Straws and more....

After last weeks session where the Year 2 students had to create an animal using only triangle shapes, this lesson was all about recreating that same animal using only straws. Now we spoke about how to attach straws using just them and also sticky tape. Student were able to cut straws to any length. The first photo high above we have a dog and puppy, just above we have a turtle and baby turtle.Not sure which one is the baby?Here above a mother and her baby giraffe with long necks, not too sure about the short legs though??? Heh Heh!!! Below the arachnids, mum and little spider, all with 8 legs!Above the very cute and precise dingo and her pup. Below cat and sweet kitten.Lucky last below is the fishes, look at the tails and fins. Way out there!!! Students at first thought it was going to be a tough task, but then really got into it and with a little patience won over! Don't you think?

Shadows and Silhouettes

I have been playing with a new concept for the Year 6 classes. I was thinking about silhouettes and shadows. What one sees when blinded by the sun and all that you get it a black shadow. You need to put enough detail into the shapes to explain what one sees without the lines. No pencils or lines allowed, which is quite a challenge. I think that with the tissue paper it gives a great contrast not only because of the basic colour but also because you can achieve different gradations of colour , which gives an added dimension. Pure shapes and pure dreams.....

For the Love of Dad....

For the last session of the week and the most well behaved class I have ever had the pleasure to teach, the Year 1 class was thrilled to be able to draw a portrait of dad for Father's Day. Some morphed into a "family" portrait rather than just a sole portrait of dad, but no matter, they were delightful. We spoke about the things that made dad different and special. Some dad's had beards, wore glasses, had blue eyes and some had a moustache like mine does!

Magic scratch paper is just fabulous to used. The students find is amazing and are over joyed to use it. Just don't touch it till the drawing is complete!

This dad above must be a stunner! Happy Father's Day all you dad's out there!!!

Triangles and Animals....

This is what you can find if students are given triangles. This session was all about finding different shapes and sizes using triangles. The triangles were not allowed to overlap and the triangles had to create a whole animal. Here are some colourful creations....above a mouse, just so, so, so clever even down to the triangle whiskers! The mouse has also taken a bite out of the cheese in the bottom right corner; of course there is a triangle bite!!!!
-A puppy dog, even though she only has two legs???-A bigger canine, at least we have four legs here! And below a fish even down to the colourful scales, swimming between the seaweed......

A New Oil....

A "new" oil in the works. I am terrible, I am in the process of still finishing the two larger ones I have. You see with oils, they really do take so long to dry and i like to apply the paint in layers as a technique. Even though I use a drying medium, it still takes forever to dry. How does the saying go- as much fun as watching paint dry!!! Yes; well I can vouch for that!!! So I get antsy and begin a new one while I wait. Don't worry I always finish what I begin, it just take longer sometimes.....especially in oils. Hang in there I will post when I get it closer to completion.

Dry Needle Felting- Teddy Bears.

The Year 6's enjoyed the experience of dry needle felting. After a visual and verbal demo from myself and the talk about the many, many and many ways not to spear ones fingers or hands, they had the chance to felt their own bear. Yes there were a few casualties :-( but they did admit that they were either not concentrating, talking, or just rushing..... Hmmmmm they do live and learn! 99% of students were unharmed in the process.....Imagine 28 felting needles on the go at once, weapons of mass destruction alright, but ever so soft and furry!No matter if the student was male or female, they just wanted to feel and touch how ever so soft the bears were. When you get the pleasure of felting with merino wool all you want to do is keep felting....The Year 6's (all 90 of them!) were real fans of this activity...

The Bad Tempered Ladybug....

The very giggly Year 2 class were introduced to Eric Carle's- "The Bad Tempered Ladybird". We read about the very funny and silly Ladybird who just didn't do himself any favours by thinking the way to gain friends was to fight everyone.... A great story when the class like to behave poorly in the playground! Then we created a very soft and colourful ladybird. We had to choose colours and it was a marathon to finish..... They had to have a sleep on the drying racks to dry after the application of PVA glue and of course the goggle eyes had to dry, some with lashes some without!

Here above are the finished ladybirds, legs bent and ready to eat a few aphids! yummy!