Bear Books! 
In my kindergarten class we made our own non-fiction bear books. We made pages about what a bear looks like, what it eats, and where it lives. We would read a non-fiction book and students would ask questions and make comments. We had excellent discussions about bears. After the students would go back to their spots and would use what they learned to draw a picture. We would talk about the features of bears and the colours they have. Then students would incorporate the details into their drawing. The students loved it and it was a great way from them to express their learning. They all did a really excellent job. I was very pleased.

When I need to have a little time to myself I like to go to my art room and sit amongst all the bits and bobs and make crafts. Lately I have been making cards. I like to find a good playlist and listen to my music and make my cards. I find that the mood I am in or the songs I am listening to influences my cards. 

                 

I love this picture. It was taken right before the ice started to form on Shane Lake. I like how a picture can bring you right back to a specific time. This picture reminds me of the cold clear day it was taken on. I can even imagine the smells.

For me it reminds me of the cold day I was walking my dog but it could bring up different feelings for other people. 

This is one of the art projects I did with my Kindergarten class for Halloween. It was a two day project but the students loved it and they turned out really well.

                                

First you need paper plates and then you hole punch around the edges. Then you paint the students hands except for the thumb. They press their hands down to form the spider. Then we set them aside to dry. The next day you glue on goggly eyes. Then you take white yarn and weave it through the holes to make the web. 

I was talking to my boyfriend this weekend and he told me he wasn't a big art person. Then he told me that he was going to spend the day working on his truck, which he often does. Later he sent me some pictures of his truck and the work he had done to it. He spends a lot of time designing and building his trucks. I thought that he was actually doing something creative. He was going through the whole art process without even knowing it. When he got home later I talked to him about his trucks being a type of art.

                                                                           

 It made me think about how art really does come in every shape and size. I think that everyone has some creativity in them and its a matter of finding something that they are inspired by and passionate about.

                                                                         

A great Brain Break that I saw in a classroom once was using Just Dance on the SMART board. This teacher would let the student helper of the day pick the song that they wanted they to dance to and then everyone would follow the actions. The teachers turned out some of the lights and the students would have a great time dancing and singing. It was a really good technique to use to get students to shake the sillys out and use up some of their excess energy, or to reenergize some of those students who needed a little bit of a pick me up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wlKFjMj93I

Art Gallery Day! We looked at two different exhibitions today and talked about how to talk about art and ask students questions to get them to think critically about it. I really enjoyed the exhibition by Andrzej Maciejewski called Garden of Eden.
 Maciejewski re-creates classic still life scenes of old dutch masters but puts a modern twist on it by keeping the PLU stickers on it. It created great discussion and really made you question things that you may not have thought of before.

Its October!! Which means Halloween is coming and we can do some cool themed art projects. I personally am excited for carving pumpkins. In my house it was always something we did as a family. My brother and I got to pick out our own pumpkin and we were in charge of deciding what design we were going to use. We went through the steps of the creative process without even knowing it.   

In today's class we talked about some SEED strategies that we could use for visual arts.  I really liked all the lessons we came up with and I will definitely use them in my class one day. I think for my next practicum (in kindergarten) I will try and use the directed drawing lesson.  I think this one would be fun to try out with really young students.  I love the idea of using a Doodle Log while reading a book to students. I think this would be particularly helpful if you were reading a novel to your class. I think it would keep your students engaged and it would help with classroom management because your students are working on something while they are listening.  Here is my directed drawing that we did in class.

This is my Doodle Log 

River Again!!  

My dog loves the river and it was just too nice to be inside all day.  I made a little rock tower while my dog swam for sticks.  Just another example of art you can find in the great outdoors. I like the idea of being able to go outside with my students and find things that inspire us to be creative.

I went to the river today with some friends and found some clay. We decided to take some home and do some crafting. I made snowmen... or mudmen and plan to dry it and paint it.  Here is the clay starting to dry.

 I love clay and I think it is a great art material to use with students. There are so many possibilities when you are working with clay. What kid doesn't like playing with mud?! 

 MAPS!! I love maps. There are so many things you can do with maps in your class. I would like to teach intermediate one day and I would like to do a unit where students create their own country. Students are given a chance to demonstrate their knowledge in a creative and artistic way. This project could cover some of the grade 6 social studies PLOs like :

• critical thinking
• graphs, tables, aerial photos, and various types of maps
• credibility of sources 
• presentation skills 

I really like Harry Potter.  I always loved the idea of being a part of a magical world. I think that art is like magic in a way.  You can make it anything you want. There are no limits to what you can create. In my class I hope my students feel comfortable to express their creative side. I think if I model this by taking risks myself and express my creative side then my students will too.

Dinner!! Beef Tenderloin Asturias

   
This does not look as good as it taste but I think it is art.  It is beef tenderloin asturias with sweet potato puree.  It is a Spanish dish. It was actually much easier to make than I thought and it was delicious. I had to tweak the recipe a little bit because I had a few slightly different ingredients. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beef-tenderloin-asturias/ This is the recipe link if anyone cares to try it. I think cooking is a way to express yourself creatively because you are putting together food that represents your own personal style.