First Annual Anderson Art Fair

Hello Anderson Families,
Ms. Cromley here with some really exciting news to share!!!!! We are going to have our first ever art show this year at Anderson.  I got together with the PTA and we brainstormed a plan for a new and exciting art night and we came up with having an art show to showcase the amazing talent of our Anderson Artists.  There is a great company out there called Kids Art Fairs that we are working with to put this on.  They provide all the paper, frames and display stands for our art fair free of charge!!!!!!!!  You will be able to purchase your child's art in an awesome matted frame at hugely discounted prices.  What a wonderful keepsake to display in your home for years to come.  I can't wait for this event it will be an awesome way to end our year. Our art show will be:

Date:  May 20th, 2013
Time: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Place: Anderson Elementary

I will be sending home lots of information via e-mail and with students starting after spring break.  Keep your eyes peeled Anderson Peeps!!!!!

www.kidsartfairs.com

Pinch Pot Turkeys

Second grade students created pinch pots for their clay project this year.  They created a pinch pot and then added details to create a turkey.  We painted them with tempra paints and then added feathers to finish the turkeys.

Fifth Grade 1pt perspective cityscapes

Fifth grade has been working on creating cities using 1pt perspective.  I think they have done a great job as this is a pretty tricky concept to master.

4th grade and The Dot

My 4th graders are working on creating art inspired by the story The Dot. We watched a really great You Tube video of the dot being read.  Then we discussed patterns and abstract compositions.  The students used any and everything in the art room to create circles and dots all over their papers with Sharpie markers.  Next week we will use liquid watercolors and add color to our Dot inspired works.

What to do the first week of school

I think every teacher, especially a specials teacher wonders what to do the first week of school.  We always make portfolios that we use to store and sort all the students art work during the school year.  I hold on to most of my students art for art shows and for displays. Each grade level makes one of these portfolios except kindergarten.  Kindergarten makes an art book but that is for another post.

I have each student use a manilla paper for the front and a colored paper for the back. We use 18x11 paper as I find that this fits nicely into my storage cubbies and it also holds all the papers we use for most projects with just a little sticking out. I have each student put their name really large on the front of the folder along with their teacher name and grade somewhere on the front too.  I use this opportunity to teach a lettering lesson for each grade.  For 3rd, 4th and 5th we discuss block and bubble lettering as well as positive and negative space.  The older students also put patterns on the inside of their letters.  Many of the students take it above and beyond with their creativity.  With my younger students we practice writing really BIG letters (always a challenge) and then I encourage them to turn their letters into creatures or different objects.  They can also place their name in a unique environment like outer space or the mountains. To staple the folders I have the older students use 4 to 5 staples for the 2 short sides and the bottom leaving the top open creating a pocket folder.  I staple the folders for the younger studets which may seem like a lot but I just do one table at a time while they are working on them in class.

These projects help me and my students get organized while starting the year off with fun and easy art that everyone enjoys making.

Welcome Back Anderson Artists!!!

I can't believe it is the beginning of a new school year already.  I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing summer.  I had a wonderful time traveling with my family and our dogs.  We had plans to go to the beach but we are flexible at home just like at Anderson and instead we went to Michigan.  It was AMAZING and I highly recommend a trip there if you ever have the chance.  We drove all the way there with our 5th Wheel travel trailer and our 2 dogs.  We spent time at the Great Lakes and at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Shore Area.  Lots of hiking and swimming and we even snuck in a little shopping too.

I am excited to begin my 12th year teaching art at Anderson and I know that we are going to make some masterpieces together this year.  If you made any cool art this summer I would love to see it and I can't wait to hear all your stories about your summer vacations. See you at meet the teacher night this Friday.

Yearbooks are Here!!!!!!!

Yearbooks will be distributed during the yearbook signing party.  The signing party will be hosted during students’ specials class times on Friday June 1^{st (last day of school)}.  All students will have the opportunity to fellowship with friends, join in some spirit songs and sign yearbooks.

Students who did not purchase a yearbook have the opportunity to make a signature book in art with Ms. Cromley or purchase a yearbook in the front office on Thursday May 31^st. 

We have a very limited number of these books to sell and it will be first come first served.  The all color yearbooks cost $25.00 and must be purchased using cash with exact change. If you purchase a book in the office we will hold it for your student and distribute them with all other yearbooks.

If you are unsure if you purchased a yearbook all classroom teachers, Ms. Cromley and Ms. Blandford have a list of students who pre-purchased a yearbook. If your student will not be at school to receive their pre-purchased yearbook please contact Ms. Cromley (cromleyc@friscoisd.org or 469-633-2342) to make alternate arrangements for yearbook pick-up.

                                                                   Thank You

                                                                    Ms. Cromley

                                                                           and

                                                                    Ms. Blandford

                                                                Yearbook advisers

Summer fun is here!!!!

We have had a fantastic year this year on the Specials Team. I work with some amazing teachers who also happen to be my best friends.  I am one lucky lady!!!

