Bubble Trees-Thanks Pinterest!

This was a little project inspired by some Pinterest pictures I'd seen done with buttons. I decided paper would work well especially with bright colors. It reminded me of bubbles or gumballs so 'bubble gum trees' became the name ;)! Here's how I started:

I created a template for the tree and the kids traced it on black construction paper. Step 2 they glued their tree onto a larger pieces of construction paper (I tried light blue and light green-both looked good). Then...I had different sizes of various colors for the kids to cut out their circles and layer on the color and sizes. The students did really well and the results turned out great! Love Pinterest!

Cheetahs!

In 3rd grade we talked about a cheetah and what makes them so different from a leopard and jaguar. I told my story about when I went to the zoo last summer and thought I was looking at a cheetah but it was actually a jaguar. So we found that cheetah are have 'tear marks' that make them stand apart from the other two cats. Cheetahs of course run faster and have solid spots where a leopard and jaguar have rosette type spots. Anyways, really cool info. Kids were into it. We did a cheetah drawing in black crayon on day one and painted with a yellow-orange color. Day to we used a variety of greens to create a grassy area and if time the students cut little black dots and glued around as a frame. Kids did an amazing job! Love these!

Seascapes- 4th Grade

In our fourth grade curriculum we are supposed to create a seascape. My notes from last years project said 'try something new!'...I guess it was what the kids would call an 'Epic Fail!' So I developed a multi-media project covering everything under the sun: line, warm/cool, texture and a little 3-D. The top photo is how it started and the final of the sailboat popping out. The kids have really gotten excited about this project and are totally into it! We started with line designs in the waves, a warm sunset or sunrise out of tissue paper, foil frame for texture and a boat from construction paper that pops out. I cut a slit in the water and stuck the boat in so it really looks like it's in the water. So I hope this is a keeper!

Swamped!!

Wowza it's been busy since I've been back from maternity leave! I am usually so organized but lately it's not going so well. Maybe it's because I am on a cart this year or more classes and less plan time or a new baby at home or just a combination. This is just a peak of my back storage rack...messy! Hopefully just a few more months and I'll have my classroom space back and then I can get back to my organized self.