I sent a letter to families on the last day of June, not realizing that many of the images uploaded on the blog would disappear when my HCA account would be discontinued on July 1st.
I am working on replacing these images!
Dear Heritage Families,
It is time to say goodbye to my precious students at Heritage Christian Academy. The Lord has moved me out and into a wonderful new position at McAdory High School!
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your art teacher for the last 4 years. You will always be my students! If it were up to me, I would have stayed at HCA forever but it wasn't meant to be. I needed a full time art position and the job at HCA is now part-time.
Peter will still be attending HCA, so I look forward to seeing you again! We will still be involved in the "goings on" at Heritage. I thought originally that we would be moving to south Alabama to be closer to my parents but that possibility didn't work out for us this year.
There is a grade level menu on the right where you can see pictures from this year. I am proud of my students and their creativity and hard work.
I will miss my students and their families so much.
The visual art program at Heritage Christian Academy seeks to connect Biblical truths to every lesson as we attempt to bring glory to God with our creative gifts.
He is our example, creating us in His image to be artists as much like Him as we can be. Making art is a joyful process, whether working with clay, paint, paper, or simply drawing from imagination.
God said, "It is good," whenever He created anything at the beginning of time. We hope to work toward this sense of satisfaction in accomplishment as we create. As learners, we are constantly trying to reach the goal of being able to say, "It is good!" when we finish a piece.
Students are encouraged to have a Growth Mindset when learning in the art classroom: doing their best work, trying new solutions to problems, being persistent and refusing to give up when things don't go quite the way we expected. Making art is sometimes just about the learning process: it is an adventure!
Students can find so much joy while using hands-on materials and learning to express ideas visually! Creating is essentially the same thing as problem-solving: students exercise those brain "muscles" every day in the art classroom, getting smarter every day.
We offer many opportunities for students to celebrate their accomplishments in visual art. We have exhibited student work at the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Hoover Public Library. Also, students have opportunities to attend field trips to art venues such as Space One Eleven, the Birmingham Museum of Art, and artists' studios. We invite area artists (such as potter Larry Allen, sculptor Calvin Macon, and visual humorist Don Stewart) to speak and demonstrate their craft here at the school! Finally, we have annual school art exhibitions and win awards in district and state art competitions as well. This year, out of 18 artworks entered into the AISA District Art competition, 10 pieces won either a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place ribbon! Finally, your art teacher, Anna Nichols, is an award winning educator who loves her students tremendously.
II Corinthians 4:6, 7
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
potter Larry Allen demonstrates the wheel-throwing technique
The "Artist of the Week" program seeks to honor students who exemplified Godly character for that week as well as persistence in problem solving, attention to detail, creativity, perseverance, a respectful attitude, and excellence in craftsmanship.
Kindergarten: Bella M., Jordan K.
Grade 1: Kingslee S., Brittish B.
Grade 2: Ethan B.
Grade 4: Jackson B., Alden W.
Grade 5: Caroline J.
Grade 7: Caleb R.
Grade 8: Maggie I.
Their work was displayed on an easel right next to the lunchroom and front office for one full week.
The Artist of the Week program honors kindergarten - 8th grade students, starting at the end of January and continuing until our annual school art show in April.
We are so proud of your hard work and commitment to excellence!
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are marvelous. I know that full well.
Elementary art students spent a few weeks learning about the science and structure of snowflakes. Each snowflake is one of a kind: no two snowflakes are alike.
We are also unique, one of a kind, created by an awesome God who doesn't make mistakes. He calls us marvelous and wonderful because He made us!
Psalm 139 is such an encouragement, reminding us that wherever we go, God is with us.
His thoughts for us even outnumber the grains of sand!
"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, You are there. If I make my bed in the depths, You are there. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me!"
We also enjoyed adding liquid watercolor to these drawings, mixing and swirling the colors to create a sense of movement. Salt was then sprinkled onto the wet paintings to create a textured, crystalline effect. Students were fascinated to see the salt absorbing the liquid watercolor and even more surprised to see what these paintings looked like when they dried!
After experimenting with drawing and painting snowflakes, we tried making some cut-paper designs based on a circle template. Students folded the circle into thirds and then cut shapes out of the folds to reveal a beautiful dendrite with 6 branches. 4th and 5th graders folded theirs an extra time to make 12 branches! Every single snowflake was beautiful and unique.
We are marvelous because God made us! He knows us inside and out, better than our parents know us and better than we know ourselves. He doesn't make mistakes!
God has made each person unique, with special gifts. What makes you unique? You may not know what your gifts are yet, but they are there! Some people have the gift of encouragement, or of prayer, or of hospitality or generosity. There are many, many different gifts.
