December and January Art News

December is an exciting month for Art in the Classroom. We will be covering the concept of Texture (Download an Introduction to Texture for all levels here) and our projects include mosaics, foil design, resist snowflakes, and even the beautiful  La Boca Houses from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It will be fun to watch the creativity with these works of art!

Looking ahead to 2013, the only grade level that will be meeting in January will be Kindergarten who will be creating clay pinch pots. Art Adventure will be happening that month for the school so the rest of AITC will have the month off.

Remember to take some photos of your art work so that we can include them on the website. We’d love to hear your comments, too, or ideas on how to make the lessons run more smoothly.

Thank you so much for all of your time and help. The beautiful artwork shows how much you are giving to the program!

November 3rd Grade Shape Project

Here are a couple of photos of November’s 3rd Grade Shape project, in which students create geometric shapes from organic shapes. Fun!

Example of the 3rd Grade Shape Project for November

November Notes

November is nearly here and we’ve had a great first month in Art. The 1^st grade leaves look great and the line projects turned out awesome. It’s fun to see so many projects hanging on the walls of the school.

November’s concept is Shape and the students will be learning the difference between Geometric Shape and Organic/Natural Shape. The 4^th graders will be making their clay projects this month and we’re looking forward to see the masks they will make.

If you you’d like to volunteer please look up your child’s teacher and contact their coordinating parent. Working with Art in the Classroom is a great way to meet the children in your child’s class and enrich their learning with Art. As always, volunteers must have current background checks with District 624; please contact the school office to fill one out.

I found this quote the other day and wanted to share it with you:

“In math there are rules. In spelling there are rules. In a child’s art? There shouldn’t be rules.”

Have fun with your students and projects and thanks for your continued support!

Art Meeting September 18

Update! If you missed the orientation, you can review a Powerpoint of the presentation here: AITC Presentation 2012-13.

Please join us on Tuesday, Sept 18 from 2:45 to 3:30 in the Art Room for Art in the Classroom Orientation. We’ll introduce you to this year’s coordinators and grade level contacts and show you how to set up and teach a lesson. See you Tuesday!

Welcome back to Art in the Classroom!

It has been an inspiring summer and we are so excited to get back to work with the Otter Lake students. We will be on the lookout for volunteers in the following roles:

Grade Level Contacts for grades 1 and 4 – these leaders will put together the materials needed for the art projects on a monthly basis. They will also contact the Coordinators to provide them with the month’s project.

Classroom Coordinators – these leaders will schedule art dates with their classroom teacher according to his or her schedule and the schedule of the art room, they will also be leading the instruction and discussion of the projects with the students.

Volunteers – these helpers will provide extra hands for the Coordinator, helping set up the art room for the projects, assisting students, and helping clean up the room.

If you can help us or know of a neighbor or friend who could, please contact Barb Pletsch at barbp1023@msn.com. We cannot make this program work without help from parents like you! Thank you!!

2011-2012 Wrap Up!

As the year draws to a close, so does this school year’s Art in the Classroom program. On behalf of all of the Art in the Classroom organizers, we wish to extend a HUGE thank you to all of the parent volunteers who made this year a success!

Besides some great new projects and fun returning projects, we were excited to see Art in the Classroom projects from December featured in the Celebrate Minnesota night. The Minnesota-themed projects were all based on local artists and traditions, drawing a direct connection between our art and our communities.

Some Kindergarten clay pots before they go into the kiln!

As we wrap up the year, we’re getting ready to say good-bye to some of our coordinators whose children are graduating to sixth grade. We are indebted to Janet McManamon and Sarah Solberg for their hours and hours of work invested in the program over the last years, and thank them for leaving the program in good shape for the next generation of art parents. THANK YOU!

At this time, we’re busy wrapping up the year and even preparing for next year. Check back here in late August for news about next year’s program.

Have a great summer!

Welcome to 2012!

It’s January already! This month only Kindergarten has Art in the Classroom while the rest of the grades take a break. In the meantime, we’re looking for any photos you may have of the student’s projects so far to post on the site. Please send any digital photos to otterlakeart@gmail.com. Thanks, and see you next month!

Miss Erickson’s Calder Mobiles

Miss Erickson’s Calder Mobiles, a set on Flickr.

Here are some samples from the November 2011 Art in the Classroom project where students created Alexander Calder-like mobiles using organic shapes.

December’s Theme is Minnesota

December’s theme for Art in the Classroom is Minnesota. All grades will be exploring Minnesota themes and Minnesota artists with their projects. All of the projects are now posted on each grade’s page. Here’s a peek at a couple of the projects!

4th Grade Warm/Cool Abstract Landscapes Sample. Featured artist: Mary Lingen

5th Grade Minnesota Landmarks Class Sample. Featured artist: Mark Herman.

Mrs. Poppa’s 5th Grade Contour Line Examples

Mrs. Poppa’s 5th Grade Contour Line, a set on Flickr.

Here are the student’s art from the October 5th grade line drawing project. Students were directed to look at their faces in a mirror while simultaneously creating a “blind” single-line contour line drawing of their image. The results were unexpected and original! Students colored their faces with unusual colors, lending to a Picasso-like effect.