School of Fish

The talk of the hallways has been the ocean bulletin paper I just hung outside the art room. Listening to the conversations as our young students notice the board has been priceless. One staff member told me that she and one of her students stopped and spent some quiet time just staring at the water! We all need that moment of calm once in a while. :)

My kindergarten students have been practicing drawing different kinds of creative fish. During our second class for this project, we will be coloring and cutting out the fish. The students will then show me where in our "ocean" they would like their fish displayed. 

My first grade students are also working on creating fish for the mural, but they are making collage fish out of colored construction paper. They too will chose a spot for display amongst the other colorful fish. 

Stay tuned for an exhibit of the Peter Noyes School of Fish!

Watch your STEP!

Second grade students created these beautiful ceramic, glazed turtles. After forming their clay block into a ball shape, they flattened the ball into a "hamburger patty" shape. Next, they STEPPED on it! The pattern from the bottom of their shoe creates a unique turtle shell design. Using their knowledge from first grade pinch pots, the second graders then formed the textured slab of clay into an inverted pinch pot. I demonstrated the "slip and score" method of attaching two pieces of clay together and instructed the students to attach a head and a tail to their turtles. After the initial bisque firing in our kiln, the turtles were glazed with a variety of brightly colored glazes and refired at over 2000 degrees! Great job, second graders. Take good care of your turtles.  :)

"Ewwww, this is gross!" and "I Love IT!"

Earlier this year, grade five students created paper mache masks. During the first class, students filled out  a Character Sheet to sketch a plan for their mask and to invent background information about their character. The second class was the messy, goopy day! Students covered mask molds with strips of paper that have been submerged in slippery, clear art paste. The next few art classes are spent constructing facial features with foil and tape and painting the masks with acrylic paint. All 80+ masks were on display in the upper hallway. Great work grade five!