Georgia (O'Keeffe) on my Mind

We began our "Wonder Women of Art" unit by studying the Mother of Modern Painting, Georgia O'Keeffe. I love that her first name is also the first name of our school (Georgia Academy for the Blind). I also love that even though O'Keeffe lost her sight at the end of her life, she never stopped making art. It's nice to be able to offer a role model for my visually impaired students.

It's cold outside but we were dreaming of spring while drawing flowers. My students learned how to enlarge images using the grid system, and create large oil pastels. We didn't use O'Keeffe's medium, but we did use one of her favorite motif.

 

Enlarging an image using a grid isn't cheating, it's just a tool. And teaching how to use a grid is also an effective way to teach math and art at the same time. For my students who are totally blind, they used a ruler and Wiki Stix to make grid out the small and large paper with the same number of small and large squares. I had hot glued the image they selected from the computer based on my description the flower of their choice. Then they transferred the flower shape, square by square, with more Wiki Stix. I traced their images with hot glue so we could remove the grid and they could use oil pastels to add color while retaining the tactile quality of the image.

Some of my students claimed it their favorite project yet. "Doing this makes me so happy," one high schooler declared. It makes me happy too.

Percussion in a Bottle

Old pill bottles turn into homemade music makers in a matter of minutes by simply filling with uncooked rice, beans, pasta. I used colored masking tape around the side of the lid and half way down the bottle for a stripped patter. I glued construction paper circles hot glued to the top of the lid to match the color of the tape, and then smaller decorative tape added a little pattern. Students can use the shakers to keep time with songs during dance or singing time. 

Baby food jars are another free option to fill with things to make sound. This works better for older children because they're less likely to drop and break the glass. Someone gave me a bunch of pecan shells and I found that those made a nice sound.

I spray painted the jars and glued discarded wall paper around the sides for decoration. It can be fun to guess what is inside (plastic beads, sand etc, can add more variation). 

I also made some jingle sticks by just threading jingle bells into a pipe cleaners and wrapping them around dowels. It only takes seconds to make these.

Kids can use their percussion instruments in a drum circle to echo any rhythms heard, or to make sound on the down beat of a song. It's a fun way to add motivation, participation and movement to a music activity without spending a lot of money, using a lot of prep time, or taking up a lot storage space between usage.