Kindergarten Art – A Joy to Teach

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….so far the biggest surprise at school has been how much I enjoy teaching the little ones art

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about teaching art to Kindergarten children but it has been very rewarding and so far it’s gone pretty smoothly. It really helps having the ECE teacher with me. There are 29 JK and SK students in that class and without her help I think it would be next to impossible to run the class without chaos.

Our first class involved making ‘dots’ or circles for International Dot Day and we learned a little bit about Wassily Kandinsky and how to use watercolours and oil pastels. In our second class we discussed the different types of lines that artists can use and I introduced Primary Colours. On a large piece of paper the children drew 4 or 5 different lines with black pastels and then using only primary colours painted in the spaces created by the lines.

Their teachers and I think they did a fantastic job. I’m also grateful that the two kindergarten teachers have hung the work for all to enjoy.

International Dot Day – Sept 15th

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…yes you heard correctly, there really is a day to celebrate the dot

Peter Reynolds ‘The Dot’

Every year in September I start my art program by reading Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot. This year I discovered that there was a special day to celebrate the dot and it came about because of the book.

I’m not teaching as many art classes as I have in the past but all four of them started the year with painting circles and dots. We also looked at Wassily Kandinsky’s painting that featured a series of concentric circles. My kindergarten class made wonderful circles with oil pastels and watercolours. I will post examples of their work next week. Their teacher put them up in the hallway in time for our Meet the Teacher night this week. They were a big hit.

All of my grade 2 and grade 3 classes created dots using watercolour, marker, pastels and collage. The grade three class finished their dots in time to put them on a large tree in the hall. This week they started to make their own Kandinsky tree that they will be able to take home after they’ve been on display for awhile.

One Word Photo Challenge – Rainbow

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Mama Cormier

This week’s one word photo challenge is rainbow. Anything that reminds us of rainbows or rainbow colours is worthy of posting. For more information on how to participate in the challenge check out Jennifer Wells’ blog: http://jennifernicholewells.com/2014/07/15/one-word-photo-challenge-rainbow/http://jennifernicholewells.com/2014/07/15/one-word-photo-challenge-rainbow/

Student art

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-Circles-Curves

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….at first I didn’t think I had any circle or curve photos to share

For more fun photos check out Cee’s site at http://ceenphotography.com/2014/07/08/cees-fun-foto-challenge-circles-and-curves/

A Crazy Week

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..so much has happened at school this week and we’ve got more to go before signing off for the summer

If anyone tells you that nothing happens in the last month of school don’t believe them. This week alone (the last week of school) we’ve had rehearsals for the grade 5 farewell, the actual farewell assembly, the book club’s all day activity event for 50 students, field trips into the community, training for next years Peace Keepers, the kindergarten play day and final printing of the report cards.

Yesterday I emceed the farewell assembly for the grade 5s in the afternoon and then spent time after school getting the materials ready for today’s Forest of Reading Extravaganza. In the morning we split up the group of 50 children into two groups and sent one group to the drama workshop and the other group stayed with me for the book making workshop. After recess the boys and girls rotated to their second activity so that everyone had an opportunity to participate in both activities. After the morning activities we served them pizza, water and Freezies and the staff that helped us all year as expert readers joined us for lunch.

When lunch was over we had Allan Stratton who is the author of Curse of the Dream Witch come to the school for an hour to read to and talk to the children about being an author. The children asked him wonderful questions without any prompting from their teachers and he skillfully kept the children engaged with his many personal anecdotes about writing and how they could become writers.

After the last recess of the day some of the children returned to their classrooms but many stayed behind to finish their handmade books. There was a fair bit of cleaning that needed to be done but the grade 5s were more interested in getting their yearbooks signed. I’d put them off all day while the activities were going on so during the last period of the day I gave in and signed most of their books.

It’s been pouring rain since I’ve left school and it hasn’t stopped for over five hours. I’m afraid that it might affect tomorrow’s play day at school and the grade 5’s excursion to the pool and the park for lunch tomorrow. I’m not sure if I’m going to that but I think that the teachers who get prep from me tomorrow were given their time today. If all goes as planned we will go swimming in the morning, go to the park for a barbecue lunch and then head over to the golf course for a round of mini putt.

After school we have our staff party at the home of our gym teacher. It is usually our last day with the students but this year we all have to return to school on Friday. I suspect that many of the students won’t show up especially since they get their report cards on Thursday. On Friday we have an assembly in the morning and in the afternoon teachers will be madly trying to straighten up their classes with their students present. It should be an interesting day.

I have a feeling that I will be going into school next week to tidy up the library. As much as the students want to help me it often ends up being more messy than when we started.

Cheers!

Fun, Fun, Fun

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….last week’s Fun Fair was a huge success and of course a lot of fun

Last Saturday our school council hosted the school’s 15th annual Fun Fair. Over 500 wrist bands were sold which allowed the children unlimited access to the rides and carnival games. Hundreds of cakes were donated for the popular Cake Walk and this year the silent auction was brought back. Each class made an art object that was auctioned off and numerous businesses in the community donated products and services for the auction as well. It was a huge success.

The day was perfect. The weather cooperated. Parents and high school students volunteered their time to run events. Injuries were minor, a few scrapes that were quickly treated with bandaids. Music was provided by our OA and her husband. The police and fire department let the kids sit in the police car and the fire truck. At least this year the truck wasn’t called away in the middle of the fair. Dads manned the barbecues and the food was delicious.

