February News

We have been very busy in the art room despite the crazy weather.  Kindergartners made snowmen!  Theirs were made from paper balls instead of snowballs.  We discussed the term sculpture and details that could be added to make the stack of paper balls look like a snowman.  The kindergartners also started their painting unit.  They are making cityscapes and will be learning about the primary and secondary colors.  First graders and Mrs. Henk’s class learned about American artist Jim Dine and his heart paintings.  They drew hearts in either all warm or all cool colors and then stamped some larger hearts with paint.  The first graders and Mrs. Henk’s class are now creating desert landscapes after looking at the Painted Desert of Arizona.  They are practicing making different textures.  Second grade and Ms. Sotelo’s class is finishing warm or cool colored landscapes after looking at pictures of the Smoky Mountains.  The students learned what a landscape is and what the different parts of the landscape are called.  They will move on to a Mt. Rushmore project next.  The third graders took their mid-year assessment in the art room.  I am looking to see improvement from all students as compared to our pre-test in August.  We will take the second half of the assessment in late April or early May.  The third graders took a long time, but finally finished their USA maps filled with Zentangles® designs.  They look great!  They are now moving on to radial symmetry with a snowflake design.  Maybe these will be the last snowflakes we see for the season!