Fantastic Mr. Foxes!

Yowza!  It has been quite a long time since I last posted. So very sorry about my absence these past few months folks, but I have been trying to crank out a Master's degree before having my own little French Fry any day now.  It has been quite the whirlwind, but onto the foxy fun!

I wanted to share one of my favorite projects my art kiddos have created in the past few weeks.  As a fan of all things foxes, Roald Dahl, and Wes Anderson, I have been on a major fox kick this year.  Is anyone else a HUGE fan of Fantastic Mr. Fox?  The book and movie get me every time!

My second graders created some fantastic fox collages after reading Nonny Hogrogian's One Fine Day. 

We even spent some time making literacy connections, as I had the students work with a buddy after reading the story and write out a one sentence moral of the story.  I got winning answers like:

- Be kind to others.
- Treat others the way you want to be treated.
- (And my fave) Be nice to foxes...and other animals!

My students drew their foxes in pencil first on colored construction paper.  Then, each table was given a palette of primary colors and a tint of white to paint in their foxes like a puzzle.  I encouraged students to add lines and designs onto their foxes as a final painting touch.

Next class, students outlined each little piece with a black oil pastel, cut and glued their foxes onto black construction paper.

I've been on a major painted paper kick this year and hoarded a crazy amount of paper scraps which have come in handy during many a project.  I decided to have my students create their own frames from painted paper before finishing their masterpieces.

I've got a soft spot for this five legged little foxy friend!

Hopefully I'll be able to get a few more posts going before the arrival of little French Fry.  But until next time, keep being foxy!

DIY Mod Mobile and Table.

Is that a watermelon under your dress or are you just happy to see me?

Well arties, it's true. It isn't a watermelon under my dress, but it is a growing Little French Fry, due December 25.

One of my 2nd grade classes has started to come up with names for Little French Fry and every week before I gather them on the rug, they can't WAIT to share their baby names.  For example:

Student 1: How about Princess?
Student 2: No no, Princess Sparkles!
Student 3: How about Ruley, Mrs. Donelan?
Miss FF: Ummm, Ruley? Why?
Student 3: Ruley, like RULES. Because you like RULES so much Mrs. Donelan!


Ya got me kid.  Ya really got me.

I've been having lots o' fun decorating the nursery for Little French Fry and finding thrifted stuff to decorate it up.  A few weeks back I picked up a table from Goodwill for $2.50 that definitely had a modern vibe about it.  The crazy thing seems to be made of broom handles for legs.  The top was really chewed up and water stained though.

But, it was nothing a little sanding and a can of glossy spray paint couldn't fix!  Perfect for a mod side table.

And as for the mobile.  I've made mobiles for my gal pals in the past (see here and here) and really wanted to make one for our dear little French Fry.  I had my eye on a few through Etsy, but when one of them didn't pan out, I gathered my energy and got to work!

I bought a bunch of bright colored cardstock from Michaels and used my die cutter at school to whip out a bunch of different sized circles.

Then, while multitasking and catching up on some Homeland, I got to work threading the circles together to get a random assortment of sizes and colors.

And below is the final product in baby French Fry's room.  The hubs tied on a fishing swivel so it could spin around (like a record baby, right round, round round).  It is truly mobile-y; the slightest breeze gets this baby moving! 

More photos of baby French Fry's room to come.  And I'm sure, more awesome 2nd grade names for baby French Fry to come as well...

Warm and Cool Colors with Kinders.

In my most recent post on Warm Trees, Cool Breeze with my Kinders, I told you I'd be sharing the quick little learning game I used with my little artists.

I've really been trying to incorporate quick assessments more and more often this year and this game was definitely one of those.  Can you say cornerstone assessments, oooo ooooooo!

I flipped over our "I Can" board and turned it into the COOL and WARM board.

After reviewing our cool and warm colors using my giant color dots, I pinned them to the board and told the young artists that we were going to be doing a quick game of "Smartest Artist."

I borrowed flashcards from the Kinder classroom teacher and would reach into the pack, pull out a card, and ask, "Smartest Artist?"

Then, I called on and "interviewed" the Smartest Artist (or in this case, a student with their biscuits on the floor and super silent hands) so they could share their answer.

The correct answer cards were then placed into our baggies.

Everyone was SO excited to participate and this game was a great way to reinforce how to participate in classroom lessons appropriately (raised hands, safe seats, etc.).  And who doesn't love talking into a LIGHT UP echo microphone?!

It took us no more than 5-7 minutes to play this little game and the kids LOVED it!