So my Easter break has officially begun, which means that I have to take advantage of my off time from work and start with preparations for my students' end of semester projects and organizing the next Art Show. For my first graders, I decided to do a project which combined making homemade playdough and sculpting little monsters with it. 
Of course, before actually doing this project, I had to find a good recipe which would a) Not leave the hands too dirty or oily, b) Could be put away easily, and c) Last as long as possible without drying and cracking once the final products are finished (I want the Monster Parade to look as awesome as possible at the Art Show). 
I found different recipes and videos, but made my own modifications.

Ingredients: (this makes 1 batch of 1 color)
Packet of Cool Aid (or other COLORFUL powder beverage mixes)
1 Cup flour
2 Tablespoons Vegetable/Canola/Olive Oil
1/4 Cup salt
3 Tablespoons baking powder
1 Cup warm water
*If you want really vibrant colors, add drops of food coloring

Instructions:
1) In a saucepan mix flour, salt and baking powder. Add entire packet of Cool Aid and mix ingredients well.
2) Add warm water (I made sure to wait until the tap water was quite warm). Mix well.
3) Add oil. Mix well. 
4) Using a low flame, heat while constantly mixing with spatula until a blob begins to form. :O
5) Leave heating for a minute or two longer. 
6) Remove from saucepan and allow to cool. 
7) Pretend you are a cat and knead thoroughly (*see .gif). 
8) Store in individual zip-lock bags in refrigerator. 

*If, for some reason, one batch comes out dryer/crumblier than another, add another tablespoon of oil and knead. I found this improved the texture greatly. 
*If you want to change the color, or think the color is too muted, do not hesitate to add food coloring. This has to be done in between steps 3 and 4, before mixture starts to get thicker. 

I love my beautiful blobs! :)

As an Art teacher, I am constantly looking for new projects that could be engaging for my students. This means creating my own and searching not only in books, but in other blogs for inspiration. I have come across quite a few awesome sites created by fellow Art teachers which I have found extremely helpful. The idea for the following project was taken from: www.artforsmallhands.com

My students were extremely interested in my lesson about the Hopi Indians and their Kachina Dolls. They were very excited to begin with the process and are currently working on them. I look forward to sharing pictures of their work later. 

Materials:
Smallish plastic bottle (max 10 inches tall)
Plastic bottle lid (doesn't have to be from the same bottle) *I recommend one with an interesting shape
White liquid glue
Water
Container for mixing glue and water
Regular copy paper cut into small squares
Tempera paint
Thick Kraft paper or cardboard that can be bent 
Feathers, twigs, leaves, pieces of fabric (optional)
Silicone gun
Paintbrushes

1. Planning: I do my best to teach my students that planning an Art project is just as important as planning anything else. We ALWAYS start with a rough draft/experimentation/brainstorm in sketchbooks before actually starting. 

After finishing with the lesson, I projected many different Kachina Doll designs in order for my students to be inspired to do something different and unique. I also made sure to show them Native American symbols in case they wanted to include one or two on their dolls. In this first session, I also helped them choose the plastic bottles they will be using. 

2. Shaping: I encouraged my students to use bottles and lids that they thought would create an interesting overall shape. At this point the different pieces are taped together and the appendages of the doll are created using thick cardboard. I used thick Kraft paper and experimented until I came up with folded pieces I thought would look nice for arms and legs. I ended up putting some ears on mine as well because I liked how some Kachina Dolls have huge ears. :)

3. Paper Mache...ing: At this point everything is covered with 2-3 coats of paper mache. I mixed 50% white liquid glue and 50% water in a small plastic container and simply dunked my pieces of paper in there before placing them on my doll. I recommend being as neat and careful as possible when using this technique because whatever you are making can get stuck to the surface you are using since it'll be covered in glue. I usually try to do a side at a time. Allow to dry completely (I let at least a day pass before painting). If things DO get stuck, be gentle!

4. Painting (base coat): Once everything is dry, use tempera to give the doll its base coat of paint. Some areas might need a second coat. Allow to dry completely. 

