Traveling Around the World

This year, 2nd grade artists will be traveling around the world in their art and music classes! This summer I met up with our fantastic music teacher, Ms. Patashnick, to plan ideas and work on curricula together. We designed an 'Around the World' theme for 2nd grade this year, complete with passports!

In art class, we will be learning about the culture, art forms, techniques and artists from a variety of different countries, including Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana, India, Japan and Morocco. In music class, students will be learning songs, culture, musical traditions and about musicians from those same countries, as well.

During our first week of art and music, students filled out their passports and got their photos taken so that we are ready for travel this year! We talked about what passports are for and students are excited to have them stamped after each 'trip'! In addition to identification, our passports will help us keep track of our journey and our learning. Students began by writing down what they like about art and music, their favorite musical instruments and art materials, and the country they are most interested in 'visiting' and learning about.

Our first stop is India, so stay tuned. Feel free to ask your students about their artistic and musical travels throughout the year!

Doodle Mural

4th and 5th grade artists started off the year by doodling! After discussing art class expectations and a quick art room scavenger hunt, we got right down to art making on the first day. 

Doodles are usually simple drawings. They can be abstract, with repeated lines, shapes and patterns, or they can be representational, with recognizable objects and characters. Everyone can doodle! Although doodles are often seen as a sign of being bored, many people find that doodling can help them focus.

Students selected a Post-It and a ballpoint pen, skinny marker and/or Sharpie marker to doodle with. Doodling is often done spontaneously, without advance planning, so students were encouraged to just begin and see where it took them. Some students started in the middle of their Post-It paper and worked their way outwards, while others started in the corners. 

Some students thought about a specific theme, such as outer space, animals or cartoon characters. Others experimented with a variety of lines and shapes, or repeating a pattern. Some students included their name or initials within their doodle.

After finishing their doodle, students brought their Post-It over to a larger grid and chose a spot for their doodle. Some students selected a spot based on the doodles around it, to connect with someone else's doodle. After a week of art classes, it was transformed into a collaborative mural! 

The doodle mural is now on display in the connector hallway, on a bulletin board, so look for our doodles!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back Hosmer artists and families! I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing summer! I look forward to seeing returning artists and meeting our new ones this September. 

For those of you new to Hosmer, my name is Ms. Kim and I am the art teacher. I am excited to be going into my second year teaching and making art with Hosmer students. I moved to the Boston area last year, from New York. I had most recently been living and teaching in Brooklyn, and before that, I worked for several years in an arts non-profit organization in Manhattan. 

In art this year, we will be exploring a variety of materials and techniques, learning about artists and art forms from around the world, and creating art works that express who we are as artists and human beings. I strive to create student-centered lessons and emphasize process over product. We will also focus on engaging in direct inquiry and problem solving in creative ways!  

In addition, this summer I met up with our fantastic music teacher, Ms. Patashnick, to plan ideas and work on curricula together. We designed an 'Around the World' theme for 2nd grade this year, complete with passports! We will be learning about art from around the globe, including India, Morocco, France, Japan and Australia.

This year, we have a Word Wall on the back wall of the art room. The Word Wall is to help us remember the art vocabulary words that we learn throughout the year. Words are color coded, so you can tell which vocabulary words connect to art materials, techniques, artist's names, etc. 

Every student has one 40-minute art class each week. Student artwork is displayed throughout the school and in the spring, we have the district-wide art show, as well as our annual Art & Music Extravaganza.

Check back here often to stay updated on what each grade level is learning about and making in art. You can also follow or subscribe to our blog by adding your email in the 'Follow by Email' box on the upper right hand side of the site.  

We also have an 'Amazing Arts' newsletter that comes out every term for more information on what students are learning in music and art, as well as upcoming dates for concerts and exhibitions. We will be sending home a newsletter in the beginning of September. If you would like to contact me directly, please send me an email: haein.kim@watertown.k12.ma.us