Weaving Our Way to Happiness

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….even the boys are enjoying this activity

We’re finally all working on the same project. We started with a paper loom so that everyone could experiment with different materials and weaving patterns. Once the paper loom was finished I gave each student a sturdy piece of cardboard and they each made their own loom. Students were encouraged to bring in yarn, fabric, lace and ribbon to create their wall hangings. I also had a lot of fancy yarns, raffia and trims that they were welcome to use.

The kids are really excited about this project. I’ve even taught a fair number of them how to finger knit. I think there are more boys then girls who are incorporating knitted chains into their weaving. A lot of the projects are about half finished but I thought you might like to see how they’re progressing.

How Grade 5s Interpret Abstraction With Charcoal

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..after some reluctance on their part and some encouragement on my part they really started to enjoy the process

When I introduced abstract art using charcoal I had a few students who cringed at the thought of using charcoal. They thought they had an option and could choose something else. Not so. I told them I wanted them to experience the versatility that charcoal offered. After some hesitation they started to get into it and when I showed them some techniques, such as smudging the lines and erasing some of the dark areas, they started to enjoy the process.

I have to admit I was never really interested in using charcoal myself never mind teaching children how to use it. After taking the course with Karine Swenson I discovered that I really enjoyed this medium. Here are a some of the samples that students produced.

A Word A Week Photograph Challenge – Contrast

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….a challenge from Sue Llewellyn

To me contrast is not just complementary colours, side by side, but anything that makes something else stand out. Black and white and neutral colours make bright colours stand out and unusual groupings provide contrast. I love the dachshund surrounded by the bright pink flowers over the black and white stripes.

For more photographs that feature contrast go to A Word a Week Photograph Challenge.

Swapping Old for New

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….art projects

Last week I started to remove some of the older art projects in the hall for the newer assignments. I have close to 300 projects to display and I’ve barely put a dent in the collection but it’s a good start. Funny how things can be on display for weeks and people just start to notice them when you’re ready to take them down. Oh well at least they made an impression before they were removed.

I’m close to finishing the Faces projects. The kids really seemed to enjoy the process. When the collage assignment was done I shared the painting technique I learned on Carla Sonheim’s on-line class, Faces 101. It started out as an experiment with a grade 2 class that I don’t normally teach and it was so successful that I decided to pass on the knowledge to my other classes. Here are a few more ‘faces’ projects that I’d like to share with you:

As you can see I have a few students who like to think ‘outside the box’. I encourage creativity as long as I see some of the components in the lesson in the final piece.

The halls are starting to fill up with new work. Here’s a sample of what one might see if they came for a visit.

29 Faces Challenge – Day 26 to 29

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….the grade 5s are trying their hands at drawing realistic faces

It took a lot of encouragement from me but I think they’re starting to get the hang of it.

29 Faces – Day 15 to 25

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….these faces weren’t done by me but I did teach my grade 2s how to paint them

Today I covered a grade two class that should have had music but the music teacher was at the Kiwanis festival with two other classes and the class I should have had was one of the two classes at the competition. When the grade 2s came into the library I decided to turn the period into an art class. I thought that they could probably handle making faces using watercolour paints.

I demonstrated how to add the skin tones and face shape first and once that was dry we added the hair. I recommended that the facial features be done with marker. Some followed the instructions and others didn’t but most of them had a lot of fun and their faces were pretty good. Here is a gallery of faces for you to enjoy:

Burning the Midnight Oil on the Weekend Preparing for the Winter Olympics

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….my weekend wasn’t all fun and games with the family

Of course when I say ‘the Winter Olympics’ I’m referring to our fun day at school where we organized a variety of winter games for the boys and girls to participate in. Last week a group of us quickly assembled a committee to plan for a Winter Olympic extravaganza that involved the entire school, from JKs to grade 5s. Not knowing how much longer the snow would stay on the ground and knowing that the temperatures wouldn’t be in the polar vortex zone we decided to host the games on the Tuesday right after the Family Day weekend.

The committee came up with 12 different sporting events, from the ‘Biathlon to Luge to Hockey, that teams could compete in. The sign up sheet went up in the staffroom and all the staff signed up for an event. Two teachers volunteered to make hot chocolate for 420 children and two of the kindergarten teachers wanted to make the Olympic banner with the Olympic Rings. My colleague next to the library worked with me and her class to make 22 different flags from some of the countries that actually participate in the Winter Olympics. After making the paper flags we decided that we needed to laminate them so that they wouldn’t be destroyed when they were taken outside. That job was done mostly during our prep time and after school and G took some home to finish off the remaining ones after we ran out of the Mack Tack that we were using.

I volunteered to make the 60 medals on the weekend and I had started to make paper dowels for the flags but I hadn’t made nearly enough before I left for the weekend. I also wanted to make an Olympic torch but I wasn’t quite sure how I would tackle that because of course I wanted it to look like the one that was used in Sochi.

Over the weekend I spent some of my time shopping for ribbon for the medals and silver spray paint. A parent at school donated enough CDs for 60 medals and a can of gold and bronze spray paint.

After spray painting the CDs gold, silver and bronze I wrote on each of them, Rosethorn’s Winter Olympics 2014 and then I attached a ribbon big enough to fit over a child’s head. I debated whether to hot glue the ribbon at the ends or sew the ends together. On Monday night I opted for a quicker method and I taped the ends together.

Once the medals were finished I made 36 paper dowels to attach to the flags so that the children could carry them high in the air and then I taped them to the back of each flag. This is what my dining room table looked like Monday night.

One night over the weekend I was up till 3:00 in the morning working on the medals and on Monday I was up till 1:30. Before I went to bed the night before school I decided at the last minute that I really needed to make the Olympic torch as well. I quickly traced out the shape of the torch that they used in Sochi and then transferred the design onto 3 pieces of cardboard that I glued together and spray painted white. In the morning I added the red trim and glued some tissue paper at the top to represent the flames. When we did the closing ceremony I chose a little boy in kindergarten to carry the torch into the gym. He was the perfect choice.

To be continued……….

Fantasy Collages

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….grade 5s created these wonderful works of art, inspired by Dali

The assignment was to paint a simple watercolour landscape with a foreground, background and horizon line and then have fun cutting out pictures from magazines and newspapers and create a fantasy piece of art. The goal was to create a piece that told a story and hopefully some writing will accompany each piece of art in the near future.

100 Day Museum

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….every year the boys and girls in grade one create projects that represent the number 100 and on the 100th day of the school year they are all put on display in the gym

Here is a selection of some of the projects that the grade ones with the help of their parents presented to the school community today.