That Little Art Teacher: Snow Days

Showing posts with label Snow Days. Show all posts

Simple Kinder Snowman Painting Part 2 along with Snow day updates

After painting our snowmen in Simple Kinder Snowman Painting Part 1, the paint has dried and we are ready to finish up.
The kinders learned that Construction Paper crayons are special crayons we use for colored papers. Students drew simple details to make their paintings come to life.

Now for the snow days update:

Tennessee was fortunate to not be hit by the massive snow storm that rocked most of the country this week. But we have had 17 snow days since December. We may actually make it one whole work week. But alas, they are calling for snow mid day tomorrow. :(

We were only allowed 13 snow days. To make up the extra days we are using teacher inservice days, and President's day. Then today, the big decision was made......

We will be going 45 minutes longer for 9 days to make up for each day that is left to be made up... We'll see how this pans out.. I am concerned that I may not be able to have my after school art enrichment program. I'm not sure that parents want to have their kids stay longer after already being at school 45 extra minutes... I am interested in seeing how the school day schedule will be worked out.

So I will look on the bright side of things, which is that I will be able to complete more projects in this extended time. Maybe even have students keep an art journal which I have never really had the time for. I have to say, I don't think the students will mind the extra ART time :)

13 Snow days later....

13 snow days later I am feeling overwhelmed... Two weeks ago my Principal calls me over the intercom and tells me to, "LEAVE NOW, THE SNOW IS COMING!" I quickly gather my things and head out. Why does she call me and tell me to get out? I live 30 minutes away from my school. I drive West and the weather always comes in from the West.

   I get home just in the nick of time. The snow turns into 7 inches and counting for my area of Tennessee. The childhood joy of knowing that I will awake to a snow day in the morning makes me jump. Though I am still an apartment dweller and have no yard, snow is still awesome.... Until I realize that in my quick departure I left one of my most important possessions..... my planner!!
   The snow event turned into 7 snow days. We had 6 before on the heels of Christmas break. I finally drove the 30 minutes back to the school to retrieve my book and get things prepared in my room on the one day they opened. I was relieved to see many other teachers there who had also caught cabin fever.
  Now 13 snow days later and and gazing out the window of the third snow event to hit Tennessee I give you a glimpse into my planner....

Now with 13 snow days and more to come, we are out of days!! We will now begin to tack off days of our spring break. Many of you in the North may wonder what the fuss is about.

It doesn't snow much in Tennessee. I mean that it doesn't snow constantly. It was odd to have snow days in December. We often get hit maybe once with a huge snow event that happens in late January and early February. Therefor, our state and counties do not spend tons of money on huge equipment to clear roads. Not worth it if it doesn't happen that often. So we have many built in days. My school system even goes 30 extra minutes everyday just to be able to have the # of snow days we are allowed.

So I may not have a Spring break this year, but at least I came home prepared for the long spring semester!

Finally!

   Finally, I am creating for myself again! I am not the best artist. I can't find my own inspiration. I always need a prompt. Well this Christmas gave a lot of prompts. First, I drew my husband's aunt's name for Secret Santa. She told me (before she knew I drew her name) that she had always wanted something made by me. So pressure was on.
   I have not truly created my own stuff in a long time... maybe a year or two! I was determined to get back in the game. Fortunately, mother nature helped me out by giving my county lots of snow days before Christmas! So, bored and stuck, I got to work.
  The aunt has two of the cutest dogs and they are like her children. I love those two doggies to death. I'm a huge animal lover, which sort of inspires me. Her husband emailed me some pics of the pups and here is what I came up with:

Sammie, acrylic, 8"x10"

Becca Ruth

Meet Sammie. She is a loving girl. A mix breed of some sort, but she doesn't care. She is laid back and has the softest fur of any dog I know. Sammie makes me think of warm colors because of her personality. The background is a mix of yellows and oranges. I even took an old picture frame, primed, and repainted it to look a bit distressed.

Emma, acrylic, 8"x10"

Becca Ruth

This is EMMA! Emma is a happy happy puppy. A Jack Russell Terrier that really lives up to the breed. She loves her "babies" or toys rather and will do anything to keep them away from Sammie. She also loves her Momma Jennifer. Emma's coloring is a unique blend of browns, grays, and white. She also looks sassy in her pink collar. My favorite part about painting this picture was her wirey fur. I just love texture!

If you're wondering why I didn't center these two pics, it's because I don't like to put the subject of my works in the center. They would have looked more off center if I would have remembered that I only had 8x10 frames.... I painted the portraits on 9x12...

Lastly, I made my first cake!! I love the craze with all the cake shows on television. The Cake Boss is my favorite. I was given a cake decorating set by my brother and his family last Christmas and have been practicing off and on ever since. So after many You Tube tutorials..... here it is!!