Turtle Day

Well it was another beautiful day on Maui and it seemed like there were turtles everywhere.

This guy was so close we had to keep the kids back from touching him.

So I was up again at 6am so I started painting turtles.

Here's one I did yesterday.

I usually like to sit here and paint.  I get a good view of the turtles, any whales that might pass by and the occasional gecko......

Kapalua Trail

Walked the coastal trail yesterday morning at 6am...(still adjusting to time change).

Bit of an overcast morning.....

rained on........twice

number of beaches we passed......4

number of flowers smelled......gazillion

number of friendly pigeons.....100 (especially when in the company of 2 chip eating boys)

being able to relax and recharge.....priceless

As I sit on the patio typing this post it looks to be a great day...hope to have more pictures for you tomorrow.

Aloha

Maui Bound Again!

Well I'm off to Maui again tomorrow for 2 weeks.


I know things have been a bit quiet here lately but the whole family has been battling this awful cold trying to get better for the trip.

I apologize for my lack of lessons.

For those of you who like to tag along for my travels I will try to continue posting.  I plan to do more painting by the beach this year and I'll try to capture in photographs my experience of Maui.

I tend to come up with my best art projects sitting there watching those whales, turtles and dolphins.  Lots of time to think and read....I have quite the list this year that's what an e- reader will do to you!  I'm looking forward to the Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss......I read his first book Name of the Wind last year in Maui and have been eagerly awaiting the next in the series. I also think I'll attempt "Mists of Avalon", I have been toying with trying it for a few years. Those of you that know me are familiar with my avid reading habits. ( I actually request Chapters gift cards in payment for commissions).  I'm a big historical fiction/ high fantasy reader.

.........anyway  hopefully the next time you hear from me I'll be sitting here at Napili Bay.

Aloha!

The Shamrock

For St Patrick's Day (it's a Catholic school ) we focus on the life of St. Patrick and his use of the shamrock to describe the Trinity.

This year I found myself repeating the phrase "God is found in the smallest of spaces..." so I used this as the inspiration for this project.

Parent / Teacher Interviews

Scrambling to get all the displays up this morning...ready for Parent / Teacher interviews this evening.

I thought I'd give you a look at some of the creations.

Here are the March Lions that Grade 2 completed.

Stupendous work Grade 2!!!

....and here is this year's crop of paper mache Penguins by Grade 1.

another terrific project!!

That's all for now.

Parrots

Well maybe it's the fact Winter won't back down here in Calgary or that I'm dreaming of the Tropics as my annual Hawaii vacation is only 16 days away but I thought I'd post this Parrot project.

I have done this project for about 4 years now.  It is a favorite with the kids as they are amazed they can paint a parrot.  I typically do it with Grade 5 but it is applicable from Grade 4 up I think.

It is based on a Terry Madden lesson that was on PBS quite a few years ago.  I modified it for the kids and it works great.

Student Work

Grade 1 is just finishing up the Penguin unit.

Here are the Penguin prints they made.

We have made these potato prints for the last 3 years and they always turn out quite nicely.

This year instead or using orange paint for the beaks and feet we cut them out of orange paper.  I think this was more successful.

If you would like to try this with your crew the full directions can be found in this post.

I also must post these incredible "In the style of Ted Harrison" pastels that the Grade 3's completed.

The kids used oil pastels trying to keep the wonderful line design typical of Ted Harrison as well as the intense color.

I covered Ted Harrison in a previous post 2 weeks ago.

Terrific job Grade 3!!

March Lion or Lamb Art Project

Well I'm back....had a bit of a mid winter break over Teacher's Convention in Palm Springs.

I'm currently finishing all the Penguin projects with Grade 1 (hope to have some pictures later this week).

Grade 2 has just started this March "Lion or Lamb" project and based on our weather forecast for the next few days here is Calgary I suspect we will have a lot of Lions on that bulletin board!

For this project the kids are creating the papers to make their Lion"s mane or shaggy Lamb coat.

Painting in the style of Ted Harrison

There is a lot of Ted Harrison love at the school these days.  Both Grades 2 and 3 are completing art projects based on his work.

Ted Harrison is a well known Canadian artist famous for his use of line and color in his landscape paintings around his beloved Yukon home.

This is an easy art project based on his work.

Valentine Suncatchers

Here is a quick Valentine project.  In December, Cassi over at the Crafty Crow posted a Poinsettia Project as part of her Advent series that I just loved.

Using the same technique you can make these Valentine Suncatchers.

If you have any leftover hearts you may also want to check out these necklaces over at filth wizardry.....also amazing.  I saw her hearts after I had already created mine...great minds think alike!