasn't going to feel less prepared than my first.On the positive side, I broke my habit of writing a 1, 2, 3 or 4 at the top of the tests I was grading (our elementary grading scale) and started writing A, B, C and so on.  Sure I looked a tad like a crazy teacher on a few of the early tests, but hey, I'm trying here folks!

Oh, and one more thing, I HATE having my grade book being online and available for parents to see any time they want.  I'm getting emails daily from parents asking why this and why that?  People, give me until progress notices, which are already due next week, things will all be settled by then.  Sheesh.

Parenting note for the future, don't hover.

out of the classroom, but not completely

Yes, it is true that I took off this week for my aunt's wedding, but that doesn't mean that I have completely lost the teacher mode.  Instead, the extra time has gotten me pretty focussed on my 9/11 lesson plans for when I return.  Teaching middle school means I can dig into this event more than I have in the past.  In fact, we just finished our first in class project where students chose three events in American history.  In most cases my students chose September 11th as one of their events.  Most of my students were only three when the attacks occurred but showed an amazing amount of interest in them.  So, what's a school teacher to do while printing out 100 programs for the above mentioned wedding? Well, lesson plan of course!

For me,  I was seventeen when the attacks happened.  I was making my bed and getting ready for school listening to the radio when I heard what was occurring.  I had no idea what it really meant until I went downstairs and witnessed the second plane crashing on t.v.  The day was pretty much a blur as we watched the news the entire day in school, and then again once I got home.  Needless to say, this was the biggest thing that had happened to our country in my life time.  When starting to plan I found a timeline of the events of September 11th that had several videos imbedded.  Well, watching it today is no easier than the day it actually happened.  However, I have found much inspiration for my lessons - discussion & brain pop video as well as some photos for Monday and an art reflection activity on Tuesday.  Also, I'm working out the idea of having the students do a family member interview of their experience of the day, a conversation they most likely haven't had with their families.   I'll start that whole book curriculum on Wednesday - this is important.

I love this image for some inspiration on an art project.  I'm thinking of different mediums to try out, not sure yet.  I also have to keep that whole 55 minute class period in mind!

Here are some links I found helpful for my planning - and even if you aren't a teacher they are worth a gander.

9/11 Lesson Plans
Encountering History: 9/11
Interactive 9/11 Timeline

and a big thank you to Linda at Tales of a Fifth Grade Teacher for all the link inspiration!  Check out her adorable blog that has so many great ideas.  Not to mention, her blog design includes polka dots and owls, so yes, she will now be a daily reader of mine!