3RD - 4TH GRADE

3rd graders use watercolor paint to embellish their "worm's eye view" of buildings. Nice work, Danny! 

January, 2018

3rd and 4th grade artists tried out an advanced technique this month, linear perspective! They also practiced their observational drawing skills while looking at a variety of insects, imitating God's design before designing their own original "insect creature!" (Scroll down to see more photos.) 

Linear perspective is a mathematical system artists use for creating the illusion of depth on a flat, 2-dimensional surface such as a painting or drawing. A vanishing point, the "magic dot" on the horizon, is the spot where all receding parallel lines appear to disappear! We viewed this introductory video on YouTube: "Behind the Scenes With David Hockney, The Illusion of Depth." Students practiced using a ruler to draw lines to a vanishing point, starting out with simple squares. Then, we learned how to draw buildings in perspective, even adding a few windows here and there. This was amazing for Mrs. Nichols to watch such young students accomplish so much!  

3rd and 4th grade "Worm's Eye View" of buildings, drawn with rulers and a vanishing point and finished with watercolor paint and markers.

During the last few classes of January, we discussed animal classification and the fact that the largest group of animals in the world includes arthropods; the insects, arachnids, millipedes/centipedes, and crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, shrimp, etc.). All of these animals are related because they have an exoskeleton; their skeletons are on the outsides of their bodies! Also, we talked about what makes an insect an insect; three body segments, antennae, six legs, etc. Students answered the question, "Is a spider an insect? Why or why not?"

3rd and 4th grade practice drawings

We followed along with a step by step tutorial on YouTube about how to draw an ant (Art For Kids Hub). Then, students chose their own arthropod to observe for a drawing. They had help; Mrs. Nichols placed step by step handouts for drawing beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, scorpions, etc. on each table. In order to provide plenty of choices, there was a playlist of "Art For Kids Hub" insect tutorials on screen during class. Students enjoyed the challenge of drawing these complex, beautiful creatures! 

We love to admire God's creativity; it is amazing to see the sheer variety of His ideas for these small creature designs! 

Learn To Draw Insects, by Diana Fisher

Finally, students looked at their symmetrical paint blots for inspiration to create their own original "bugs." What does it remind you of; a beetle or a butterfly? How about a scorpion or a ladybug? Each design is unique, complete with the students' own ideas for an imaginary creature! 

4th grade imaginary bugs

3rd grade imaginary bugs

December 12 & 15, 2017:
Students participated in a variety of art projects this week, choosing among art stations such as drawing, Ojo de Dios woven ornaments, making paper Christmas ornaments, Christmas cards, or paper snowflakes. 

Also, we are very proud of 3rd grader Sydney Hill! Her holiday card design was the one and only design published by the Over the Mountain Journal for their December 14th issue! Congratulations, Sydney! (Her design is located on the very last page.)

Sydney Hill's holiday card design published in the Over the Mountain Journal

December 8, 2017: Snow Day! No school!

December 5, 2017
Today in art class, 3rd and 4th graders collaborated in making decorations for the Christmas program on Thursday. We learned about "Snowflake Bentley," the first person in history to photograph snowflakes and about the special camera he designed. This camera was equipped with a microscope and pulley to raise and lower the snowflakes up to the lens. He photographed over 5000 snowflakes! A farmer, not a scientist, he is now famous for his accomplishments. 

3rd and 4th grade paper snowflakes

1st, 3rd, and 4th grade students helped design paper snowflakes and paper chains for the decorations for our Christmas Choir Concert! 

December 1, 2017
Shhhh! We are working on a secret surprise for someone we love. More details will come later!

November 28, 2017
Today, students spent a few minutes thinking about what they are grateful for. We drew images of those things with warm colored crayons, then we painted with cool colors. We also watched this short video; "The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings."

"What am I thankful for?" 

Week 14:
The "Over the Mountain Journal" holiday card contest is here! We spent time designing beautiful images based on the Christmas season, a few of which were delivered to the newspaper over Thanksgiving break. It will be exciting to see which cards are published! 

Week 13:
3rd and 4th grade artists discussed Psalm 1, then we drew a tree step by step. We used a small paintbrush to carefully paint the tree, then we used oil pastels to apply blended colors in the spaces between branches. The results are stunning! 

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor sits in the seat of sinners. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, on it he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree, planted by rivers of water, bearing fruit in his season." Psalm 1

Week 12:
Students spent a few minutes writing a story about their pumpkin drawings as an exercise in creativity - their last assignment for this project was to add characters from the short story! Students pretended the pumpkin field was one scene from the story, adding a variety of drawings to it. 

