Students Independent Art Work

I have students show me work that they do on their own that is fantastic! Here is a sample of some of the talented students at Cumberland!

By Marta, Amaan, Phillip, and Sam

Holiday Gifts to Make

This year the ELS classes at Cumberland are making polymer clay pens to give as a holiday gift to someone special. I have done this project with numerous groups, and they always turn out GREAT! Here are the directions, and a link for a spiral pen that can be found on the Sculpey website.

The people at Polyform have been very generous to our school, and donated a lot of clay to us. I have a lifetime supply of the four colors shown in the picture below. If you would like to try this project at home, please see me and I will give you some clay!

You will need: Sculpy Clay
                        Bic Round Stick Pens (it has to be this kind, as others will melt when baked)
                        Pliers

1. Use the pliers to pop the ink out of the center of the round stick pen.

2. Knead Sculpey clay to soften.

3. Push clay all over the pen (except the opening) however you would like using coils and mixing clay together to make interesting designs in the clay.

4. Roll out to smooth the clay. Make keep pressing the clay against the pen, as it comes loose when rolling.

5. When covered, preheat oven to 250 degrees.

6. Bake for 15 minutes at 250. Be careful to not over bake the pens, as they will burn.

7. Let cool, and put the ink back in the center.

8. Wrap them up and give as a gift!

Make-A-Flake

It's that time of year when we see snowflakes everywhere. 

Make-A-Flake lets you make as many snowflake designs as you would like without making a mess, and saving paper.

Picasso Portraits

Students in Mrs. Polson's 2nd grade class created abstract portraits this week in Art class. Picasso used color to create mood in his artwork. He had a time in his life when he was very sad and painted in mostly blues. This was called his 'blue period'.

When his life became happier, he painted using reds during his 'rose period'. The students selected blues for sad portraits, and reds to show happy.

Fun Videos

We have been using a lot of youtube videos as inspiration for projects this year. Here are two that have been a hit at Cumberland.

Click here for Crazy Frog-
   Keep your eye out for the way the city buildings change perspective throughout the video.

Gummy Bear- just fun!

Body Art by Mrs. Wasserman's 5th grade class

Here is a collection of Hands by students in Mrs. Wasserman's 5th grade class at Cumberland. They were so much fun to make, and everyone came out with unique designs.

Pablo Picasso

The Second Graders are studying the famous artist Pablo Picasso this week. Picasso was one of the most important artists of all time. He painted and sculpted in many different styles. He worked a lot in abstract styles, and created cubism. Here is a fun link that you can try to make a portrait in the style of Picasso.

PBIS Celebration includes Thanksgiving Crafts

Last week Cumberland school celebrated the student's success in following the Cougar Code during our first quarter of the year. All students involved showed that they were:

-Respectful
-Responsible
-Safe

The school wide celebration included a dance party, bingo, and Thanksgiving crafts. Here are some Cumberland students being creative with recycled craft materials.

Winter Greeting Card Winners Announced!

Last night at the Board of Education Meeting 6 District 62 students were honored for their holiday card designs. Four of the six students honored were from Cumberland and Chippewa!

 Julie Choi, a 5th grader at Cumberland won 3rd place.

Natalie Trytko and Emily Utt, both 6th graders from Chippewa won 3rd place.

Ashton Smith, an 8th grader at Chippewa won first place!

Salt Dough Recipe

I promised to share the recipe that we used to make our Day of the Dead skulls. You could make holiday ornaments, turkeys, skulls or almost anything out of this dough. You do need to bake the dough to make it hard. We used regular markers to draw on the finished sculptures.

                                                    

                                           Salt Dough Recipe

1 cup salt

1 cup warm water

2 cups all-purpose flour

Mix together salt and warm water in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Add flour and mix together. When dough becomes too stiff to mix with a wooden spoon, use your hands. Knead the dough with your hands. Add more flour (about a tablespoon at a time) until dough will not stick to your hands. 

Place on a cookie sheet and cook at 200 degrees for 1 to 4 hours or until hard.

Thanksgiving Turkey Challenge

I love to see the creative things my students come up with on their own. As it is almost time for Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays, I want to challenge you all to come up with a turkey. It can be a painting, sculpture, cartoon, food art item, or whatever you want to make it from.

I will display all entries on the blog to show the world how creative we can be. Please show it to Ms. T by Friday, November 18th so I can post it by Thanksgiving.

For the Birds

My Life Skills Classes are looking at birds this week, and the shapes that make them up. We read a story about birds and watched a short fun cartoon that I thought you might enjoy.

Dia De Los Muertos

Today is the celebration of the Day of the Dead in Mexico, North and Central America. This holiday celebrates the lives of loved ones that are no longer living. Family members and friends of the deceased gather together and creating offerings of food, flowers and art work as they remember and pray for the dead. It is a happy occasion and filled with lots of color!

Recently my 6th grade students created skulls that look like traditional sugar skulls made for the celebration. They used a salt dough recipe that we put over a ball of aluminum foil.

Happy Halloween!

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Halloween!

Here is a fun cartoon from Walt Disney made in 1929. Enjoy!
Disney Skeleton Dance

Gone Batty!

Students at Cumberland get in the Halloween spirit by making bat puppets every year. Third graders especially like the fact that we discuss the ideas of symmetry while making our projects. I am attaching
the materials, directions and templates for you to make your own bat collection at home. Happy Halloween.

We rock the smock!

