Cave Art Drawings

This is still one of my favorite first grade lessons to teach.  Students love to hear about the first art ever made and the incredible artists behind the prehistoric drawings they view in class.  Check out the link to reference the directions for this lesson Cave Art Drawings and facts about prehistoric art. Please note, that this year we did not draw on painted watercolor paper, drawings were instead completed on brown craft paper.

We also read this book together, which I discovered at the public library while helping my son find a book.  It was a great find and I will definitely be using it again next year for this lesson.

Students Examples From This Year:

Girl Scouts Earn Drawing Patch

I was asked by Girl Scout Troop 3031 in our community for help in earning their Drawing Patch.

The girls had a lot of tasks to complete in order to earn their patch.

1.  Identify and draw a still life.

2.  Discuss and test out different mediums.

3.  Create value.  Show light and shadow within their drawing.

4.  Understand the importance of having pride in their work and the importance of displaying art.

I feel so honored to be part of this action packed hour of instruction.  Thank you Troop 3031!

Happy Rocks

I have tried many reward systems for my students.  Everything from stickers to a bin of small trinkets that students can choose from.  This little idea has been by far my favorite and it is quite surprising how much the students love these happy little stones.

I usually make these little rocks when a class is finishing up a clay project.  I use the scraps of clay that have been squished and smooshed so much that they pretty much could not create another project unless they were re softened in a slip bucket.  I roll these little clay scraps into small little spheres.  With one gentle smoosh of my thumb they are flatten and with a stick a smiley face is drawn upon the piece.

Making the stones.

Fire (with the projects that students just completed), glaze (or paint), add to a little box and PRESTO!  You have an awesome trinket that the student want to earn.

Example of ticket found in journal.

Students can earn Happy Rocks in my classroom by helping someone, doing additional clean up, modeling positive behavior or creating five drawings in their sketchbooks.  Once students complete five drawings they receive a ticket in their journal.  They can cash in their ticket at the end of the class during dismissal time.
One thing is for sure....students look quite forward to earning these little rocks that hardly take any time to make.

Little Clay Owl Painting Twist

I have done this clay owl unit for a number of years at the elementary school. Students love this lesson. Little Clay Owl (see steps and past examples by clicking the link).

In the past I have always had students paint their clay pieces with tempera cakes.  Over the summer I came across a Pinterest idea where they colored the clay with crayon and then painted the tempera on top of it.  It looked so neat, yet I couldn't believe it would work.  I mean use crayon on clay? Really??

This year I took the leap and tried it.  Much to my surprise it was a huge success.  
LOVE, LOVE the results!

Cave Art Celebration

Cave Art + Chalk in ART = Messy Fun!  

With seeing so many sections of students and only seeing them once a week, sometimes I feel like I am on a lesson forever.  Here is a "Hip-Hip-Hooray!" for tackling our cave art lesson with my last section of first graders.