Torn Paper Hearts - 1st Grade

What do you do with a 1st grade class that is way ahead of every other 1st grade class? You make torn paper hearts!

This is my example ( on my truly disgusting, dirty white board, yuck!!! )( I hate white boards... give me a chalk board any day! )  This actually started as a sub project for a couple of kindergarten classes one afternoon when I had to leave early.  

I tore up a bunch of painted paper scraps from our "share" box in the art room. ( if we cut something from painted paper we never throw out the scraps! If the student does not want to keep their scraps for a project at home they put it into the "share " box and we ALWAYS find a use for them! )

I pre-cut some really big hearts. I gave simple directions to glue the painted paper scraps all over they paper to cover it. Pieces could be kept the way they were or torn into what ever shape/size they wanted.

This was the perfect activity for a crazy Wednesday before a huge snowstorm ( that evening and into the next couple of days on and off ).  

I also put crayons on the tables and gave the kids the option of coloring in some of the white spaces between the painted paper shapes.

Some of the kids were very meticulous where they placed their paper pieces...

Some finished pieces... they came out really cute! the kids were excited to take them home for Valentine's Day! 

Remember this snow pile outside my classroom window from the other week?

Well, this is what it looks like now...

It is the entire length of my windows and then some... there is so much snow on the roof that's  now melting that we have MANY a leaky ceiling in our classrooms! 

One of my 3d graders was looking at the ceiling on Thursday afternoon... I asked him what he was looking at and he said that something had just dripped on his head! Ok, everybody at that table was quickly moved and my recycling can was placed under the leak. Some classes have  three/four leaks they're catching! 

It has been in the 50's the past two days and today it rained ( a lot ) which although there is some minor flooding, it's awesome because it is melting the snow! ( yeah! ) 

On a different note...

I am taking my first on-line class in March at The Art of Ed.

I'm excited to start! Is any one else out there taking it? or have taken it? Have you taken any other classes from The art of Ed? Which ones? Did you like them? 

Hope every one has a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

Mrs."C"  :)

Heart Prints - K, 1st and 2nd Grades

My K-2 art room has been printing up a storm this week in anticipation of our school's yearly celebration of Kindness and Justice Week!  Every January during the week of Martin Luther King's birthday our school has what is called our "Kindness and Justice Week Celebration".

Each year a different book is chosen that shares a lesson in kindness and all of the school's activities during the week center around the book and it's message of kindness. This years book is...

 

 It was the perfect time to try out this idea for making heart stamps out of recycled cardboard I found on Pinterest.  

 

All of the classes started by painting a colorful background using watercolors.  

 

I spent an entire PLC meeting (multi-tasking people!) and evening rolling, folding and taping over 30 cardboard hearts!  I found that if you rolled the cardboard around a large glue stick or a marker it was much easier on your hands!  Although, I do think that if I had octopus arms it would have come in handy a few times when I was holding and taping! 

 

SUCCESS!

I made the hearts in various sizes and designs.  I made sure that on one side of the stamp all of the edges were as close to flush as possible so the kids could get a good print.  Even if it was slightly off, after they started stamping with the paint the edges mushed down slightly and they were all getting good print images.

 

 

Each stamp was 3-4 inches tall so they were chunky and easy to hold and stamp with.

 

Before the children made their prints, I gave them some materials (tissue paper circles I cut and cut up pieces of last years painting place mats) to cut into shapes and add a little bit of collage to their paintings first.

 

I poured purple and blue paint onto paper plates that our PTO donated to me last spring.  They were leftover from our school's Senior brunch.  It made for a very easy clean up when we were done stamping at the end of the day!  If the plate got a little soggy, I just put another one underneath it.  I started with two plates together for stability.  They actually held up really well.  I think they were more of a heavy weight plate, not the cheapo kind.

I demonstrated to the children how to stamp with our cool heart stamps to create their prints before I let them use them. 

Let the stamping begin!

 

The kids loved using the heart stamps!

 

They thought it was a very creative idea for recycling cardboard.

 

 Some said, "You come up with the coolest ideas Mrs.C!"

I told them "I found the idea on the computer."

 

When the kids were done printing, they carried their masterpieces to the drying rack. 

 

Next week I will be hanging them up around school and on our front hallway bulletin board.

I will post some of the finished pieces next week.  I meant to take some pictures before I left school today but I was busy looking for my desk...

 

It was buried under many projects I had taken off the drying rack and I spent some time organizing and putting them away after school!

Thus, I forgot that I wanted to photo some things...

There's always next week! 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs.C :)