Mr. Mills Blog

It is hard to believe that we are at the midterm already. It all happens so fast…

The third grade are continuing to work on their symmetrical aliens. They have been using scraps of construction paper to add some details. The kids have a lot of fun with this project and I’m excited to see the results.

The fourth grade are going to paint a watercolor still-life. They learned about what a still-life is this week, and then setup a still-life on their table so they could draw it. Next week, the fun begins with watercolor.

The fifth grade began the SmartExplorers project this week. Except for some problems with the buses, everything went smoothly. Thye met their docents and will be with the same docents throughout the project. It is pretty daunting to have to eventually speak in front of your family and friends about a piece of artwork at a museum, but they will be more than prepared. In fine arts, we are doing projects that go along with what they are doing in the museum and in the classroom. We are studying line, color, shape, and space. We really want them to know how to use all of these terms correctly.

The sixth grade students began working on tiles inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass window designs at the Avery Coonley Playhouse. They sketched some ideas first before starting the process of creating their final piece.

Blogging is also heading in the right direction. I’ve been real proud of the students who have taken it upon themselves to make the blog their own. I knew when I began using the blog with the students, I didn’t know where it would lead. So far, they are really creating a space that defines themselves and their classroom.

Also, here is an article from the USA Today about the importance of technology in college students.

Until next time…

It was great to see the blogs get off the ground this week. The 5th and 6th graders either published or began working on their first post! (Thanks CUIP!) To check them out, go to the following site for Mr. Rowell, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Bynum. Considering this was the first thing most of them had posted, I think they did an excellent job and I’m looking forward to this becoming a part of the 2006-07 school year. The 3rd and 4th graders began commenting on my blog on Friday. The previous two posts have some of those comments.

In Fine Arts this week, the 3rd graders continued working with the “Word of the Week”. I wanted to make sure the classes got more than one chance to practice with this because I think it is really fun. Plus, it really builds creativity and gets the students in the habit of thinking about what they are drawing instead of hoping divine intervention will make them a good artist.

The 4th graders got very messy this week! We were looking at the concept of rhythm and how it can be applied to visual arts. They did a sponge painting that had to be either a fast rhythm painting or a slow rhythm painting. The colors they used and the way they orientated the sponges on their paper created either a painting that showed fast or slow rhythm. They had to keep in mind the songs we listened to this past week to help them create their painting. Most of them chose a fast rhythm painting because that allowed them to be a little messier as they stamped their sponges on the paper.
The 5th graders are still in the middle of their tint and shade collages. I have done this project for 4 years, and this is the first time I have had students try purple, brown, and orange for the base of their collage. This project is one of my favorite because it teaches a good principle of art but it is simple enough that students can add their own style to it.

The 6th graders are almost finished with their emotion projects. They have finished painting the lines, colors, and shapes to accompany their face. Now, they are writing a story that describes why they feel the way they feel. I hope to have these hanging in the hallway within the week!

It’s early, but we are moving right along!

The first week is always tough, so I’m glad to see it coming to the end. Everyone has to get back into the swing of being at school, so it takes some getting used to.

This week, everyone from third to sixth grade saw me at least once. We went over the rules of the classroom, how to cleanup, how to use their sketchbook, and what is expected of them this year. I don’t care if they are the best or worst artist, but I do expect them to give their best effort for everything we do in class. We also talked about a creative way to fill up their sketchbooks or come up with ideas. We will always have a word of the week. If they have time, they can try to draw or illustrate that word without actually writing the word. For example, I asked the students how they would draw the word green without actually writing it or using the color green. They came up with drawing a stop light, grasshopper, grass, and money as ways to draw the word green. This weeks word was jump and a lot of the kids had great ideas for how to draw that.

Next week, all the classes will begin their first projects of the year. I’m always excited for these early projects because they are my favorites and the kids are always successful with them. That is why I like to teach them early on!

We also got started with blogging in the fifth and sixth grade classrooms. We talked about being responsible with what they post and how to use the blog as a place to discuss current events, not as a personal journal. In a lot of these early computer classes, we mostly want the kids to login successfully and make sure everything is working right before we dive into anything else. I’m sure we will be practicing with usernames and passwords for a couple weeks before everyone has it down.

Week one is in the books, but week two is right around the corner. It has been a good start!