School gardens are the best!

Hello again!
This is a brief post showing how I took advantage of the garden at one of my schools. It is such a wonderful resource for all grade levels, and all subjects! I love taking my students out there to explore and draw from observation. 
This time, I noticed some flowers were on their way out as fall made it's way in, so I went out in the morning to pick bouquets for each table. (It's a nice way to start the day, picking flowers in a garden!)
I am trying very hard to shy away from free draw when students are done - I'm going for more of a themed drawing time, so I don't receive 23 scribbled Spongebobs/Minecraft drawings. I have been creating "Free Draw Challenges" with 8-10 prompts. Instead of "free draw", I had them draw these flowers from observation.

It was a success! A little change from the expected prompts is a nice change of pace. I may buy a few bouquets for free draw this winter, when all we see is white for months! 

Feel free to click to enlarge the photos!

<- look at those lines! I love the way elementary line drawings come out! 

 It's tough drawing those hollow, pink petals! ->

Thank you for stopping by, and please come back again soon! 

It's been too long!

Hello there,

I vowed to myself that this year, I would be more involved in the three schools that I work in, and I have been on participation overload! My brain is usually mush by Friday at 3:10, but I made it a goal to get some blog posts in here between loads of laundry! 

This year, I am on the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System) team, Spirit committee, Mural Makers is up and running again, and I have been collaborating making parade floats, new all-school PBIS tokens, and more! This entry will be showing the beginning of the second mural at one of my schools. Last year, I had about 15 students help paint a mural based on Keith Haring. This year, the principal requested the alphabet between the Kinder and first grade rooms! 

The students and I created a "Mural Makers Agreement" on the first day, using the PBIS "Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe" as talking points. I have mostly new students, only 3 or 4 have experienced painting on the wall before - many of them were nervous to make the first stroke! We talked about how artists create large-scale work, and how confident you have to be with your strokes and techniques. Once they got going, they accomplished a lot in the first session! 

 <- Helping reach the higher spots!

 After the first session of painting, this is the result! These artists work fast! 

Thank you for visiting, and come back soon!