On Safari

  

 Our 3rd and 4th graders have been learning about the art and culture of Kenya.  We discussed animals that you might see on a safari in Kenya.  These animals include elephants, lions, cheetahs, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, antelope, and many more.  We learned that the cheetah is the fastest land animal. 

The 3rd graders made these animal masks using aluminum tooling foil and ink.  They added animal print tissue paper to finish the collage.  The students seemed to really enjoy working with the tooling foil because it was a completely new medium.  This was my first experience covering the foil with ink.  The students had to buff the ink with steel wool.  I am so impressed with the results! 

In 4th grade, we discussed how drums are a popular instrument all over Africa.  In Kenya people use drums made out of animal hide.  Our students created hand drums made from cardboard tubes, beads, yarn, and paper.  To play the drums you roll the handle back and forth between your fingers. 

4th grade hand drums

Here are some weavings our 4th graders did of safari animals:

Welcome to Our Classroom Blog

Welcome

Welcome to our classroom blog!  I hope this is a useful tool for helping parents see what students are creating during art class and letting students see what other classes are making.  I am privileged to work with many talented elementary students everyday, and their creations are always an inspiration.  Enjoy!

Our Kindergarteners have been busy creating artwork to display in the school for the month of December.  This project was a success because Kindergarteners LOVE glitter!  Check out their sparkling ornament collages.



Kindergarten Ornaments

Art Explorers

Art Explorers is an after school art club consisting of 4th and 5th grade students who meet once a week for 6 weeks.  During this time students create artwork in multiple media.  We typically create artwork that requires more time than we have during regular art class and projects that are best done with a smaller group of students.  Here is some of the Art Explorers' work from this past session.  Great job everyone!



Our old crayons have been transformed into beautiful mosaics.

5th Grade Keith Haring Inspired People

Students worked together in groups to create these life sized people inspired by the artist, Keith Haring.  Haring began his career as a graffiti artists.

4th Grade Faux Stained Glass These stained glass pieces are decorating the library windows.  Students created them after sketching the stained glass windows on our field trip to the chapel at Valparaiso University.