There's Only One You!

(I'm guilty of not posting for a while! This is a project that I did with my students last year.)

Inspired by the book 'There's Only One You', I decided to embark on another schoolwide project to help bring life to our school. I met with each of the classes and read Linda Kranz's book. We discussed the meaning behind it and how each one of us is different, just like the fish in the story. I then explained how they were going to contribute to our "fish tank".

This is the before picture of the "fish tank".

I had each child, from Kindergarten to Grade 6, draw their fish design on one of four templates that I provided. The only restriction they had was they were only allowed to use a maximum of 3 colours, excluding white and black for the eyes (if they chose those for eye colour). They were very creative with their designs!

Once their design was complete, they were given the same fish shape made out of canvas. They now had to paint their design on the canvas.

The students in Grades 5 and 6 were mentors to the younger kids and helped them paint their fish. Once all of the fish were painted, they were sewn together by the Grade 5 and 6 students. I used recycled material as the back of the fish, which also went with our school theme for the year on Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

These students were concentrating on painting the fine details on the canvas.

It was now time to hang all of the fish. Coincidentally, there were 8 windows that overlooked a main hallway that would make a perfect "fish tank". First, I cut and laminated waves to create the water and attached these to the window facing the hall. Then, I attached several chains of fish together with fishing wire and attached those chains to a wooden dowel which was hung at the top of the window. Once all of the fish were hung, I made sure that all of the painted parts of the fish were facing outwards before placing a piece of Plexiglas on each window to create a "tank" effect.

Testing out the design.

Samples of some of the designs.

More designs.

 The final step was to hang letters on top of the design to showcase our project.

This is the display that we get to look at every day. It is a big improvement over the picture at the top! 

This project lasted throughout the school year. It was quite exciting to see the children try to find their fish and see the glee on their face once they did. It truly showcases our differences and celebrates how we can all "swim in the same school".

Social Skills Lesson Using Cooperative Art!

I had a Grade 5/6 class who needed help in working together. I introduced the project to them by first having a discussion on teamwork.

Each student was then given a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper with a design on it. They were told that they had to create designs using colour on their paper. The only rules were that they had to use marker where I identified with an X, pencil crayons in the other spaces, and they were not allowed to use any logos.

They were then told that their piece would be assembled together with the other students in the class to create a word. I did not tell them what the word was! Despite many requests to reveal the word, I informed them that they would have to wait to see it when everyone was finished.

I used 24 sheets of paper to draw the letters on. A letter/number code was used on the back of each sheet so that I would have an easier time assembling it.  Each student would receive 1 piece of the puzzle to create their design on. I also made sure that the sheets were mixed up before distributing them so that the students wouldn't solve the word before the completion. This added to the mystery.

Once they were finished, I outlined the letters in black to make the word stand out. I then laminated it before hanging it on the wall in their class.

The design turned out much better than I expected and the students were thrilled with their masterpiece! I hung it up in their classroom as a reminder of their collaborative project and what the word "Respect" means. At the end of the year, I moved the design out into a hallway in the school so that more students could enjoy it.

Canadian Remembrance Day Art

I wanted to do something special with all of the students in our school for Remembrance Day this year, especially because of the recent attack on Parliament Hill and the killing of two of our soldiers on home turf.

I had every student in the school make a red poppy, and had the students in grades 3-6 make an additional poppy in white. I made the background of our flag with construction paper and glued all of the poppies on it.

The finished product is 3 1/2 feet by 6 feet. I have a sign beside it thanking our soldiers. It's nice to see the student's reaction when they see the finished product and know that they contributed to it. That's what motivates me to create more cooperative projects in our school!

Gratitude Tree

It was a busy start to the school year - aren't they always? An ongoing mission of mine is to create a caring and peaceful environment in our school, which means having student involvement. We have a tree that is painted on the wall at our front entrance that I often use as a display for various projects. This time, I decided to create a 'Gratitude Tree', given that our (Canadian) thanksgiving is the second Monday in October.

I began by removing the old decorations (I took this picture before removing the old decorations at the top). I added the slogan so that visitors would know what our tree represented. With the help of my daughter's Silhouette cutter , I prepared 325 hearts in fall colours.

