Grade 4 Illuminated Letters

Illuminated manuscripts are handwritten books created during the Middle Ages that incorporated pictures and decorations. The illustrations were painted in bright colors with accents of gold to light up, or “illuminate,” the page. 

Students learned of the historical method of creating these letters beginning with the PARCHMENTER who made the parchment of animal skins. The parchment traveled to the SCRIBE who would write the story or document, typically scribes were monks. As the scribe copied the text by hand, he would leave large spaces open for the ILLUMINATOR to create the illuminated letters. These initial letters were enlarged and heavily decorated. The letters were often decorated with details and elements from the story on the page. For the illiterate, this helped them to understand the content of the story. 

Grade 4 students created ILLUMINATED LETTERS of their first initial. They could design their letter with traditional illustrations such as

                                                       
                                                                               plants,
                                                       
                                                                             animals,

                                                           
                                                           and mythological creatures

Of course, letters weren't complete without a sprinkle of strategically placed gold glitter to light up the letters. 

Thanks for reading:D

Some lessons have been taught to multiple grade levels. Not all schools participate in the same lessons due to budget, materials, student needs, etc. Please leave a comment with praise, questions, or ways to polish.

Grade 2 Sunflowers

Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers are a perfect example of how artists often make art of the same thing over and over again to perfect a technique, to create a cohesive body of work, or because they simply love their subject matter. Here are four sunflower paintings by Van Gogh...

                                  

                                  

Students in one school created a painting of sunflowers, while students in another used oil pastels. I differentiated the materials so I would know for future years which would be more successful. I enjoyed the final product of the oil pastel drawing much more because of the vibrant colors and because students had more control. Here are some students working with the pastels

And some finished drawings!! 

                      

Thank you for stopping by!

Some lessons have been taught to multiple grade levels. Not all schools participate in the same lessons due to budget, materials, student needs, etc. Please leave a comment with praise, questions, or ways to polish.

Kindergarten Pinch Pots

Kinders got their hands dirty with clay recently! They made PINCH POTS by rounding their clay into a SPHERE, giving a thumbs up, then sticking their thumb into the center of their sphere. To open up the clay into a pot shape they pinched the edges with their other fingers. By our next class the clay had dried and students painted using either WARM or COOL colors.

Students were not only excited to make their pinch pots, but even more excited to take them home!

Some lessons have been taught to multiple grade levels. Not all schools participate in the same lessons due to budget, materials, student needs, etc. Please leave a comment with praise, questions, or ways to polish.

YOUTH ART MONTH

March is Youth Art Month and I was lucky enough to have student's artwork showcased in two different places to celebrate. Here, fifteen pieces of student art from varying grades hang in the Superintendent showcase at the town high school

A close-up of some Op Art on display

Over 30 students had work on display at Fidelity Investments' celebration of Youth Art Month. Many students came to the opening of the show and it was great to see the parent support and appreciation of the hard work students put in every week. This show also included students in kindergarten through grade 5.

Check blog posts for more information on the lessons displayed:)

Some lessons have been taught to multiple grade levels. Not all schools participate in the same lessons due to budget, materials, student needs, etc. Please leave a comment with praise, questions, or ways to polish.