Nutcrackers: Art Around the World, Next Stop is Germany!

This was the perfect time of year to do a lesson on the Nutcracker. With the holiday season which approached so quickly this year, and with our Art Around the World theme, exploring the history behind the nutcrackers was perfect! We discussed where the Nutcrackers originated from, who has nutcrackers at home and what they look like, in addition to the infamous Nutcracker Ballet! We listened to the amazing soundtrack of Tchaikovsky's memorable tunes and integrated such a wide variety of rich content! Don't forget to pull out the map and locate Germany on the map in comparison to The United States! This was a great lesson that the students very much enjoyed and were surprised by all the connections they made to each topic.

The History of the Nutcracker

History of The Nutcracker Ballet

2nd Graders created these nutcrackers using sharpies, pencils, crayons, and watercolor paints.

Beauty, Music, and Dance!

Storytelling through dance and the arts!

1st and 2nd Grade Van Gogh Sunflowers!

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This is an image of one of my students in the process of creating her painting. She still needs to add the beautiful red vase in!

 I conducted two different Van Gogh inspired projects with first and second grade. The first grade students painted on canvas and the 2nd grade students painted on recycled cardboard pizza trays that were donated from the lunch room! Each were given the same set of instructions with a focus on observation, still life, creating tints and shades. Students then focused on using their paint brushes properly and blending creating their own color palate.

2nd Grade Brian Floca Inspired Locomotives

This year Brian Floca the illustrator of Locomotive will be visiting our school this May. The librarian is hosting this amazing illustrator at our school and since this year we fused our curriculums and student learning I just finished up an awesome lesson on illustrative styles and techniques. If you are not familiar with his work, you should check out his books, they are wonderful!

2nd graders viewed and discussed the different perspectives he uses in his illustrations, the realistic colors, and the amazing factual information he added at the end of the book about locomotives and it's working parts!

Hope you enjoy and are inspired by these beautiful drawings they did!

Creative Wishes,

Ashley