3rd grade sampler stitchery

As early as the 1600's, American children were learning to sew.  The cloths that they practiced upon were called samplers, as they showcased the alphabet, numbers, and other practice stitches. It has become a tradition in America for a family member to stitch a sampler for a newly wedded couple or for the birth of a baby.

antique sampler from rubylane.com

We learned how to thread a needle using a paper strip.  I just learned this trick myself and it is truly a handy thing to know:

We began using the running stitch with yarn to outline our initial, then we used a thinner embridery floss for the decorative stitches.  The students created their own designs for the decorative stitches, imagining how to "draw" the lines the way they want them to go, using a needle & thread rather than a pencil. This was so much easier this year than last, because we used wooden embroidery hoops to keep our cloth stretched and flat.  The kids loved it!  The ones who had sewn before were proud to show off their skills,and the beginners caught on quickly and told me they were happy to know this skill.
                                 Click here for the post on our beginning stages of this lesson.

                                    

                                      

Portfolios: Parent feedback appreciated!

Parents, please look for your child's art portfolio to arrive in your child's backpack one day this week - the students are very excited to share them with you.  It is full of practice sketches, brainstorming ideas, completed projects, and other important info we learned during the year.  Our pieces from Fine Arts Night should arrive tomorrow, so it is possible that some classes may receive those seperately.
I found a nice idea for storing work like this on the IHeart Organizing blog. I am doing this for my own 2 kids. It seems much easier than scrapbooking, which is what I've been doing up until this year - just drop important memories into a new file folder every year!

 Although you can't keep every paper that comes home, please go through the art portfolio with your child and talk about what they learned during the different lessons.  Together, choose a few pieces to file, stick on the fridge or in a frame, or add to a scrapbook.

Here are some great questions and discussion topics for you and your child when they proudly bring home their portfolio:
Were you inspired by a particular artist for this piece?
What materials did you use?
Which is your favorite and why?
Does this have a special meaning to you?
Does this piece look like something from real life or from your imagination?
What would you change about this if you could?
What did you title this piece?
I would love to hear from parents  - please let me know your favorite ways to keep your children's artworks by adding a comment.  I would also love to hear which pieces were your favorites this year, so I can keep them in the repertoire! We really accomplished a lot this year and I am very proud of the work they are taking home - enjoy! (If only you could see my closet right now - we are bursting at the seams : )

Finishing up our prehistoric unit

Kindergarteners are finished with the last 2 projects of our prehistoric art unit, clay fossils and cave paintings. This is a really fun unit - we do a lot of imagining!

This little girl was laughing at the "rain" sound made by all the kids crumbling their paper - so cute!