3-6: Weeks One, Two, and Three
It's hard to believe that we've already passed the halfway point of September and are working our way into the third week of school. Welcome 3-6 parents! My name is Amanda Mesenbring and I am the K8 art teacher for Montgomery K8 for the second year in a row. I will occasionally write blogs and include images here of the happenings in 3-6 grade art. Please check back periodically, 2-3 times per month, to get an idea of projects and concepts we will be working on.
Our first week was filled with relearning the rules and expectations of the art room. After all of that was done, we got the chance to decorate our portfolio covers. This year, students in grades 3-6 each have their own portfolio to keep works in throughout the year. This will provided more ownership of our artwork and provide a safe place to store in progress projects. Students were able to decorate their folders however they chose with markers, crayons, and colored pencils, so long as the drawing was school appropriate.
In addition, we learned about the Basics Center in the art room. It was a hub for basic supplies that may be needed for any center in the art room. There are pencils, erasers, rulers, construction paper, plain paper, grid paper, scissors, and glue sticks available for student use. Students are able to access these supplies as needed and won't need to ask to use the supplies so long as everything is returned to its proper home at the end of class.
Moving into week two, we started a two week activity where students would think a bit more critically about our drawing materials. Students were given a packet called Draw Around the Room where they got to explore crayons, colored pencils, and markers, create a small drawing with these materials in a provided space, and then describe the materials in a provided writing space. We used adjectives such as bright, bold, dull, bumpy, waxy, colorful, smooth, and so forth to describe these drawing materials.
Moving in to week three, students will have the chance to explore oil pastels, chalk pastels, and charcoal in the same way. Students will be asked to describe the materials with two adjectives as well. We will discuss at the end of class their descriptive words and reflect on our favorite and least favorite supplies.
We've had a solid three weeks of creating wonderful drawings and getting to know one another again!
Best wishes,
Amanda Mesenbring
amesenbring@tcu2905.us
