Painting Challenge

I saw this idea on Pinterest and decided to give my third grade students this challenge and they loved it.  Here is the link where I saw the lesson:  http://www.teachkidsart.net/mixing-100-colors/.  Each student was given the primary colors plus white and asked to see how many colors they could come up with.  At first it seemed impossible but once they took a look at the color wheel and were reminded that they could mix different shades of colors they were off and mixing up a ton of new colors.  They really had a blast and learned a lot about color theory.  

Straw Weaving

Each year in our school first and fourth grade students participate in a feast.  The first graders are Pilgrims and the fourth grade students are the Native americans.  They gather together to share a snack, sing songs and bring a handmade gifts.  In art class the fourth grade students made straw weavings to wear to the feast.  The weavings took a long time but the kids love them.  They also worked on them in their classroom during snack or quiet reading time.  If you have never tried straw weaving before it's a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it.  You could do 3 straws and make a bracelet.  That would be quick and still give students the chance to learn the weaving technique.  

Fun with Texture

First grade students had fun learning about texture by pressing objects into slabs of clay.  It is always so exciting to see the impressions that the different objects make.  Some of the favorites were the plastic bugs and bead necklaces.  This is part of our texture unit.  We created rubbings from objects around the room and texture plates, these clay bowls and also experimented with creating textures on  paper by rolling, crumpling and folding.  We used the textured paper to create relief sculptures.

                 

                       
                
Examples of Paper Texture Sculptures Grade 1