Posts Tagged by tempera
Fauves on the Move
| January 6, 2015 | Posted by Cristy under Third Grade |
These great third grade paintings incorporated animals in motion, a study of Fauvism and a quick look at how early rock painters used line and dots to enhance their animal images. Oh- and color theory in blending tempera! Talk about a packed lesson! more
Tempera = Mess. Or Does It?
| December 12, 2014 | Posted by Cristy under All Grades, Teacher Concerns |
Sometimes I feel like my life as a teacher has been 15 years of searching for ways to not make such a huge mess.
Art is messy, but after hours at the sink, chapped hands and paint everywhere I dream of ways to streamline. I won’t tell you I have it all figured out, but with tempera I do have a system that works pretty. I thought I’d take the next few posts to share my strategy.
To begin with – here’s the “lay of the land”:
Sinks are closed. “What??” You say… “No sinks during tempera????” I find that kids take SO MUCH time washing hands, brushes, standing in line, dribbling wet sponges all over, flicking water, you’ve seen it. Everything can be accomplished without the sinks. How? Hang with me.
Pre-moistened (by me) sponges. Rags for drying. Kids can use these anytime for spot cleaning and hand wiping. When full of paint, I rinse and wring them myself so I know they aren’t drippy.
Wash buckets: One per table half filled with water and a glug of fabric softener. Half filled so they don’t slop, fabric softener because it makes the bristles nice. (No kidding! Try it!) Used only at the end of the class. (Bossy old hide, aren’t I? I’ll show you why.)
Newsprint “Placemats” that stay at the table and are re-used by each class forever. Or as long as I can.
Paint table: This is my exclusive domain. Paint lives on this table to be dispensed by Yours Truly. (I hide the colors that are not in play so kids don’t beg.) Palettes come and go from here according to what grade level is working. Everything in quarts except white – I buy that in gallons, but refill it into quart size squeezers.
Drying system: I couldn’t live without this baby. Actually, I have lived without it – you can get creative with clothes lines, strips of floor around the perimeter of the room etc. But the rack is a Godsend.
Storage totes: These came with a cubby system we bought and they seal pretty tightly when stacked. If I didn’t have those I’d get some flat Rubbermaid boxes. Or open tubs with Press-n-Seal.
The “Job Wheel”: Letters correspond to letters drawn on tables with permanent marker. I re-write the letters every couple of weeks as they wear off, but it’s better than tape, and our super-strict fire marshal won’t let me hang anything from the ceiling.
Okay – that was a lot of setup! It’s worth it, though. Now for the action:
Skill #1. Paint until the brush is “thirsty: This is the key! This is the skill that will make your tempera unit a pleasure to teach. Show kids how to lay down a color and spread until the brush scumbles. I teach kids that the brush is now thirsty. Now you can dip into another color without contaminating it. The colors will blend from what’s left in the brush, but that’s fine, because blending is the skill we’re working on. Kids practice changing color only when the brush is thirsty and blending wet into wet. I have everybody work on blending for a week or so. You’ll be amazed at how clean the colors stay once kids get it. (Except Kindergarten. They’ll get their own post. Stay tuned.) Only when kids have mastered this color change do I introduce brush washing between colors for the older kids. The blending all happens on the paper, and not in the palette or paint cup. It’s great!
Now for cleanup!
Skill #2. Cleanup according to the Job Wheel:
Paper Chief puts art in drying rack and stacks the placemats.
Tool Master washes all brushes in the bucket at the table and returns them to the cup “hairdos up!” I can’t remember what blogger I learned “Sweep in the deep, swish like a fish.. wipe, wipe, squeeeeze.” from, but that’s how I teach cleaning. “Sweep in the deep” means to rub the bristles on the bumpy bottom of the bucket.
Social Directer puts palettes in the tubs and does any errands I put them up to. (Generally I say the Social Directer is in charge of helping others and keeping positive energy flowing, but sometimes they have a job too.
That seems like a lot (and it is the first time you introduce it.) but I think it’s worth it. My kids LOVE tempera, and now I look forward to getting it out. Later I’ll show you how I differentiate for the various grade levels and how I build up the skills over the years.
Go forth and paint!
Posted with BlogsyMore of those awesome clowns
| March 11, 2013 | Posted by Cristy under Kindergarten |
Pair of dancing clowns
Clown in Blue and Black
A two-fer today of those clowns. I couldn’t help myself.
Exploring Figures in Paint, and Mixing Color
| March 8, 2013 | Posted by Cristy under Kindergarten |
Blue Haired Kindergarten Clown
There’s a lot of research that demonstrates the value of painting in the development of young children. Tons of things go on in a kid’s brain when she swipes a brush through a color and uses it to represent something from her world, or her imagination. Color mixing in particular is a great brain bending exercise for youngsters that opens new and unexplored worlds. Teachers (and parents) often find that kids have so much fun mixing the paint that all you end up with is a bunch of mixed up paint, so many are reluctant to share this valuable exercise with the youngest of artists. My strategy is to limit the colors, so that whatever gets made will look great. Day 1 – white, red and yellow. Day 2 – white, blue and yellow. Day 3 – white blue and red. That way, the colors get to dry in between, the kid really gets to explore the variety of possibilities with each pair of primaries, and – well… the results look great!
Monarch Migration
| February 3, 2012 | Posted by Cristy under First grade, Uncategorized |
[thethe-image-slider name=”Monarchs 2012″]
First graders at our school study insects, and they hatch butterflies in their classrooms. So it’s a perfect connection to make monarchs in class. We started with mixing an orange, then outlining in black and cutting out. Painting the orange and black on the other side was a little tricky, but we finished with a small brush for veins and white dots, and look! The archway into their hall is a perfect resting spot!
