Halloween

BOO!  did I skeer ya!




 
Halloween at Hockaday is a blast!  This is not a place to do a holiday lightly.... nope, they go ALL out!

 

Above, the 3rd  grade teachers came as Chihuly installations, afterall, it is the big deal at the arboretum.  Their students colored the coffee filters and I stuck them on the Tshirts.  I found the hats at a Halloween store, they were perfect!

This is me below, as Big Tex... just starting to catch fire... just a little!

 

 

Loved this costume.  The Senior girls decorated the Upper School hallways like Harry Potter this year... unbelievable.  Here is a beggar from on of the halls.. most halls were too dark and the flash would have been annoying..

 

 

Even the parents who help with the parties dress up!

 



 

Ahh, The Queen of Hearts and Frieda Kahlo!

 

 



 These two girls were practicing for the Lower School orchestra, of course in full costume!



 

It is fun to teach somewhere where you can still celebrate!

 

First Grade and Still Life

   Fall is my absolutely most favorite time of year! Each year, I set up items on a table to create a still life for all of my classes. Each class creates several pictures using a variety of media. First grade used oil pastels and then Sharpie marker and watercolor. I love how their sharpie line shows through the transparent watercolors. 

 

  

 

  I like to add some strange objects and toys into the arrangement to keep the girls interested.  They change seats with each picture to keep it fresh.

Love how she filled the page, lots of detail!

 

 



 

Love the detail on the vase, the squiggle marks for the table cloth!

 

 

Funny picture of Skelley, he has been drawn so many different ways. 

 

 

Students working on their Sharpie and watercolor projects.

 

 

Some in oil pastel.



 

Hope you enjoyed their work!

My Ceramic Rats

El Raton Perez, the rat that gets the tooth from under children's pillows in Spanish speaking countries! I kind of imposed my Tooth Fairy ideas onto the rat. These are rats V and VI in a series of seven.

 

 

 

This one has a crown made of teeth, and is holding a tooth recently lost by a child.

 

 

Front and back of the other rat.

El Raton Perez, the rat that gets the tooth from under children's pillows in Spanish speaking countries!  I kind of imposed my Tooth Fairy ideas onto the rat.  These are rats V and VI in a series of seven. 

My Painted House by PreK

Prekindergarten girls read the book "My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me" by Maya Angelou. The book describes the beautiful homes of the Ndebele in Southern Africa. The women paint the houses with bright geometric shapes and patterns. The girls discussed what some of the things that were the alike and different between themselves and the girl in the book. More things were alike. They then used black paint to make a pattern on a house. The next class, they added color, and in the third class they mounted the house on paper, and added whatever details they wanted. These are awesome!

 

Love the red dragon she added!  She really took her time painting her house.

 

I like the slant to this one!



First Grade, Chihuly, and the Arboretum!

First grade had so much fun sketching the glass sculptures, looking for pumpkins and enjoying fall!

Kinder and Primer visit the Arboretum and Chihuly!

 

The most beautiful and wonderful day to go to the Arboretum!  It was cloudy, a little breezy and much cooler when the Kindergarten and Primer girls had their field trip to the Arboretum.  The Chihuly glass was everywhere, and there was much to see and draw!

 

The girls drew the sculptures, hunted for the varieties of pumpkins, sat in Cinderella's carriage, and visited the "artists' homes" created by the Arboretum.  They investigated, searched, and observed!



Trees, Trees, Trees

Ok First graders, time to go outside and look at some trees!  Which, we did.  The girls observed the branches, leaves and textures of trees growing right here.  They noticed how the tree branches formed the letter "y", in very creative ways! 

 

 

We all came back to the art room and I showed how I draw trees using the letter y.  The girls created their own trees using crayons, and added tree houses, animals, themselves, grass, other trees, whatever to complete the picture.  During the next class, the girls used blue watercolor to create the sky. 

Portraits and Painting - 1st Grade

First grade started off the year painting!  YEAH!  What young first grade girl does not like painting?? none that I know of!
The first day, we reviewed the variety of lines we can draw.  Using black paint, the girls painted lines on a large piece of paper.  After the paint had dried (we read some of my favorite books) the girls added color.  They are only given the primary colors, white and a teal blue.  All other colors they mix.  And mix.  And mix!  Into the second or third class session, the girl creates a self-portrait using color sticks.  The portrait is then cut out and added to the colorful painting, along with a black piece of yarn.  The portrait can be drawn any way that they wish, and the yarn can be used in any way.  They are quite creative in uses for the yarn - eyelashes, jewelry, dog leashes, jump ropes!

Adding color to the paper after painting a variety of black lines.  (above)

The black yarn became new earrings for this young lady!

When these are displayed, the hall just pops with color!