Longleaf's First Show Choir!

I'm excited to announce that Longleaf Elementary will have a show choir for the 2015-2016 school year! Limelight will be taking the stage soon! This auditioned group of 5th grade students will be directed by Jennifer Timidaiski and Jennifer Craft. 

We will hold auditions in August. More info to come!!!

Zoo Animals

I'm really excited to feature my students on the blog this week! We had a wonderful art experience, and I wanted to share it! We spent the week learning about zoo animals. We learned about the characteristics of each animal group: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. We used the San Diego Zoo website as our resource. It's a wonderful website with lots of pictures and information! Check out the website! San Diego Zoo

To see more of our Zoo Animals Week, visit my student teacher's blog! Candice Luckett did an excellent job of capturing every moment! Fun with Zoo Animals

We learned that many zoo animals come from Africa, so we decided to paint an African sunset scene. We learned about warm colors, shadows, and silhouettes as we painted. We also learned how to use different paint brushes and brush stroke techniques to create each element of the painting. 

My favorite part of this project was the discussion that took place. We discussed why warm colors were the best choice to represent a sunset. We also discussed why black was a good choice for the giraffe and tree. We talked about how the picture made us feel, and the kids gave their opinions about the artwork. One child said, "This is the best art project we have ever done. I feel like a real artist."   

We used yellow, orange, and red (warm colors) to create the sunset. 

We used a stamping technique with a round brush to create the leaves of the tree.

We used a small brush to create the trunk of the tree. The kids noticed that it is in the shape of the letter Y!

We used a small brush to create the giraffe. We outlined first then filled it in. 

 I think the paintings are beautiful!!!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Ms. Guess' students had a blast making these cute little bunnies! First, they followed directions during a drawing lesson to create the bunnies. Then they used oil pastels to color the bunnies. Finally, they painted the background with watercolors. I love these bunnies!

Cultural Arts Festival

Longleaf students had lots of fun at the Cultural Arts Festival! Each grade learned about the culture of a different country by participating in a variety of arts activities! 

The kindergarten students had fun in Japan!

We can use chopsticks! 

Making sushi is fun! 

The kids made kimonos and fans! The fans are made from paper plates and tissue paper! The kids painted the rising sun on the back of their kimonos.

They also painted Japanese characters on their kimonos!

Making origami is tricky!

Acting out the tea ceremony was fun! The kids used their best manners!

Fan dancing is beautiful and fun!

Sayonara! 

The first grade students loved learning about Mexico!

This mask is fun and a little scary!

Fiesta!

This is an awesome sugar skull!

The kids painted beautiful ponchos!

I mustache you a question. Do we have the best teachers? Yes, we do!

The second grade students had a blast in China!

I love this sweet little torn-paper panda!

Beautiful drawing!

These dragons are awesome! Wonderful use of color!

Third grade made a trip to Egypt!

The mummy race was fun! 

Wow! Each sarcophagus has so many details! 

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics! 

These Egyptian costumes are fabulous! 

Fourth grade had fun in Greece!

These students are having fun making laurel wreaths!

These Greek costumes are pretty awesome!

Our fabulous fourth grade teachers know how to make learning fun! 

Fifth grade took a trip to the land down under...Australia! 

These koala drawings are so cute! 

Greetings from Around the World! 

We had a visit from Peter Zapletal! The kids had so much fun watching his African folktales puppet show!