Long-legged Dali Birds with 3rd Grade

Read "Dali and the Path of Dreams"....Discuss color theory...trace circles to make bird bodies...add bird-like features...outline with color sharpies in ROY G BIV....mix primary colors together to create all the colors of the rainbow. This project happened right around TCAP time for my 3rd graders and I think they really enjoyed it. They can work at their own pace...it's relaxing...and fun. Great for easing test tension!

"The Dot" Lesson on Paper Plates

Time to clean out the computer! I've been hoarding photos of student work that I need to get out there into the world...so prepare yourselves.

Here's a project I did with Kindergarten at the beginning of the year when we were learning about the Primary Colors and Kandinsky.

We read "The Dot" and created these concentric circles using oil pastels. Then we painted by mixing primary colors on the plates.

I encouraged them to stay inside the lines...but let's face it...we all know how that turns out. 

Other kids didn't want to mix the colors and were purists. 

Non-objective Paintings with 3rd

I love doing this painting project with 3rd grade at the end of the year. We mix a tint or shade on day one for the background using a cool color base. The next class we paint the concentric shapes with warm colors to create contrast. They always look so festive in the hallways.

If you only had one day for this project, drawing the concentric cirlces/shapes with a black oil pastel on that background looks really cool. I almost wanted them to leave them black and white!

We had some nice conversations about Kandinsky’s paintings. We discussed creating order out of chaos and how it can be hard to not “see things” in abstract/non-objective paintings. I was trying to get them to appreciate simply the elements of art…so we focused on line, shape, color and value for this project.