Catching up and 5th grade sculptures...

I've been offline for a bit because my life's been full and busy! I just began a long-term art substitute position at Amherst Middle School in Amherst, NH! The semester was changing over right when I was being trained so it has taken me a couple of days to focus and get used to it all. I'm teaching 5th-8th grade and I'm really excited about this semester and working with my students.

The intro class for 5th graders is a fun one and a long-standing tradition at AMS: plaster casts of the students' hands. The art teacher at AMS, Rachel Rouillard, walked me through the process. It's a bit messy, a bunch of fun, and it gets the 5th graders sitting really still for 10 minutes!

Students began by painting their hands with watercolors, if they wished. Once the plaster was mixed up, I scooped a yogurt cup size amount of gooey plaster into their cupped hands. Then, they waited about 10 minutes. While they waited I explained classroom procedures, etc. Once they unmolded their "sculptures" they could use the watercolors to add more color. On day two, we finished painting and then used the sculptures in a contour line drawing lesson.

They are pretty cool looking, and every one is unique--just like my students!