God made you special and He loves you very much! Just like each tiny snowflake is unique, we are all different and beautiful. Bob the Tomato learns that he is special in the video below, "Veggie Tales: God Made You Special, Bob's Vacation."
Students chose their favorite set of snowflakes for our hallway display next to the front office. We are proud of your creativity and hard work, kids!
You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thought, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand-
when I awake, I am still with you.
For one final experiment, 4th and 5th graders traced a paper snowflake onto black paper, then used liquid glue over these lines. When the glue dried, it made a barrier for the pastel colors, revealing an interesting snowflake design. Students enjoyed blending pastel colors on these patterns.
MATH - fractions, hexagons, radial symmetry, pattern, shape
SCIENCE - water molecules, freezing, states of matter, effects of the environment on the shape of the snowflake (humidity, wind, air pressure, temperature, etc.), absorption when salt absorbs liquid watercolor
TECHNOLOGY/HISTORY: Snowflake Bentley's use of a microscope and camera to capture the first images of snowflakes in the 1880's, now displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.
LITERATURE: children's book - Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
5th grader Caroline prepares to add glitter to her hand-printed card
Our elementary students enjoyed learning about printmaking while creating wonderful greeting cards for the shut-ins as well as for their friends and family. Mrs. Manston, our amazing music teacher, decided to take 1st-5th grades caroling last week to cheer up shut-ins. It was a wonderful gesture, and we got to also participate in art class by making cards. Even kindergarten made some cards featuring Christmas trees! We included the Christmas cards with the gift bags for the shut-ins from the kids and their families. I am so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful, generous, family here at Heritage Christian Academy!
1st- 5th grade made a printing plate out of foam core and designed an original Christmas greeting card. They made several prints from their printing plates and then added details with markers or some pizzaz with glitter and sequins.
I am proud of their effort, their persistence, and their commitment to excellence. This was definitely an exercise in problem solving, as the students had to keep trying until they got a good print. They stuck with it until they created something they liked! I also love how incredibly unique each one of these cards is. Our students are so creative!
I am so proud of our K5 students! They practiced their drawing, coloring, and gluing skills this week, creating original Christmas cards featuring decorated trees. We talked about the fact that there is not one "right" way to draw a Christmas tree.
Each art piece is wonderfully unique, just like the children. I hope you enjoy these amazing creations as much as I did!
Some of these cards will be given to the shut-ins on Monday during the music service project, but the rest will be sent home next week along with the children's nativity drawings.
Psalm 18:2
"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me;
My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge;
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold."
Both Lower and Upper School students used their creativity and skills to make artwork for the Veterans Day program. Many of these pieces were also used to make cards for veterans after the program was over. I am so proud of our students for taking the time to learn new skills and to make these beautiful works of art in honor of our servicemen and women. We prayed for our veterans all week long and it was such a blessing to Mrs. Nichols to listen to the children pray!
The five branches of the military are: the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard. We owe these men and women of the armed forces a huge debt of gratitude - they risk their lives in order to keep us safe!
In honor of all the people who have served in the past and are still serving today, we salute you!
Our youngest artists (K-2) learned to apply a pattern after finding the middle of a shape, making "heart flags" with this skill. They also learned how to draw a poppy flower, adding creative details of their own to the pictures. First, second, and third grade artists learned how to draw the face of an eagle - I love how each of the birds is completely unique, having a character of their own! 4th and 5th grade artists learned how to draw a 3-d flag as well as a standing bald eagle. The skills they practiced were: basic perspective (curves of the flag), some proportion (eagle drawing), overlapping, and adding texture and detail. We used several videos from Art For Kids Hub during these lessons. Mrs. Nichols showed students how to draw the subject, then played the step-by-step video.
[Why does Mrs. Nichols use videos in art class? It is valuable to students for many reasons, mainly that they can see another child their age drawing along with the adult and making "mistakes" (Growth Mindset).
Students can also see that everyone's drawing is different and unique - if their drawing didn't turn out exactly like someone else's that's actually a really good thing! Also, children need to see a variety of role models (both male and female) and the artist on the video is male.
Finally, due to Covid restrictions we have been using videos more often this year in order to practice "social distancing." We have several students learning from home as well, and sharing these drawing videos with virtual students has been invaluable!]
We viewed these informational videos about Veterans Day:
High school art students collaborated to design this camouflage wall display at the main entrance to the sanctuary. They spent a class period cutting out the various size pieces, then attached them to the wall. Students also spent time designing original "Thank You" cards for veterans. Several students made more than one to give away. This was an activity that promoted great conversations among students.
Kai made "dog tags" out of aluminum foil as well as a paper pocket to keep them inside the card. His drawing is also fabulous!