We also practiced "thinking like an artist" by reflecting on our work. Students answered the questions, "What do I like about my artwork? What could I do differently next time? What do I need to do to improve my work?" We also discussed several examples of craftsmanship; students looked at a poorly colored teacher example and a well-crafted one; they talked about why the well-crafted piece was better. The kids decided it was a better example because it was filled in completely (with no white spots showing) and the artist "stayed inside the lines" really well. 

3rd Grade Mixed Media Pumpkins

3rd Grade Mixed Media Pumpkins

4th Grade Mixed Media Pumpkins

Week 11: 

Students worked hard on their mixed media pieces this week: they finished painting their pumpkins with tints and shades and then cut them out. We glued these onto the night skies and added a little oil pastel for embellishment. We are working on large papers, and some students work very slowly and meticulously; they will need a little extra time. We will spend one more day with these art pieces. 

Weeks Nine & Ten:
We are learning all about tints and shades! Students first painted a night sky on a large piece of paper, using tints (adding white) and shades (adding black) of a dark color. Then, we practiced drawing lots of different sizes and shapes of pumpkins, following along step by step with Mrs. Nichols. Students in third grade practiced painting their pumpkins section by section, painting their color from dark to light. Fourth grade students practiced blending dark and light values of a color to create a sense of light and shadow. Next, we will cut out the pumpkins and collage them onto the night sky backgrounds. 

 

Week Eight:
Students in third and fourth grade learned a little bit about shading. We used a piece of charcoal to add a shadow underneath our fruit as well as on the fruit to give the appearance of form. Then, we finished painting the pictures. The third graders are practicing their cursive writing skills with Mrs. Crabtree, so a few of them decided to write "fruit" to title their art pieces. I am amazed to see the results of the kids' hard work for the last two weeks! The paintings turned out beautifully and are on display next to the art room. 

Fourth grade art 

Third grade art

Week Seven:

With this week's focus on the fruit of the spirit, we spent some time doing observational drawings of fruit. Students were challenged with drawing a plate of fruit, and for those who needed extra help Mrs. Nichols did a step by step drawing on the board. Kids who were confident in their drawing skills could look carefully at the plate of fruit on their table to do a drawing. Everyone's drawing was original and unique! We even added a special "magic" ingredient to our drawings that will only be visible when we paint on Friday: a white crayon resist! 

Sometimes it's fun to ham it up - I wanted to see what would happen if the kids took a few photos! Photo bomb! 

Week Six:
Our third grade students worked hard to finish their flower sculptures for Grandparents Day, and fourth graders finished up their watercolor paintings from last week. 

Third Grade

Week Five:
3rd graders began their first sculpture this week, a flower design for their grandparents (click on the this link for more information). 4th graders learned a little bit about showing distance in a work of art, inventing an imaginary landscape and then using watercolors for embellishment. Artists can create the illusion of space by making close things appear larger, placing them at the bottom of the page. Distant things appear smaller and are often placed at the top of the page: 

Fourth graders work hard on their paintings!

Week Four:

Students in 3rd and 4th grade heard Mrs. Nichols' story about how her husband finally got some chickens! Living in the suburbs, it is a bit strange to have a chicken palace in the back yard! We did a step by step drawing of a stuffed chicken, experimenting with textures and metallic crayons on black paper. (Breaking an object down into its basic shapes is one way to make observational drawing simpler and less intimidating.) A few students decided the chicken resembled a "Ninja," so they began adding a few extra interesting details. We will finish these next week before beginning work on our Grandparents' Day paper flowers. 

Weeks Three/Four:

This children's book, The Perfect Square, by Michael Hall, is about a creative square who re-invents himself over and over. When he is torn to bits, he creates a garden, and when he is shattered, he makes a bridge out of the pieces. 3rd and 4th graders viewed a reading of this book and then created a colorfully patterned square with the frottage technique. Then, they used their imaginations to invent an entirely new picture out of their "perfect square" frottage. Creativity is at the very top of Bloom's chart of higher order thinking skills. It takes some intense thought and effort to make something out of nothing. Here are a few of their "Frottage Collages!"

artwork by Zadie, Ashunti, and Sydney

artwork by Brooke, Danny, and Dawson

3rd graders work on their Frottage Collages

Pre-Instruction Self-Portraits: these were done the second week of school as a diagnostic. Students will compare these drawings to finished portraits later this year to see how much they have learned!

We also viewed this reading of the book, It's Okay to be Different, by Todd Parr.

3rd Grade 

4th Grade