The fair was easily attended by at least 1000 people. For every child at least one parent or significant adult accompanied them. Teachers came to show support and every year former students return. It’s always nice when they greet you and are sincerely happy to see you again. It was truly a day of fun, fun, fun……..

Crazy Flowers

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..produced by my grade 3s

This time of year I’m always looking for art projects that are easy to learn and quick to finish. Carla Sonnheim has come up with a great tutorial that shows you how to create this fabulous art.http://www.carlasonheim.com/abstracted-flowers/ It incorporates watercolour, gesso, sgraffito and stippling.

The kids loved it. Here are a few examples of this fabulous art projects.

Two Down and One Big One to Go

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..paintings that is

Today the grade 5 students in my art class managed to finish painting all the circles and background of their art project for the silent auction. After school I started putting a second coat on some of the areas that needed it. Tomorrow I’ll pull a few more students out of class to go over the background one more time and then I’ll redraw the black lines around and inside the circles.

The two canvases that the one grade three class designed and painted had the finishing touch ups done today. Tomorrow I’ll have all the students sign the back of the canvases and they will be good to go. The first one actually has a grey background. I’m not sure why the colour looks so beige.

Share Your World – 2014 Week 21

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….these are the toughest questions yet

If you could make a 15 second speech to the entire world, what would you say?

This is the only world we have. Love it, look after it and keep it safe for the next generation. Love yourself and your fellow man. Be generous with your time and share your knowledge to create a better world. Use your words to solve problems, not weapons. There is no place for hate in this world. Be kind.

If you could take a photograph, paint a picture or write a story of any place in the world, what and where would it be?

I have no idea. There are so many great photographers and travel writers and subsequent photographs and stories of magnificent places in the world that the work has already been done for me. Maybe a better question would be what would I like to see first hand. Even this question is difficult for me because there is so much I haven’t seen. Off the top of my head I’d like to see Machu Picchu, the Pyramids of Giza, the Coliseum in Rome, Stonehenge and the canals of Venice.

If you had to spend one weekend alone in a single store but could remove nothing, which store would you pick?

I thought this question would be fun to answer and then I read that I couldn’t remove anything. Does that include gourmet goodies and bakery delights. I am spending the weekend there after all and one does need to eat. Seeing that I have to sleep there I’m thinking about a department store that sells beds, comfy chairs so that I can curl up and read and exercise equipment so that I can get in a bit of a workout.

I would want to try on shoes to my heart’s content and pull designer clothes from the racks to see if they suit me and are comfortable to wear. Of course I would return everything to its rightful place and leave everything no worse for wear. In Canada I would choose Holt Renfrew and in the U.S., Saks Fifth Avenue.

If you were given a boat or yacht today, what would you name it? (You can always sell the yacht later)

Owning a boat is not high on my priority list so I haven’t given much thought to naming one. How about ‘Get Me Home Safely’ or ‘Slow and Steady Wins the Race’. As you can see I’m a bit of a nervous Nelly when it comes to riding in a boat, especially at high speeds. I’ve always been amazed at how much time and money it takes just to get a boat onto the water and then again when one returns (more fuel, repairs, docking fees, on going maintenance, etc.). Maybe a good name would be ‘This is Where My Money Goes’ or ‘Four Hours of Prep for One Hour of Enjoyment’. To all boat lovers I apologize for my sarcastic response.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that the girls won all four of their games at the soccer tournament last week. I’m also grateful that the weather was so warm this weekend that the flowers actually started to bloom and I was able to really clean up the front garden.

I’m really pleased that my rhododendron survived the winter and blessed us with some blooms this spring. My Dad’s aren’t nearly as bountiful.

This week I’m looking forward to finishing up the art projects for the silent auction. It’s being held this Saturday at the Fun Fair. Also Jump Rope for Heart is this Friday and so is the playoffs for Girls’ Soccer. It’s going to be a busy week.

For more great posts of Share Your World check out Cee’s Photography.

Update on the Paintings for the Silent Auction

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..one is almost finished and the other is just started

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Assemblies, trips to feeder schools, soccer tournaments, field trips and a school council meeting. The grade 3s abstract painting is undergoing a second coat and will be finished by the end of the week. The grade 5 project has been delayed because the class missed art one week and this week I was at the soccer tournament with the grade 4/5 girls (we won by the way) when the same class had art. When I saw the class in their library period last week I told them I was taking inspiration from previous projects they had done and applying some of their designs onto our massive set of canvases.

Today some of the students asked if they could help start the project after school. I had painted up a rough copy of what the project might look like and most of the class liked what they saw. We agreed to keep the background one colour and I’ll conference with a small group to decide on the other colours. One of the girls from the class was able to stay for quite awhile and together we drew the design onto the canvases and I started painting the background.

Hopefully I’ll be able to take a small group at a time out of class to work on the project. Ideally I’d like every student to paint a portion of the project. If you can’t tell from the photo the entire piece is quite large. There are four canvases measuring about six feet in length.

I also introduced a new project to my grade 3 art classes today. Carla Sonheim gives a free tutorial on how to paint crazy flowers using watercolours, gesso and pencil. It’s a fun project and very textural.