 5. Detailing: I used my initial sketch to transfer my designs onto my doll and used thin paintbrushes to carefully paint them in with the planned colors. I then traced everything with black paint to make my designs pop.

6. Last touches: I wanted to add some final details to my doll to make it look even better. I went with some colored feathers and  I also went outside in order to find a small twig that could look nice on its head. I played around with them until I found the position I wanted to paste them in. Julie Voigt (LINK TO HER SITE) also suggests small seashells or beads as final adornments. 

This was the project done by my third graders. After a lesson about Leonardo da Vinci and the Mona Lisa, each student designed and painted one square in order for us to put together this abstract, Pop-Art inspired version of the masterpiece. They loved seeing how the pieces of the ¨puzzle¨ came together in the end. 

After finding out that the first graders were going to work with Brazil, I knew I wanted to do something related to the Carnival with them. I thought that making an eye mask would be a good way for my students to use their creativity in order to design and decorate their own. They were given a template of an eye mask which they had to trace onto thick paper and cut out on their own, so they practically did them from scratch!

The fifth graders studied Egypt and hieroglyphs are an awesome way to learn about both language and art. After a lesson on the topic, students were given a handout in order to practice drawing ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in their sketchbooks. They were called one by one in order to transfer each previously drawn hieroglyph onto the thick brown background paper and then trace with black tempera paint. 

I wanted some fun classroom decorations for my younger students and made this at the beginning of the year using the regular paper mache technique. 

Materials:
-Regular sized balloon
-Kitchen paper towels
-Acrylic paint
-Flexible straws
-Thin tracing paper
-Black permanent marker
-White liquid glue
-Masking tape
-Silicone gun
-Transparent fishing line (for hanging purposes)
-Medium sized multipurpose brush
-Towel or newspaper to cover working surface

Process:
1. Blow up balloon to whatever size you want your bug to be.
2. In a container, mix 1 cup water and 1 cup glue (be prepared to make more every time it runs out).
3. Cut up paper towels into approximately 2 x 2 inch pieces. Completely cover balloon by placing piece by piece on its surface and wetting it completely using brush and glue mixture. Once balloon is completely covered with first layer, repeat at least 2 more times, making sure there are no thin areas of paper towel. Allow to dry overnight. 
4. To make the eyes, make balls of crumpled up newspaper and tape them to the balloon wherever you want them. Cover completely with at least 3 layers of paper towels and glue, making sure that the base of each eye has a strong layer of paper towel connecting it to the body. If they aren't connected to the body with a strong layer of paper towel, they can fall off!
5. Place whatever amount of straws you want for legs using a piece of masking tape.
6. Cover straws and masking tape with paper towel pieces and glue mixture completely. Again, make sure that the base of each straw has sufficient paper towel to create a strong bond with the body once it dries. Allow to dry overnight.
7. Once bug is completely dry, color using acrylic paint. You can use a pencil to lightly draw lines before painting. Allow to dry. 
8. To make the wings, draw them on tracing paper, trace with marker and cut. Paste them wherever you want using a silicone gun.
9. Use transparent fishing line or something similar to hang up. I personally didn't like the idea of making a hole on the body, so I decided to place the string around the body carefully. 

I love my job and the creative freedom I am given by the wonderful school I work at. My first semester as an Art teacher has come to an end and with it came my first Art Show. It was hard work throughout the semester and intense days of sorting and mounting, but it all paid off when I saw the reactions of my students and their surprised parents. 

The following projects were made by my groups of Kinder, Second, Fourth and Sixth. I'm so proud of all of them!

Soon I will be posting images of individual projects so they can be viewed closely. 

As the school Art teacher, I was asked to contribute to the yearly ¨Altar the Muertos¨. This year it was dedicated to Francisco Gabilondo Soler (Cri-Cri), Mexican composer and performer of children's songs. 
This is my version of his ¨Ratón Vaquero¨ character, though at the end I went with blue eyes and two gun holsters instead of one in order to make it similar to the one described in the song. My students loved it and it was a good way to introduce the things than can be done with modeling clay.

I needed a new pencil holder for my classroom desk and decided to make one myself. I used self hardening clay and acrylic paint.