I wanted to wish all my students and their families a safe and fun summer.  Remember to go out there and create some art.  You can take a class, go to an art camp, or just bust out the sidewalk chalk and color outside in our beautiful Texas weather.  I will be going to Galveston Texas to the beach. Then I will be heading off to Branson Missouri and Nashville Tennessee this summer.  I would love to see pictures and/or drawings from the fun places you all go this summer.  Enjoy your vacation and I will see everyone in August.

                                                                             Love
                                                                                Ms. Cromley

5th Grade Initial Zentangles

I thought it would be fun to end the year with a crowd pleaser of an art project.  My 5th graders are making Initial Zentangles that I can laminate for them to place inside their lockers next year when they move on to middle school.  Hopefully it will be a nice reminder of the fun times they spent in art during their 6 years at Anderson.  I will miss you all and I wish you all the best.  Remember to "Be The Stars That You Are"!!!!
Love Ms. Cromley

Marbelized Eggs

Second Grade watched the Reading Rainbow Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco. We drew 3 eggs on our papers and created designs inside and then traced with Sharpie marker.  To marbleize our eggs we put a layer of shaving cream down on the table and then dripped either warm or cool liquid watercolors on top.  We then used the handle end of our paint brush to swirl the color throughout the shave cream.  We then gently pressed our papers onto the shave cream and peeled back to see the beautiful results.

Many of my students remark that it looks like frosting so.........to make this project edible you could use Cool Whip or Whip cream in place of the shave cream and then use food coloring instead of liquid watercolors.  It would be fun to dip cupcakes or cookies in the cream and see what happens.  I think you could even roll out cookie dough and then lay the cookie dough on top of the cream to create a marbleized surface on cut out cookies.  It is fun to experiment with art techniques and see what cool results you might get.

5th Grade is working on creating clay creatures.  They are using many different clay techniques that they have learned during each year at Anderson.  We are using the pinch pot method, scoring and slipping, handbuilding and slab construction. Clay is always a favorite with any grade and one of my favorites as well.  The pieces featured here are in progress and are at the greenware stage.  Stay tuned to see the awesome final results during the next few weeks.

4th Grade Creates Concentric Circle Cooperative Paintings

My 4th grade students have just begun their circle paintings.  They are creating paintings with concentric circles and then they will be able to add collage elements on top.  When they are finished we will cut the paintings into 1/4 and share our art with others to create a new painting for each student to take home.  Stay tuned for the awesome results!!! I found this awesome lesson (and altered it a bit for our purposes) on http://pamelaholderman.blogspot.com/2011/04/going-around-in-circles.html

Youth Art Month Video 2012

Youth Art Month

The annual Youth Art Month Show is this Thursday at the CATE Center in Frisco.  There will be amazing works of art displayed from all the elementary schools in FISD.  If you have a student who has art in the show you recieved an invitaion last Friday or today.  Anderson's viewing time is from 7-8pm on Thursday evening.  I will be there to give your student their YAM certificate.  If you are unable to attend I will give your student their certificate at School and all the art from the YAM show will be displayed during open house at Anderson. Can't wait to see all my awesome artists I am so proud of all of you!!

PTA Reflections

3rd Grade Polar Bears with Norhtern Lights

I found this awesome lesson on a fellow art teacher blog. http://marymaking.blogspot.com/2011/12/polar-bears-with-northern-lights.html

It is such a great lesson on working with chalk, learning about the Northern Lights and drawing Polar Bears.  My students really enjoyed the final project and were so proud of their art.  I can't wait to show some of these off in our annual Youth Art Month Show in February.

Happy New Year Anderson Artists and Families

Well, I can not believe it is 2012 already!!!!!  You know what they say time flies when you are having fun. 

The Frisco ISD Youth Art Month Show is fast approaching and I am looking for awesome pieces of art that are created in class at Anderson so make sure you are working hard and being creative in art.  I can only choose the 40-50 most outstanding pieces from over 700 students so my job is super hard.

The deadline to purchase a yearbook is also looming.  Please make sure you order yours during the month of January to ensure your student gets a copy.  You won't want to miss it because the yearbook staff has been hard at work creating an awesome yearbook.

Cool art created during free choice day at Anderson

My students are so creative.  During our art free choice day today Amelia created this cool 3-D house featuring Santa on the roof.  Way to think outside the box and come up with an original activity Amelia!!

One of my Fifth Grade Students, Ashley, created this beautiful collage snowman during her free choice time.  Wonderful Job!!!! It is creative , sweet, inspiring students like these that make my job so fantastic. 
Merry Christmas girls. Love Ms. Cromley

Fifth Grade Free Form Sculptures

Fifth grade is working on constructing free form sculptures with wire, wood and nylon.  This project is always a favorite with classes.  They enjoy the construction and especially enjoy getting to express themselves creatively when adding details to their finished sculptures.  Some students like to "bling" it up and others take a more Pollock approach with the splatter technique.  I love all of them and I especially love the smiles on the faces of my students as they are working.  Good job Fifth Grade.

First Grade Scarecrows

First grade students learned facts about scarecrows and used miniature scarecrows for observation drawing during class.  Each student used black oil pastel to draw their scarecrow and then colored their scarecrow with vibrant oil pastels.  First graders then added a background for their scarecrow using tempera paints. Great Job First Grade they look awesome!!!