First graders show they can be responsible by bringing in an old shirt from home to protect their clothes. If you haven't brought in your smock yet, please do! It saves our clothes and keeps us away from germs.

Halloween Checkerboard

There are so many cool things to draw at Halloween. Fourth graders learned how to make a more complicated pattern this week using a design and checker concept. This pumpkin was created by Valerie.

To make one of your own:
1. Draw a very simple drawing.
2. Use a ruler to draw straight lines through the design like a checkerboard.
3. Start in a corner edge and color in every other shape with one color of marker. Make sure to alternate the shapes within the checkerboard.

Cumberland hosts Technology Night

Welcome Parents! We hope you enjoy our technology night, and would like you to comment on our wiki space, and blogs. Please let us know what you like, and how we can better communicate with you and your children.

How-To Draw Halloween Fun!

Halloween season is here, and we love to get some inspiration from step-by-step drawings. Here is a link to how-to-draw cartoons online that can help you create some fun Halloween cartoons. Enjoy!

Zentangle Mendhi Body Art

Cultures throughout the world put designs and art on their bodies. Mendhi is a form of temporary tattoo that women in India and Pakistan create to adorn themselves for weddings and celebrations.

I just started this project with my 5th graders, and can't wait to see their designs unfold! We are looking at traditional designs from Mendhi, as well as Zentangle. Zentangle is a new idea in art where black and white designs are built upon as the artist gets deeper into the drawing. There is no planning, or mistakes. The idea is to fill up their space with unique doodles.

I can't wait to share their designs in a few weeks!

Mouse Paint

The Second graders in Mrs. Polson's class reviewed the color wheel by reading "Mouse Paint" by Ellen Stoll Walsh. The story tells the reader about mice that find jars of paint, and fill up a paper. The students used their imaginations to create what they thought the primary color paintings look like.

D62 Winter Greeting Card Contest

Here's your chance to show your talents students! Enter the D62 Winter Greeting card contest. Paper and permission slips are available in the art room.  Click on the links below for details and permission slips!

Winter Card Competition

Permission slip- English

Permission slip- Spanish

Paper Sculpture

Mrs. Pantelin's 3rd Grade Class

The third graders started the year using their imaginations by creating paper lines, and making them 3-dimensional.  When something is 3-dimensional it sticks out in space, or pops up. While the students were working, they practiced their story-telling skills by telling a neighbor what would happen if a fly landed on their paper.

Chippewa Twitter Contest

Chippewa Middle School is having a contest to design a logo to represent Chippewa on Twitter.  Try your hand at graphic design. Hard copies can be found in the Art room, or in the office.  Good Luck!
(This could be your journal drawing for the week)

Design Chippewa’s Twitter Logo!!!

WHO: All Chippewa Middle School Students

WHY: To create an original design that represents the talents at Chippewa.

WHAT: Create a design in the box below that will represent Chippewa Middle School on Twitter! The design will be reduced to a tiny square if chosen ( about the size you see here), and uploaded onto Dr. Kimmelman’s Twitter account.

HOW:   Some helpful hints:

use markers, or bright colors

stay away from small details, when it shrinks they will be lost

Think of what symbols represents Chippewa Middle School

WHEN: Designs are due Friday, October 7th.  Mrs. McCarthy and Ms. Todorovich will be judging all entries.

If your design is chosen, you and 3 friends will earn a pizza party!

<---Draw design here!

NAME____________________________________  GRADE__________________________

HOME ROOM TEACHER_____________ PARENT SIGNATURE___________________________

Journal Idea- Draw Your Hands

Sometimes it's difficult to come up with ideas for journals, so I will be giving you some ideas. I have kept a journal since I was a freshman in High School. In high school we were required to create a page per day! So, I've drawn A LOT of journal assignments!

I always start a new book or journal drawing my hands. Hands are always with you, and you can make them shaped in a variety of ways. You can also color, or shade them in so many interesting ways!

Here is a student example, by a 6th grade student named Emily.  She used charcoal and marker, and did a fantastic job!

Setting up success at Cumberland for the 2011-2012 School Year!

The 2011-2012 School year is kicking off with a bang! While students are excited to do well this school year, the teachers at Cumberland are preparing rich lessons.  All teachers at Cumberland have set goals to incorporate technology in their lessons. New technology is making lessons more engaging and rewarding to the students at Cumberland.

Literacy is also an area where teachers set goals to help their students meet their potentials. It has been, and will continue to be incorporated in all areas of the curriculum. Have a great school year!

Music in the Art Room

I recently purchased the new Muppets 'Green Album' for students to listen to while making their art work. We love it! The songs are modern remakes of the classics from the Muppet Show, which was one of my favorites when I was young (and still is). The art and imagination of Jim Henson is very inspiring. This seems to be the most popular of the collection because it's just so fun! You can't help but smile :)

National Art Education Week

This past week was National Art Education week. Art is such a flexible subject because it can be combined with all types of learning. It also teaches us that there are many solutions to problems.  In addition to creating beauty and fun, Art classes help students exercise their brains. Here is a fun animated link to a great video discussing the power of creativity.

Welcome Art Lovers!

My name is Ms. Todorovich, and I teach Art in Des Plaines District 62. I always feel like there is not enough time to share with my students in class, so I thought I would start a blog. This space will allow parents, students and teachers to enjoy some of the exciting things going on in my classroom, as well as the world around us.  I hope you enjoy!