Cheetah Pastel Art!

Last year I worked at a school whose mascot was a Cheetah. I wanted to do a fun pastel art project and I thought celebrating our school mascot would be the perfect subject matter! I first practiced drawing a cheetah so I could break it down into manageable steps for my second graders. The students used their iPads to look up pictures of cheetahs so they could become familiar with the physical characteristics of the cheetah.

Then I approached the teaching using a directed drawing method. The students were able to transform and adjust their cheetah drawing however they chose. I then introduced the "fuzzy" paper.

"Fuzzy paper" is a velour paper that looks great with oil pastels. The material "grabs" the pastel allowing a wonderful textured appearance. I use black because it gives the pastel pieces a depth and value without having to add additional black pastel for shading. I taught the students how to transfer their drawing to the velour paper.

I then modeled using pastels on the velour paper. Check out the amazing work that my students produced!

I am so excited to try this project again this year with my new school's mascot, the bobcat! I am going to practice my bobcat drawing over the next few days so I am ready to teach the drawing when we get back to school. I will be sure to post pictures of our bobcats soon! For now please enjoy the art from my last year's second graders!

Here is a list of the supplies we used for the cheetah pastel pieces:
oil pastels
velour paper
white drawing paper
pencils
erasers
black markers
tape

If you have any questions about this project, please leave a comment! :) Happy Teaching!

Candy Christmas Tree Fun!

Before we went on break for Christmas our class made the most adorable Candy Christmas Trees! This is the third year I have done this project and my students always have so much fun! I love this project because the kids can get creative and it is much easier to prep than gingerbread houses. I used waffle cones this year because I was hopeful the trees would be bigger than the sugar cones, but looking back I realized the sugar cones were much sturdier. Check out the pictures of the fun we had!

I wish I had a picture of how the we wrapped up the trees. We used cookie bags and placed the trees inside. We used ribbon to tie them up and the kids took them home. Our rule was that we can eat the leftover candy from our cups, but the trees had to be saved for home. I can't wait to do this fun project again next holiday season!

Here is a list of supplies we used:

white frosting and coconut flakes for snow
green frosting
sugar cones
plastic knives
small containers for candy ( I used Dixie cups)
twizzlers pull and peel candy
small candy stars
holiday plates
plastic cookie bags and ribbon for transport
sprinkles
mini m&ms
other candy of choice for decorating