What does it look like in the CHOICE studio?

Here is an video example of a 3rd grade glass working in our CHOICE studio. Students are making choices about their media, process, ideas etc...  They are engaged, yet working on different projects. Some work independently, some work with others. They help each other along in their process in a natural style of community and collaboration.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-xgufRnzeY&feature=youtu.be

What is the Purpose of Art?

This is the question I posed to my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students at the start of the year. In table groups, and with the aid of art postcards, students brainstormed reasons why people, for thousands of years, have made art.  We posted their findings in the art room and shared their responses.  "For decoration", "to have fun", "to record history", "to show your emotions" were just some of the ideas. We looked at this further and identified some reasons like, art can be functional, narrative, persuasive, for ceremonial purposes, and for artistic expression.

As students transition from their Personal Logo project to their CHOICE studio, I am asking them to consider their intent and reasoning for making their art.

Illuminated Letters

1st and 2nd Grade students started the year with a drawing and painting project called Illuminated Letters.  We looked at the decorated letters of manuscripts from the Middle Ages as inspiration. Students chose an initial in their name and decorated it by communicating ideas about themselves. They used colored sharpies and gold and silver sharpies, and metallic and glitter watercolor paints.
Looks for these finished pieces in the hallways at Mountain View.

Kindergarten Art

Kindergarten started the year with a few activities that serve as informal assessment on several art skills including drawing, cutting, coloring, and their knowledge of basic shape sand colors.

Every student drew a self-portrait using a variety of pencils and markers. They could include other details in their self-portrait like members of their families, pets, things that they like to do etc...

We also made a person by cutting, arranging, and gluing shapes down.  Each shape had a specific prompt like 'make a pattern in the rectangles".  No examples were given so the students were free arrange shapes as they liked.  There was quite a variety of interpretations on what a person looks like using these shapes.

Students have completed several projects based on lines.  We studied artists like Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian and discovered the types of lines they used in their paintings.  We began noticing how lines show up in our classroom, our homes, and our yards.  Students have made some resist paintings, experienced lines through clay, and created line collages as well.

Personal Logos

Students in 3rd,4th, and 5th Grade all started the year by creating a personal logo or 'artist signature'.

They combined their initials or nicknames with  imagery or symbols that communicate something about them.  We started by experimenting with ways to change fonts,  filling spaces with letters of the alphabet, and developing personal symbols to represent who we are.

3rd and 5th graders used a variety of media on paper to create their final work of art, while 4th graders placed their logos on tote bags with fabric markers.

Coming Soon...

Mountain View Students share their artwork with the world!

Broomfield, CO -- Move Over Famous Artists! Mountain View Elementary School artists are taking over the spotlight!  Jen Schmuldt, the school's Art Teacher, has teamed up with Artsonia, www.artsonia.com -- the world's largest online kid's artmuseum -- to display the students' artwork.

Anyone can view the school gallery online at: www.artsonia.com/schools/MountainView44. Visitors can browse the artwork in the school gallery by grade level, or by specific exhibits. Mountain View Elementary School students join thousands of students from over 130 countries whose artwork is showcased on Artsonia. "This program is a wonderful way to get parents and family members more involved in Art Education," said Jen Schmuldt.

All of Artsonia's artwork (20 million and counting!) are viewable online, and any teacher or parent can create an online artgallery for their child or school. Artsonia provides several online features such as fan clubs and personal guestbooks, as a way for families to encourage the creativity and imaginations of their young artists. In addition, family members can purchase keepsakes imprinted with the child's artwork, with Artsonia donating 20 percent of their annual product revenue back to schoolart programs.

Headquartered in Gurnee, Ill., Artsonia was established in 2000 as an online kid's art museum providing free, educational resources for kids, families and schools to create art projects. Since its inception, Artsonia continues to integrate technology in the classroom, develop multi-cultural understanding through art and increase family involvement in children's education. To find out more, visit www.artsonia.com.

Back to School!

Creative minds are blooming in the art room.  We started school last week and we didn't waste any time.  Students are already exercising their creativity and making great works of art.

Our first activity is based on a book by Michael Hall called Perfect Square

"Be there or be square"
"I won fair and square"
"All squared away"

These are some ways that we use the word square in our speech.  We talked about why we might use a square to mean 'fair', or 'uncool', or 'organized'.

Students now had to find a way to make the square more 'cool' by cutting, ripping, tearing, crumpling, folding the paper square.  Then they used their creative and flexible thinking to turn their pieces into an object or a scene.  We glued these pieces down to paper and used black sharpies to add details.