Hanging up my Hat

These are sculpture hats (we are calling them CRAZY CROWNS)
that we've been making in Kindergarten.

I will be hanging up my art teacher, nose wiper, shoe tyer, snack maker, "did you really just say that?" hat for a few days to go to THE NATIONAL ART EDUCATORS CONFERENCE in NEW YORK! Sub plans are made and my bags are packed (almost!)  I haven't been to New York, since, since, ummm. . . I worked there? It's been a long time. The museums. The subway. The shopping. The people. The FOOD. Oh yeah and THE CONFERENCE! If you can't tell I'm really excited, especially because I'll be meeting some of you, hopefully. I see some bloggers are even presenting their fabulous ideas and I hope to make it to see you. 

If you feel up to it, please contact me. I know Phyl from There's A Dragon in my Art Room is arranging something so I'm sure I'll see you if you come to that! I am most excited to meet my good friend in person for the very first time. Now, I truly feel like I'm living in the digital age. Phyl has been such a support to me from before having my first baby, juggling being a mom, to now. So many of you have made me feel so much better about myself with your commradorie and thoughtful comments, if you are going let me know in the comments, an e-mail litchfieldartroom @ yahoo but I will take my e-mail address off of here within 24 hours to prevent spam.

I've Been Waiting My WHOLE Life for This!

In my prior life, before becoming an art teacher, I was a children's party planner. Of course I took it over the top! I made 24 costumes for the guests. The party was like a performance, scripted and all. AND of course, each party had an art project. As a parent I wish I could find someone like I was to do Stella's parties. I have a lot less time now which is why we are celebrating a month later:) because something had to give and it wasn't going to be any part of her party.

This past week Stella turned 1! The moment I've been waiting for my whole life. To plan my own kids birthday. I had no ideas for her party but wanted to do something she would love. The one thing Stella is crazy about is music, especially rock. So we're having a "ROCKIN' 1ST BIRTHDAY" I hand drew all of the invites with the theme of rock tattoos (think roses, guitars, angel wings) and made a pre-invite. It is sort of my new art project. Next thing on my list is to out together an Elvis costume for Nick. I'm not telling him he is coming as Elvis yet. . . and I doubt he reads this blog (but our families will get a total kick out of this.) I think I'll tell him about it when he asks me to iron a shirt for him the day of the party. Sure no problem, and I'll come back with some 70's Elvis get up.

I'm still working on the invitations so I made this "save the date." I can't believe how fast it goes by!

Am I the only one obsessed with kids birthdays? Do you go all out for your kids birthdays? What was your most fun one? 

Highlights from my day. . .Tuesdays after school we run a Green Team. . . never thought things would be so green so soon!

LOOK AT THE AMAZING GROWTH!
All varieties of lettuce grown by our Green Team in the raised beds.
We covered them with plastic. . . we took after the plastic today after seeing the
greens reaching to the top!
It's February in Connecticut, happy spring.

Here's us planting with a volunteer from the organic farm
in mid-November. We thought we'd harvest in the spring.
Spring came early this year.

Lettuce washed and ready to eat!

Salad Party!
Our partners from the Organic Farm
made a really delicious low-fat dressing with yogurt.

While my friend washed the lettuce with the kids
and the volunteer from the farm made the dressing with some kids.
We passed the time in the classroom making this rap.
Pretty cute. . . we fixed the ending but I forgot to take a picture.
It now says,  So before you try it don't criticize, You just may get a good surprise.

I also wish I could share highlights from my anti bullying club on Mondays (I just can't say no when the kids ask me to do something for them!) We are making a movie that the kids came to me and with a full script and practiced themselves. It is really cool. I was inspired by their initiative and decided to take on the time consuming task of videoing and editing it for them (we don't have a computer at school that they could do all this on.) But I can't show the kids faces so although we can't broadcast the film, I think we might show it at the art show or field day?

Thank You and You!

Thank you to my friend, Kristina for the ribbons and Thank you to YOU for the idea! SAW IT HERE on the amazing Dragon in My Art Room Blog (Thanks Phyl;) and SAW IT HERE at Kids Artists any other places you have seen this lesson let me know in the comments.

My friend donated a huge bag of ribbon remnants to the art room just about the same time some of you were posting your Princess and the Pea illustration lessons. It seemed like a perfect match! This year our budget for supplies was tiny, so I find myself getting inspired by materials to do different lessons rather the other way around (you get what I mean.) I am happy to have the kids work with ANYTHING people donate.

I did this lesson with my 1st graders. . . I'm not going to lie it was a little too hard for my bilingual first graders (due to too many kids and too many supplies) and JUST RIGHT for my other first graders. I feel like Goldilocks when I'm lesson planning! I have bilingual, advanced, special needs and everything in between no two classes are even similar so I have need to find a way to adapt this lesson. I first realized this was going to be a challenge with my bilingual first graders when the whole class BURST into laughter when I said the word pea. I literally had to go get my lunch which thank goodness had a pea in it to show them what a pea was. . . not many knew what it was after seeing it. I guess we might have to try peas next class! This project keeps getting bigger and bigger!

