Monster ABC's

Please enjoy this ABC book written and illustrated by Cumberland School 1st Grade students.

First graders in Mrs. Polson's class and Mrs. Mullane's class each created a page in an ABC book in Art Class recently. This is how we created our story:

1. Students drew a letter from a hat.
2. Students created a sketch of a monster.
3. Students named their monsters starting with the same sound as the letter they were given, and included the character in a sentence.
4. Students glued the letter onto an 12"x18" paper, wrote their sentence, and drew a picture of their monster.
5. All pages were collected, while students helped to place them in alphabetical order.
6. The story was recorded and narrated by me, Ms. T.

Day of the Dead

Today and yesterday (November 1st and 2nd)  are holidays in Mexico, and other countries in Central and South America as well as parts of Europe. This holiday is filled with colorful art work, music and food. It is a happy celebration of the lives of loved ones that have passed. Alters are built, food is set out, and sugar skulls are made for the deceased to enjoy.

The 5th graders at Cumberland created colorfully decorated skull prints in the style of Day of the Dead. Students were given a skull image to start with. They adorned the image by adding shapes, lines and patterns. These designs were transferred onto a piece of styrofoam which made a printing plate. Each student made 2 prints of their skull with white ink onto black paper. They used oil pastels and Crayola color sticks to draw details and add color to their prints. The final step was adding glitter if they chose to do so.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Cumberland Staff made their own Halloween costumes this year. Each teacher picked their color and created a crayon costume. When we came together we were a box of crayola crayons of all colors.

If you would like directions for how to make your own crayon costume feel free to email me:
todorovichhartongj@d62.org

Happy Halloween to all!

It's Starting to Look Like Halloween

Cumberland is starting to look very Halloween-y! These adorable pumpkins made by our ELS classes are greeting visitors by the office door. They look fantastic nestled in the colorful autumn leaves made by our 2nd graders in Mrs. Huffman's class.

Below is a link to a fun video we've been watching with some very opinionated jack-o-lanterns. Enjoy!

Jammin' Pumpkins

We Love Monsters!

It is my goal this year to have every grade level make some kind of monster creation. These awesome monsters were created by the 4th graders. They looked at step-by-step instructions to help them draw their monsters. They enlarged them onto slick paper and added patterns to create texture.

Each one has it's own personallity! The students created "monster profile" sheets to incorporate literacy, and further develop their characters. We had a lot of fun doing this!

Celebrating the Arts in Des Plaines

The Des Plaines Arts Council is hosting a visual arts competition at the Des Plaines Public Library on October 19, 20, and 21st.

You must live in Des Plaines and sign up at the library. The first 20 applications in each category will be displayed. Cash prizes will be awarded to Best in Show and People's Choice.

There are 3 categories:

5-12
13-17
18 and older


For more details please visit the link below.
http://dppl.org/des-arts/

2012 Winter Greeting Card Contest

 Looking for a creative challenge? This year's District 62 Winter Greeting Card Contest has just been announced. Try your hand at drawing/ painting an image that reflects the winter season. See Ms. Todorovich for paper for your project, and let your imagination run wild! Designs are due October 29, 2012.

Rules:
-must be no larger than 5"x7"
-have a winter theme (not religious)
-include a parent / guardian release
-handed in to Ms. T or Mrs. Scheiber by October 29

click below to see the official link:
http://www.d62.org/resources/VirtualBulletinBoard/VbbFlyers/VBB100112/D62_WinterCardFlyer.pdf