Howe Manning Celebrates Montani Day!

It was a bitter sweet day at Howe Manning as we bid farewell and happy retirement to our beloved P.E. teacher of 37 years! Everyone dressed in their favorite sports attire to celebrate the day and applauded Mrs. Montani each time they saw her in the halls. 

At the end of the day the entire school came out into the halls for one final goodbye to Mrs. Montani. Students applauded, gave high fives, and cheered and cheered.  There has even been a request from students to hold a yearly Montani Day every Oct. 29. You can clearly see how loved she is by both students and faculty!

Happy retirement Mrs. Montani - 

you will be missed more than you can know! 

Kindergarten Monster Madness

Kindergarten artists have been constructing monsters over the past 3 weeks in art class. We started out by reading a few great books for monster inspiration and to advise on the hazards of glue! Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly and Too Much Glue by Jason Lefebvre

  

K's created symmetrical heads using an "smoosh and spread" technique with paint inside a folded paper. Students then tore and cut scraps of paper to finish their monsters with faces and accessories. The finished products are great. I love the individuality of each monster!

Centers are Open in the Art Room!

5th grade artists are diving into their first choice-based art lesson.  This is proving to truly be an important process for my students. These artists are gaining essential planning, goal setting, and project management skills. They are guiding their own learning.  Click on this link to see a wonderful article on the benefits or student centered learning in the art room.

If you visit the Howe Manning Art Studio you will see our first open centers; drawing, painting, and collage.  Student artists are challenged to explore all the possibilities each center has to offer.  I have been enjoying seeing all the creative ideas that students are developing.  

I can't wait to see their finished projects!

2nd Grade Windy Trees

How can we use colors and textures to create mood in art. 

Mrs. LaVangi's 2nd grade artists have been exploring abstraction and value in their artwork. They created abstract backgrounds using brush strokes, watercolor wash, and primary colors to create secondary colors. Artists used these techniques to create the feel of a windy day. Next they learned how to use highlights and shadows to make their trees have form.  Finally they are having a blast using collage to finish their perfect fall trees.  Take a look!

What do you think of their fall artwork? Did they capture the look and feel of a windy day?

PreK–12 STANDARD 2.1 Elements and Principles of Design: Identify primary and secondary colors and gradations of black, white and gray in the environment and artwork. Explore how color can convey mood and emotion For example, students mix light and dark values of colors or predict the results of overlapping and blending primary colors. 

TAB: Teaching for Artistic Behavior

This year we are bringing Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) into the Middleton art rooms.  This choice based approach to teaching art helps students to gain learning experiences where they can feel like real artists and guide their own learning. Our goal is to bring more choice into the art room and create more excitement for learning.

5th graders are getting their first sense of choice based learning through pumpkin observational drawing.  5th grade artists had to make decisions about what materials they were going to use to carry out this project.  Look at all the possibilities they are exploring! 

 

How many different materials do you see students using?

Mass Visual Art Framework 3.4: Create 2D and 3D representational artwork from direct observation in order to develop skills of perception, discrimination, physical coordination, and memory of detail.

October Mystery Artist is Here!

Our first month of the Mystery Artist is coming to an end.  We had many students submit guesses this past month, and hope to have even more next month. A lucky 3rd grade student had the correct guess!  September's Mystery Artist was Katsushika Hokusai.  Follow this link to learn more about his intricate wood block prints. 

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

                                   

October Mystery Artist

I was born in Harlem, NY in 1930.

I am an artist and an author.

I am most famous for my painted quilts used to tell stories.

My artwork has many important political and social themes such as civil rights.

All guesses need to be submitted by the end of the month!