First we read this book

If you haven't seen it the illustrations are beautiful and the story simple and straight to the point. This project is going to take two weeks so I plan on reading a different version to my classes next week after they finish drawing their princesses. For my bilingual class I found a version on YouTube that was nicely animated, subtitled (not that they were reading it!) because I thought it would be better then the long version that I will read next week to the other students. I projected it big with my projector which was their favorite part. That projector was worth every penny, thanks Nick (my hubby.)


Next, we talked about rulers. We discussed what rulers do and how to use them to measure. I demonstrated how to measure their ribbon and mark it at the 6" mark. Then I demonstrated cutting it on the mark. I think some of the higher level kids in every class got this concept immediately (or else someone had taught them well) the rest of the kids struggled until I went around to and showed them. If nothing else I wanted them to begin to understand that artists can use a ruler to measure. Earth shattering I know.

The most fun part was picking which ribbons to measure and cut!

After cutting a bunch of ribbons equal length, they glued them to create the mattresses. This took one whole hour class.

Next class we made the princess, ladder and pea. We watched or read another version of the story. Next class, I want to use our Princess and the Pea illustrations to do some simple counting and writing exercise. Very simple. Any ideas?

Inspire Art Homework

This was the highlight of my day. One of my students wasn't happy with her "Blue Willow Pattern" project. You've seen the project all around I'm sure so I don't have to explain it. Anyways, I thought it was great but there was no convincing her. She had something else in mind. So she brought home a paper plate and a marker and created this Blue Willow Pattern. "There is never enough time in art." She is right. So, on top of all her other homework, she completed this.

Many of my upper grade students have been bringing their work home lately to work more on it. They ask ME! I feel so encouraged. . . especially because they are bringing it back. One student, who I've watched go from scribbles to sophisticated drawing, asked to bring his playing card home (we are designing playing card portraits.) He was so proud to show his mom his work. He's been working on a scrap piece of paper to make designs that he will add this weekend to the card. I LOVE the little ones, they area squeezable, creative and exuberant, but the upper grades and this level of work really picks me up after talking about lines and identifying shapes and where the trash can is for 5 hours of the day. Somewhere in my next life I will be making more of my own art and teaching in a high school (photography/video preferably.) For right now, I am happy to be where I am. I always say I will stay here as long as our principal stays. I bet you've never heard that one, but a good principal is hard to find. We all can agree on that, I'm sure.

It is so awesome to see students inspired enough to bring art home and do it for homework. I have a four day weekend and I have grad school homework to do that I've been putting off. . . wish I felt inspired to do it!

Hope you are finding some inspiration somewhere in your life!

Stealing Hearts

Last night I got ambitious. I was going to print Stella's hands like a heart and make a bunch of Valentines for everyone. She is almost one years old, I had waited long enough to bring out the paint! Our first mommy/Stella craft time. I got out all the supplies tons of towels, put her biggest bib on (next time she paints it is going to be clothing optional, her bib was destroyed) and we were ready!

Here's what ended up happening: The minute I put the paint on Stella's hands she squeezed her fingers and started slamming and scratching the paper and trying to put her hands in her face (many of the paintings look a little more Freddie Krueger with the red scratches then Valentines!) To top things off when I brought her in the bathroom and she saw her face splattered in red paint she began to cry! It wasn't a good look to say the least. Poor little thing! This is what happens when your mother is an art teacher, we push you. My friend joked that next year will be Photoshop. I have planned to work on color theory next year though (hehe). I added a bow because a bow makes everything cute! I also planned to take pictures of her making her hand hearts but you can imagine how that would've went! So no pictures; I was trying to keep her fingers out of her mouth most of the time! Despite all the craziness, I can't wait to do it again. Stella, I'm not so sure, maybe she will like it better if we paint with pudding next time. 

Besides making Valentines we've been doing a lot of this. . . 

and this. . . 

and hiding under the piano!

playing the piano. . .

and just hanging around. . . 

soothing cranky Stella. . . 

learning how to Pat Pat the Bunny. . .

and stealing hearts!

Happy Valentines Stella! I love you.

Happy Valentines to you and yours!

Fishy Fishy

Something was fishy fishy in the art room today. . . there were erasures stashed in marker containers, paintbrush handles soaking in water, used paper towels in the sink, really? I spent about an hour getting things back to normal (one of my classes was on a field trip) and now everything feels great again. But really, I have a picture example of how the supplies should look and about 100 kids asking me "Mrs. Stinz can I help you!" Please help me. . . so I give them a job, they are done in one minute and . . . is this spring fever? I do have a few really super helpers that keep me from losing my mind, so I hate to count them out.  I am so thankful for them! 

Now that I've ranted and disclosed my organizational woes. . . speaking of fish. . . here are our version of the infamous fish/pinchpots. I made a big deal about making tints (mixing white with their colors) I think the colors look far more fishlike and interesting mixed with white. I would give credit for this project but it's gotten to the point where everyone is doing it and I saw it in an old sculpture book that was collecting dust in the closet. Link up your post if you made them too. I would love to see your version.

STONE FISH! My favorite shhh. ..
This comes from one of those students who insists on mixing the
plate of paint into a giant mess (always making the same shade of brown!)
After she painted it brown I gave her a new plate and helped her mix two colors at a
time and wash the brush. This is what she made. She is sort of my best buddy now.
I am so impressed with her creativity.
We decided it looked like Eric Carle's Stone Fish.
The other kids whispered that it was sloppy but she and I think it is just AMAZING!