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Sunday 22 November 2015

A Chubby Little Snowman

A Chubby Little Snowman

A chubby little snowman
Had a carrot nose
Along came a rabbit
And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny,
Looking for his lunch

ATE the snowman's carrot
               nose.....

Nibble, nibble, CRUNCH!




Wednesday 18 November 2015

Pppppppenguins!

Library Week

Tacky the Penguin is one of my favourite stories about being yourself. I love these penguins and have done them a few times now. The colourful backgrounds really make the Penguins stand out. 

Painting the penguin is nice and easy. Using black paint, paint a 'u' leaving the belly white, add flipper, feet and a head. We then cut out a beak and eyes and glued them on. The penguin in the photo has a white belly glued on and I forgot to photograph the rest! Oops!


Saturday 14 November 2015

Colourful Snowmen

Ok so it isn't snowing but it is Winter and that is a good enough reason for me to do some snowy art! These colourful snowmen will brighten up your classroom    and use up all the wrapping paper you've been hoarding. Don't worry if you haven't I'm sure a child has had a birthday recently and can bring some in! 

The little rhyme that goes with it is nice for infants to recite. 



Children cut out the shapes for their snowman and glue onto bright coloured card. We added snow by dipping cotton buds into white paint and printing onto the coloured card. Other children used white oil pastels to add snowflakes. 


Enjoy creating some colourful snowmen of your own.



Friday 13 November 2015

Easter Rising 1916

was asked for some art ideas in relation to the Easter Rising. I'm working on a few more ideas but I thought I'd share these with you. 

Brush drawings

The link is to a video of Barroux painting scenes from his graphic novel 'Line of Fire'. It is a brush drawing using Indian ink and a round tipped brush. The result is quiet stark and reflects the bleakness of the time. 

https://vimeo.com/75281034

If you are reading a novel on the Easter Rising it would be a nice idea to illustrate key scenes from it or maybe have your class write and illustrate diary entries.




The Ducks of St. Stephen's Green

Have you heard the story of how every day fighting ceased to allow the grounds keeper feed his ducks? I think this is a heartwarming tale and nice to share with younger classes. Tell them the story and paint or draw some ducks afterwards. 


Cardboard box street

Using cardboard boxes create Sackville street, now O'Connell street, where stands the GPO on the steps of which  the proclamation was read. 

Or make some of the key buildings using cardboard boxes. 




Illustrated map

A nice link to geography aswell as history, draw a general map of an area of Dublin City and illustrate events that took place. The reading of the proclamation, ducks in St. Stephen's Green, messenger boys on bicycles, etc 

Divide a map into sections, each group works on an area and then piece it back together.


Design a commemorative stamp



It is nice to explore printing when looking at stamps. 

Children can glue cardboard pieces to a square of card to create a collograph print. Another option is a monoprint, use an acetate or laminating pouche, cover evenly in ink/paint and draw your design use a cotton bud. 


There are lots of other ways to create a print so give them a try. 

I hope to have some more ideas for you soon. :)

Thursday 12 November 2015

Iora Rua (Red Squirrel)

Red Squirrel 

* Iora Rua *

(Fonn: Frére Jacques)

Iora Rua,
Iora Rua.
Suas, Suas, Suas,
Suas, Suas, Suas.
Bailigh na cnónna,
Bailigh na cnónna.
Tar anuas,
Tar anuas.


The days are getting colder and that has me thinking about our birds and wildlife, in particular the red squirrel.

Red squirrels do not hibernate, but are less active on the coldest days in winter. They spend most of their time in the trees and are very shy.    

Squirrels remind me of visits to my grandparents, where the squirrels would come up to their kitchen window for food. 

I saw this article on creating a squirrel collage by Chris Naughton. I'm a bit fan of his books so can't wait to give this idea ago. 

All you need is paper, glue and lots of scrap paper (magazines, old wrapping paper, newspapers, cardboard, etc). A great way to remind kids to reduce, reuse and recycle!


Wednesday 11 November 2015

Process or Product?


What do you think of this? Do you feel under pressure to display art that looks good, to focus on the product rather than the process? Do Irish Primary Schools focus on the process during art lessons? 


I try to focus on the process for my lessons but sometimes the kids want to make a tree from paper plates because they've seen another class make them and they look great. That doesn't mean there isn't something to be learned from an activity like this, children can practice colour mixing and cutting skills, but the focus should be on the process not the product.

So no matter what they produce remind yourself that it's the skills they have used and the opportunity to be creative that's important 😊