Next, I met with each of the classes and explained their assignment. They were each given a heart and were asked to write what makes them happy on it. We brainstormed ideas together ... a good book, friends, family, the sand between my toes, homemade cookies, etc. It didn't have to be complicated - just something that makes them feel good.

Above are some examples of what makes these students happy.

The green heart in the top rights says "When people give me good news, they make me happy." "When mom is happy" is written on the yellow heart in the middle. I had an "Aw!" moment when I read that one. For the most part, the kids really understood the message and had written many beautiful things.

Our completed "Gratitude Tree

Once I collected all of the hearts, I placed them on the tree to simulate autumn leaves. The expression on the student's faces when they pass the tree and see the hearts on it is priceless. I feel it motivates them to recognize and appreciate people and things that feel good to them. In turn, they will hopefully extend this to others.

New and Improved Gym Wall

Much to the delight of our phys. ed. teacher, our gym wall went from being a very boring white brick wall to this colourful masterpiece! This was another project that I did with the Grade 6 students, who were very proud to be leaving their mark in their elementary school, during the 2012-13 school year.

I met with the four graduating classes in January and introduced the project to them. They had to work in groups and decide which quotes they liked from the ones presented to them. The selection of balls represented the SSIAA school tournaments that our school participates in.

The next step was to mark out and paint the 4 1/2 feet x 4 1/2 feet squares.

Once the paint was dry, the balls and quotes were then projected onto the squares. The students took turns and came in groups to paint in their designated square.

Aside from having only one hour each week when the gym was free from activities, another difficulty that I encountered was that I needed to keep the paintings covered so that they would not get damaged. This meant that I had to continue to cover all of the squares every time that I had the students paint. I also wanted to keep the paintings covered until the big reveal!

 

Once all of the paintings were complete, I put two coats of varathane on top so that they would be protected from the various balls that regularly come in contact with the walls in a gym.

Everyone was very happy with the end result! It brightened up our previously dull gym and continues to provide positive words of inspiration in another location in our school.

Gallery of Inspiration

I believe that if you want students to care about others, you need to involve them. I wanted to create a caring environment in our school that the staff and students would be a part of and see every day. I was inspired by posters with positive messages and thought the students would be too. The challenge was to implement this in an elementary school with all of the staff and every student from Kindergarten to Grade 6 involved in the process. Based on the warm reception from everyone, I succeeded by transforming inspirational messages into art and turned a very boring hallway into a beautiful gallery.

A before and after look at the wall in the main hallway of our school.



To begin the project, I met with each class and discussed what positive messages are and how they make us feel. Designs were selected that were appropriate for the younger grades, some based on the current theme that they were using or class mottos they had. Students in the older grades voted on which quote they would use and then submitted designs using the quote. Once again, the class voted, this time for which design they would paint.

The hand drawn designs were then put on acetate and projected onto the canvas on top of the base coat of paint. The details were then ready to be painted. For some of the images I used painters tape to help the students stay within the lines and to create crisp edges. Paint pens were used for details and for the messages. Every student and staff member contributed to their painting.

To create the "framed" art, I painted the sides of the canvas in gold. Next, I purchased chair rails which I primed and painted with the same gold finish as the sides of the canvas. They were then cut and attached to the front of each painting with a staple gun to create the frame.

My daughter and I spent after-school hours painting the ticket booth and gallery words. The challenge was how to disguise a recessed water fountain on this gallery wall! It seems to disappear nicely. The added touch was a Plexiglas finish to have a glass effect on the ticket booth.

Under each painting is a plaque which states which class painted it, as well as the year. I also placed two gold plaques beside the ticket booth. The first one explains the project and the second gives credit to the authors of the few famous quotes that were used.

The paintings from Kindergarten and Grade 1.

The paintings from Grades 2, 3 and 4.

The paintings from Grades 5 and 6.

Finally, the staff painting.

This project lasted the entire school year. One year later, students, staff, and visitors to our school still stop and stare, some to read the messages, others to admire their work. The students still talk about which part of the painting they contributed to and which message is their favourite.