1st Grade Wax Resist Fish

1st grade recently learned about fish that live around the habitat of the coral reef.  Each student drew a fish as well as some of its surroundings.  The fish were colored with oil pastel.  Before I demonstrated how to use the oil pastels, I drew a picture with white pastels.  Once class started, I showed the kids a couple techniques before talking about how the oil pastels resist watercolor.  My white drawing on white paper suddenly turned into magic when I painted over it.  I love how easily impressed 1st graders are.

Bottle Cap Mural by 4th Grade

The bottle cap mural is finally up! The fourth grade students started this 16' x 4' mural well before the end of the school year. For this project, we really focused on using recycled materials that would otherwise be thrown away and take up space in a landfill. The idea of using bottle caps comes from a local artist named Michelle Stitzlein who came in to talk to the 4th graders about using recycled materials in art. The mural was a great success and I'm excited for everyone to see it put together. Notice how big the mural is compared to me!