Warm and Cool Trees

4^th grade students used their observation skills in seeing how our trees here at school grow.  They then sketched their tree and root system.  Using black pastels students filled in the silhouette of the tree and root system and then painted the negative space left with warm and cool colors.  Finally students added white acrylic paint to their tree portion to simulate snow.  Students had to consider how gravity would impact the accumulation of snow on their tree to paint a realistic perspective. 

  

Nutcrackers and watercolor

2^nd Grade students learned about the construction of nutcrackers and how simple shapes are used to create these holiday symbols.  Students used pencil to sketch their own self designed nutcracker and then outlined their drawings with permanent marker before painting their creation using liquid watercolor. Students were required to fill all the space and create a unique design including a colorful background to finish the piece. 

Block Printing for Holidays

5^th Grade Students came up with their own design that they felt represented the holidays.  Students then used a piece of rubber foam to engrave their image into it, which served as the "printing plate". Once all engraving was completed using a dull pencil students learned about the printing process and then printed their image onto different colored papers using printing ink and a brayer.   This was a messy project but well worth the final outcome and the learning of the printing process. 

1st Grade Winter Trees Using Symmetry

1st grade students learned about symmetry and how our world is filled with things that demonstrate perfect symmetry.  We talked about human natures appeal for symmetry and how the perfect Christmas tree would have good symmetry. Once the students learned how to use folded paper to create symmetrical shapes they created their own winter forest with at least 4 trees creating a winter forest scene including a moon and stars.  Lastly, students added white tempera paint using a Q-Tip to add the appearance of snow.