Adaptive Art: "I Spy"

"I Spy..."

This project was one of those projects that you think up and then think to yourself... "I am SO clever!" hehe. I wrote the short "I Spy" poem at the top. Then students had to find the objects described. This project was genius... (I must say...heh heh) 

It combined counting, colors, shapes, textures, and deeper levels of thinking. They had to "hunt" for the  objects scattered over the table top. And there were MANY different outcomes. For example, "Something shiny and silver" could be a paper clip, silver glitter, a silver ribbon, sequin etc. 

They had a lot of fun with this project. 

Side note: The "Splatters of green and blue" were made with powdered paint... something I have not had much use for! I sprayed the paper with a spray adhesive to make it sticky... although I had to re-glue many objects later. However, it was well worth the little added work. 

Adaptive Art: Sculpture

  Sculpture, Clay, Texture and Beads! 

For the first project... Students rolled a ball of Mexican red clay (air dry) then we poked a wire into the clay and students threaded beads onto the wire. This was GREAT for fine motor skills! We stuck the other end into the clay to complete the project. Some students added more beads to the base... cute! 

The bottom project used the same kind of clay. We used shells, sticks, and other gadgets to stamp texture into the clay. (We were discussing texture in 5th grade... this was adaptive's version!) Students then created smaller pieces which were threaded together to create a wind chime look. When dry, students painted over the top with metalic paints. 

Adaptive Art: The Splendor of Color

Color Defusing Paper... A Must Have for Adaptive Art

If you have never used color defusing paper, you MUST try it! The results are wonderful and it can be used in so many ways! For this project we folded the paper into a square, triangle or a random shape, and dipped the corners into liquid watercolors (another must have for Adaptive Art!) Some started to dip the corners into multiple colors which then created new colors! I love when students do things that I hadn't thought of! I also used paper clips to hold the folded paper together. When we opened them up the students were so excited to see what they had created! 
They also have pre-cut shapes of this paper. I chose sea life this year and students added liquid watercolor using liquid droppers. 
One caution--they will be ruined if they get wet. I hung some in the halls and a leaky ceiling ruined a couple of these. 

Here's a link to the color defusing paper. 
http://catalogs.schoolspecialty.com/3986_ssi_sx14ep/full.asp?page=154

Adaptive Art: Intermediate Colors

Students started by stamping yellow paint onto their paper using a balloon dipped in paint. (Always tape paper to table!)  This also makes an interesting texture! Students then stamped green over the top to create yellow-green. This was a nice project for color mixing. My 5th graders were in the middle of a project involving intermediate colors so this was the project my Adaptive Art students created to involve an intermediate color scheme. They added an abstract line design over the top using glue which I had added black paint into. I used a clear glue but I think next time I will use white glue, as the result was a little thin. I've used white glue+black paint  before and it worked much better. They really enjoyed the balloon stamping and the squeezing of the black glue onto the paper!!!

Adaptive Art: Spring Flowers

Spring Break is upon us, yet we still have snow on the ground...

Students used a variety of stamping tools to create this Spring-time piece.
First students used a balloon to stamp the yellow center of the flowers. (They really liked using the balloons! The more variety you provide of art-making tools the more exciting it becomes!)
I cut a sponge into a petal shape (the one that was used with red paint.) I also cut a sponge into strips and folded the piece in half and pinched it between a clothes pin. This created the rectangular shape stamp. The circle stamper was a cheap store bought supply.  I will try to remember to take pictures of all these things and add them! Finaly students used a paint brush with a wide handle (Great Adaptive Art tool!) to paint on the leaves.

Adaptive Art: 3D Winter Snowmen

I'm not sure about you, but we have had a LOT of snow (and snow days) this school year! We made these snowmen after a huge snowfall around Christmas break. Using equal parts shaving cream and elmers glue, students spread the "snow" over the pre-cut snowman shapes using popsicle sticks. Students then chose twigs to add for arms and decorated their snowmen using foam pieces. When these dry they hold their puffy shape. FUN! 

Adaptive Art: Tints and Shades of Winter

I like to adapt the objectives I am teaching in other classes to create projects for Adaptive Art. My 4th graders were learning about tints and shades so this is the project we made in Adaptive Art :)

We began this piece by painting the students hands with a light tint of blue. (Students watched as the white paint slowly changed each time we added more color.) Students stamped their hands down on the paper, then we added more blue to the white paint to darken the tint again. We created a few tints then started creating shades to overlap the tints. This project also fell into our "winter season theme."