To kick off our learning about Presidents, my class painted the above mural of George Washington. It's a pattern I purchased online from this amazing blog (http://www.artprojectsforkids.org) and then added my own touch - instead of doing it in oil pastels with real-life colors, we painted it in shades of blue. This let the kids mix the paint (which they love) and see what happens when you add black or white. They didn't quite get how it would turn out since the 8x11 sheet in front of them looked like a paint-by-number of sorts and everyone's section looked strange with all the curves, but they couldn't believe the result when I put it all together up in the hallway. Everyone in the school stopped to stare as they walked by. You can imagine how good that made my students feel!
Remember how my school doesn't have art? Well, this was the first project the second grade class right next door had noticed us doing. "What? Ms. White's class gets to do art??" To which their teacher replied, "They've been doing art every Wednesday since the beginning of the year." So today I gave them an art lesson about how to mix hues of red and the result was the Abraham Lincoln mural. To my kids, me teaching this other lesson meant that class was copying us. Some got quite vocal (and indignant) about not wanting to be copied by another class. I don't think they quite understand imitation is the sincerest form of flattery yet.
Wonder what they'll say when each class in the school does a mural like this? My principal loved these so much, he wants me to teach it to everyone. Maybe the start of my official art teaching career, thanks to the Presidents.
Very Nice! Congratulations. Mixing colors was my most painful class in college.When my daughter went to college (at Pratt) she had a great color class. I still use some of the lessons. You are giving your students a great gift by teaching them this valuable lesson with such enthusiasm.Bravo.
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