Kindergarten-
November brought Fall-inspired art lessons & projects. Some things are: stamped t-shirts for their Thanksgiving Feast around the walking track, learned how to distinguish warm and cool colors & draw organic shapes by creating warm leaves to collage on a cool backdrop made with tempera sticks (a class favorite); created plastic cup Christmas ornaments. In December, students made snowmen in perspective; embellished cardboard snowmen; cut out, glued together and animated ‘crayon people’ for the giant color box in the hallway; helped to create the beautiful background of a life-sized Viking nutcracker that went on display in town; did some creative finish-the-story drawings. Now that it’s January, they’ve made winter Matisse-inspired Collages; participated in a fun Louisiana symbol drawing contest (K took on the drawing of an alligator); are creating their first self-portraits and learning about facial features, proportion and have the chance to use multiple mediums to render their portraits. Recently, they learned about symmetry by making squish paint hearts. These kiddos were simply amazed to see the shapes and blended colors that were revealed when they opened their hearts. They noticed how both sides were the exact same, a duplicate of the other. 

First grade- 
In November, students made self-portraits embellished with a background of creative lines and patterns; learned about one-point perspective and created a farm scene landscape; started on winter cottage landscapes and in December they finished their cozy cottage scenes; made ornaments for the school tree; created hand-made Christmas cards; helped work on the wintery background of a collaborative Viking nutcracker that was displayed downtown; did some creative finish-the-story drawings. January’s already here and students have created happy paper penguins in the wind and learned about conveying movement in their art using line positioning shapes; participated in a fun Louisiana symbol drawing contest (1st took on the drawing of a black bear); are creating their own Anansi spider scenes from the original book that we read-aloud in class. With this lesson, they are learning how to create graphic African-inspired patterns on the background and will be drawing and cutting the rest of the scene. Right now, 1st grade students are creating their own unique Matisse “Goldfish” art pieces. They are using different mediums to finish these bold & fun pieces: drawing, outlining, resist painting, cutting and collage

Second grade- 
This 3rd 9 weeks of 2nd grade started off with their own drawings of strawberries, the Louisiana state symbol. This is part of a school wide competition for each grade. Students then learned about the art of Zentangle and each made their own Zentangle Hand Art piece. They moved on to learn about using shadows and highlights to create depth and form, and applied this to a colorful pop art heart montage. Students then created semi-directed abstract resist paintings that became backdrops for a type of self-portrait collage using a black and white photo and typed words. Currently, they are working on a Clare Youngs inspired sunburst. They are learning about composition and color.

Third Grade- 

Fourth Grade- We’re currently learning about Analogous color schemes and applying them to a directed abstract drawing.

Fifth Grade- 
The students started the 3rd 9 weeks participating in a Louisiana themed drawing competition. They studied cypress trees and looked at many images; then they each drew one of their own interpretation. Next was a Matisse inspired cut-out collage featuring different posed figures made of proportionate cut out pieces of paper. They really enjoyed this type of art! Students then created a glue and chalk pastel resist heart. Currently, they are working on their own Zentangle name labels for their personal sketch journals. They are learning how to create multiple different patterns using shape and line. With this lesson, they get to experiment with composition and design. This week, students finished a one point perspective piece.

Sixth grade-
6th grade started off this 9 weeks working on their LA symbols for the school competition. They were tasked with drawing the very detailed Louisiana state flag symbol. They learned about the history of the flag, how the symbol has evolved over the years and what the symbol conveys. Students then learned about the artist sculptor Frank Stella and his works. They used his art as inspiration for their own sculptural mobiles. These can be viewed in the Elementary building elective hallway, hanging from the ceiling. Each of the sculptures tells a unique ‘story’. Now, they are learning about perspective…looking at it in historical works of art, learning how and why it can enhance their own art. They are creating one-point perspective shape compositions, using what they have learned.

Seventh and Eighth Grade- 
7/8th graders are creating Intergalactic Explosion Booklets. This was a multi-step lesson that taught watercolor techniques, origami/folding techniques, and required a level of craftsmanship in order to create a nice finished product. The students were very happy with the outcome and proud to show them off!