Ice-cream, you scream!

Sunny days and ice-cream go hand in hand, don't they?  These two art ideas will brighten up your classroom even if the weather isn't cooperating. 

Ice-cream paintings

Inspired by the poem 'Eighteen Flavours' by Shel Silverstien the class used paints and glue glitter to paint ice creams of all shapes and sizes. The kids enjoyed getting creative with colours (flavours) and toppings. 

A haon, a dó, a trí,

Aon, dó, trí, ceathair, cúig, sé,
Císte deas i gcomhair an tae,
Uachtar reoite, banana buí,
Lollipop is oráistí.

Cáca milis, fí, fá, fum,
Uachtar reoite yum, yum, yum,
Úlla deasa, hip, hip, hop,
Ach b`fhearr liom féin mo lollipop.

Relief print bunting

This bunting looks great hanging around the class. It can be completed for any theme and is lovely for the start of the year to display the kids initials, or alphabet in younger classes. 

The bunting can be cut from an A4/A3 page, then using another piece of paper the desired shape is cut out, this is stuck on the bunting temporarily using blue tac. Children then print over the shape and cover the bunting completely in paint. In the picture above a sponge was used but bubble wrap or textured printing blocks could be used. Once the paint has dried the shape can be removed and the negative space can be decorated using marks, crayons, or colouring pencils. 

Art and Nature

We are finally getting some nice weather here in Ireland and it is starting to feel like summer. That said it is cloudy and cold here today but I've heard that there will be a heatwave next week! 

Here are some ideas for bringing your art class outdoors.

Enjoy

Found object collage

Use leaves, petals, stones, or shells to create hair dos. Get the kids to draw the faces and you get two lessons ;)

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/750x/df/61/01/df6101c656998eddb8cce5c264dbdc73.jpg

Pictures with natural objects 

Use whatever you find to create pictures of animals, people, whatever you can think of! 

http://www.catholicsistas.com/2014/05/09/weather-turns-nice-gut-check-time-catholic-homeschool/

Keith Harring style stick people 

Use a stick to form part of the body of your stick person. Finish the body with a black marker. Paint around the stick person in a bright colour. 

http://patrick.straub.free.fr/site_art_pla2/2012_mouvements.htm

Wind chime

Use a stick to hang strings of beads or shells. Decorate with paint, ribbons or wool. 

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/750x/8d/d6/49/8dd64905f4b0f8867b6f82a5afc02327.jpg

Outdoor weaving 

This is a lovely idea for those with a school garden. Set up a weaving station where children can weave leaves, reeds, and flowers. Beautiful :) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/panforte/3920371676/in/photostream/

I hope some of these inspire you to bring your class outside for your next art lesson. 

Bird's Eye View

I love when I get book post (rather than bills) and it is even more exciting when it inspires an art lesson. 

Max is a lovely story of the friendship between a nice seagull and his old friend Bob. The beautiful illustrations of Max and his home by the sea remind me of Tramore, not far from my own home town. 

My favourite page shows Max flying over roads, rivers, and buildings. I especially liked the sweeping strokes of Max's wings. 

Aerial perspectives can be tricky for younger classes. Start by painting by drawing fields, roads, and rivers, then you can add others details. An aerial view of the beach would be easy to start with too.Laying toy houses, cars, etc on the ground and having the kids look down on them to see how they look from above can help. 

This ties in nicely with geography and older classes could focus on their local area, adding landmarks and other details. 

A seagull could be cut out of white and black paper and glued onto the aerial landscape. 

Here are some aerial views to inspire your artists. 

Another picture book that features seagulls is 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch'. I highly recommend this for your class library. There are lots of lesson ideas for this story online and it is nice for this time of year when we are all thinking about summer and the seaside.