DIY Apron and The First week of School

Just in time for the first week of school, I finished my new DIY Apron! (instructions courtesy of Cassie Stephens! Check her out!) And although we didn't get really dirty during that first week, it was still fun to wear around. A good art teacher needs a good art room apron!

Since this is my first year in this new school, I wanted to really establish my rules and my art room setup to the kids. During the first week, I took all the classes on a tour of the art room. Some, (kindergartners) took an actual walking tour of the room. While the older classes, who have been in the art room many times, only got the new elements pointed out to them. Then we talked for a little bit about what matters most in my art room, which is creative thought. We looked at a thought-provoking picture and the kids had to make up a creative story about what happened in the picture. We talked after that activity about how being good at painting and drawing doesn't matter as much as being a creative thinker.

Picture found on Indulgy

Then to start the year of right, every class did a mini self-portrait. We had a small chat about what a self-portrait is, mostly this was just review, except again for the Kinders. And then we went right into looking at our finished project. A Rainbow Wall of self-portraits, with each student contributing! 

I gave each student a 5x5 white piece of paper and assigned each table a color. Students could only use shades of that color. We chatted about pushing harder or softer to get different shades. We also talked about what should they draw? Head and shoulders, or the whole body? I let the students make a decision. Then I stressed filling in the background to make sure we could really see that the color they were using was represented. After talking simply about these few things, I let the students work for the rest of the time.

Since it was a relatively simple project, it also gave me time to walk around, learn names, make notes about student behavior, and get a feel for how each student worked and what level they are at. (This project idea was found at Mrs. Crosby's Art Room)

We're just starting to assemble it, but it already looks great!