Welcome to Visual Art!

                                                                "H" - Honorable/100% - Your student has had great participation, behavior and work!

                                                            "S" - Satisfactory/80% - Your student is doing okay in class but could work harder and 

                                                                                                     have better behavior during our time together. 

                                                            "N"- Needs Improvement/60% - Your student is not using their time wisely in class and 

                                                                                                     simply does not have a lot of work to show for this 9 week period.

                                                            "U"- Unsatisfactory/0% - Your student is not doing any work in class and you should have

                                                                                                      received a phone call by Mrs. Ballard about your student's  

                                                                                                      lack of work and behavior in class. There is simply no evidence

                                                                                                       to show they have been in art class. 

 Grades will reflect behavior and participation!

 Encourage your student to follow our classroom expectations:

1. Be an Active Listener. (Please listen to Mrs. Ballard while whole group instruction is being presented)

2. Follow Directions. (Having listened to the instructions, you can now successfully follow directions)

3. Respect Others! (Please share and care for the art supplies. Please do not speak negatively to your classmates.)

Thank you! Please contact me through my email if you have any questions or concerns regarding your student's work or behavior in art class. 

*Please note, a student's absence from class does NOT reduce their grade. Absences will only affect the amount of work they are bringing home or some work may be unfinished or missing due to absences. Students only come to art once a week. This is only a total of 9 times in a quarter maximum. Some classes will not come to art due to holidays, field trips, or workdays. 

Fourth 9 weeks Grading Period

• Spring Art: Kindergarten students have been making art after artist and illustrator/artist, Eric Carle (1929-2021). Carle is famous for his many children's books.  In class we have read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar",  "The Mixed Up Chameleon", and "From Head to Toe." Students have painted paper and cut out butterflies just like Eric Carle. We printed with sponges and stamps to create a springtime masterpiece!

• Hot Dogs and Cool Cats: Kindergarten students have been drawing cats and dogs after artists Laurel Burch (1945-2007) and George Rodrigue (1944-2013). We reviewed warm colors (red, orange, yellow) and cool colors (blue, green purple) and painted our "Hot Dogs and Cool Cats." They are adorable!

• Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists!: First grade students will spend time learning about great artists in history through books, video clips and activities. Students will learn about Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Keith Haring (1958-1990), Grant Wood (1891-1942), Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), Joan Miro (1893-1983) and Andy Warhol (1928-1987) to name a few. Ask them about these amazing artists!

• Egyptian Art!: First grade students have been reviewing their domain knowledge of Ancient Egypt. Students have been drawing their own hieroglyphics and designs to create their own 3-D pyramid! Egyptian art is so incredible!!

• Printmaking: 2nd and 4th grade students have been learning about Japanese Printmaking and famous artist Katsushika Hokusai. Students created their own design and transferred it to a styrofoam plate. Students then used a brayer and ink to apply the ink to their plate and create a print. The designs and colors look amazing!!

• Life Cycles: 2nd grade students have been learning about life cycles of all different types of animals in their domain curriculum. In art, we have been looking at the incredible honey bee! Students have learned about the "waggle dance" and the way bees communicate with other bees in this most unique way. Students will be printing with bubble wrap to create their own honeycomb hexagon. We will display all these together along with their drawings of the different stages of bees :)

• Radial Symmetry!-  Third grade students have been learning about radial symmetry and have made designs from tracing geometric shapes or making original drawings. Students first divided their papers into four, six, or eight sections. They created a design in each "slice" or section. Then student repeated that image in each section to create a radial design. Students outlined with sharpie and used their choice of colors-crayons, markers, colored pencils or paint to complete their work. These images relate back to mathematics and fractions in nature.

• Paper Cut-Outs- Third grade students have been learning about artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and his paper cut outs. This artist used colored paper and cut out shapes and designs to make an image. Students were challenged to make their own image out of cut colored construction paper. Great job!

• Still Life Painting- 4th graders spent time learning about artists Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and William H. Johnson (1901-1970). All these artists and more, began painting subject like still life flowers. Student were encouraged to draw their own flowers from their imagination, from pictures provided or from actual artificial flowers in class. These flowers could be drawn growing naturally out of the ground, in a vase or magnified to the point of abstraction like Georgia O'Keeffe.  Students were encouraged to outline their drawings and then add watercolor paint to finish. Great job students!

• Weaving!!!- Fifth grade students are working on weaving with simple cardboard looms this 9 weeks. Students learned about weaving terms like- warp, weft, shuttle, and loom. We used a simple "over, under" plain weave pattern to complete these designs. Student could chose from a variety of colors and lastly students could decide if their weaving would lay flat or be attached to a small stick to make it into a wall hanging. Great job on these weavings!