The Ratner School Art Program

I trust everyone had a relaxing and thankful break for Thanksgiving. I enjoyed a great meal with family and friends and am thankful to have a job I love to return to after a short break. We are beginning many shorter term projects between now and our Winter break and have many special events and some field trips planned over the next few weeks. I have not had a blog post for two weeks due to the short weeks for conferences and Thanksgiving, so I hope you enjoy the catch up blog post!

A photo from flicker account Brian104- it certainly captures the season!

Kindergarten Art

I have not had my Kindergarten class for the last two classes, Thanksgiving break and conferences unfortunately fell on their scheduled class times. I hope you enjoyed the thunderbird totems the students created for the study of the Native People of America unit. They are gaining in their control of materials and the class is settled into the expectations of the art program. I look forward to our next unit on Marc Chagall as it is an expressive project enjoyed by this age group.

1st and 2nd Grade Art

Following the construction project of the literature unit, the students asked if they could build with wood in the Maker Space. I agreed and gave the class lessons on how to safely hammer pieces of wood together, how to sand the wood and how to choose the correct size nail for the pieces they wanted to join. They worked carefully (and loudly) pounding in nails and enjoyed the process. I like the balance of the structured projects and the free exploration of materials. I find so much value in the learning process through trial and error with this group and I will keep developing challenging projects to stretch their creative muscles!

This is actually a 3rd graders work, I did not get a photo of the 1st/2nd grade work

Next step for the Maker Space- appropriate sized work benches!

3rd and 4th Grade Art

The Monet bridges were attached a few classes ago and the work is displayed outside their homeroom. I hope you all had a chance to observe and enjoy the work during conferences. I love the way the work looks hung side by side. The students showed a strong skill for building, handled the hot glue guns with care and were excited to share their work. We had a day of free build down in the Maker Space where the students created any type of sculpture they wanted. We missed a couple of classes due to celebrations and the Thanksgiving break, but will jump right back into work this week in art. Please remember that we will be going to MOCA on Wednesday, December 6th!

5th and 6th Grade Art

We have completed all the cut paper portraits for this unit. The students settled into the process and showed a clearer understanding of how shadows and value change create depth and dimension with the portraits. The proportions shown were accurate and I believe the students began to understand the importance of carefully crafted work. This group of students took a bit more time with this project than past classes and the layers of skill and concentration were difficult for many of the students, but they showed determination and successfully completed the process. I am glad to say that 99% of the students handled the x-acto knives with care and respect and their skills increased tremendously as the project progressed. I am excited to display the portraits soon so you can enjoy the work as well.

7th and 8th Grade Art

We began our yearly portrait project last week in art. Our weeks have been short and a few classes had shifted due to celebrations and rehearsals, but progress is being made. We are doing a new project for the portrait units where the students are constructing their portraits using cardboard. This is a high school level project, but I liked how it involved the correct proportions of the face which we have been working on, using recycled materials and relying on building and problem solving skills while constructing the portraits.  I enjoy trying new processes and projects along with the students as we all learn by working through the projects together.