CubeCraft People

Ever heard of the game Minecraft? If you are an elementary student or your child is, then chances are you have! One of the distinguishing characteristics of the game is the cube-like graphics. So I thought it would be fun if we made our own cube-people.
Mr. Luderer's class at #6 school has been working on making their cube-craft people. After decorating a template (found here), students cut out, folded, and assembled their people. The best part: there is no glue needed! The pieces of the character all fit together through a series of interlocking tabs. It can be a bit tedious to fold and cut the pieces, but the end product makes it all worth while.

Continuing with Clay

It's time to fire up the kiln! 

The Islamic inspired clay tiles from 6th grade are dried and ready to be fired. Next week, students will begin decorating their tiles. 

Art From Different Culures: 1st Grade Aboriginal Symbol Stories

There are so many different types of art from all the different cultures in the world! In 1st grade, we try to learn about as many different cultures as we can. Right now the students are learning about Aboriginal art from Australia.  After reading the book "Ready to Dream" by Donna Jo Napoli, students began working on dot paintings inspired by the artwork in the book. 

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As we know, everyone works a different pace! Students who finished early used symbols from Aboriginal art to create a story drawing. These drawings tell a story, not with words, but with pictures.
Here are a few examples from students in Mrs. Rupert's 1st grade class at school #4. Can you tell what the story is?

6th Grade Islamic Art Inspired Tiles

It's time for clay! Last year we were fortunate enough to get a kiln at school #6. The kiln is a special oven used to heat clay to around 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and turn it into ceramic. Since all of the elementary schools in Cliffside Park are so close together, we can transport clay from any school in the district to the be fired in the kiln at School #6. 

Students in 6th grade are creating clay tiles that are inspired by Islamic art. The students looked at examples of Islamic tile designs and discovered two things found in most of the designs: symmetry and straight lines. Students create two different tile designs of their own that used symmetry and some amount of straight lines. Last week students rolled, measured, and cut 4 inch tiles out of wet clay.This week students are using their favorite design and carving into the wet clay tiles. 

Now we have to let the clay dry out completely and then fire it in the kiln. Stay tuned to see what our final tiles will look like!

These photos show examples of students from #5 School working on their tiles.