A GREAT WRITER ON CREATIVITY

I first came across the author Keri Smith's work when I bought a copy of her "Guerilla Art Kit" in the Whitney Museum in New York a few years ago. Last weekend I came across two more of her books that I have been trying to find for a few years - in Urban Outfitters in Dundrum, of all places (incidentally they stock a wonderful selection of creative books). These are called "Wreck This Journal" and "Mess - The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes". If any of you want to go mad, make mistakes, scribble, experiment and generally be creative, these books are for you. Many, many ideas that can be adapted for being creative in the classroom with the visual arts!

The Guerilla Art Kit    ISBN - 13: 978-1-56898-688-3
Wreck This Journal    ISBN  978-1-846-14445-5
Mess   ISBN 978-1-846-14447-9

LOOKING AT AND RESPONDING TO ART at CHRISTMAS

Look at how a variety of artists have explored the theme of "angels" through history.
Find examples on cards, in books or by using a web search engine such as google.
Make a class display or class book on the topic with found images,children's writings/poems
and some of the children's own artwork exploring the theme.

Christmas Angels

Angel figures can be created using basic construction materials and fabric scraps.
The basic figure is constructed using light wire wrapped in plaster of paris bandaging.
The basic figure, when completed, is painted with poster paint and sealed with PVA glue.
Clothing, hair, etc is made from scraps of fabric and fibre - netting type fabrics are very effective.
The wings are created using wire shapes wrapped in tissue papers.

CLAY CHRISTMAS TREES

The work of Irish ceramics artist John ffrench provides a wonderful starting point/stimulus for clay work at Christmas. His ceramic christmas trees demonstate the concept of woking with clay on a flat surface - in the curriculum this is referred to as "working with clay plaque techniques" and "using coils and pellets for decation purposes".

Roll clay out, preferably on a wooden surface to prevent sticking, using a rolling pin.
Dont make the clay slab too thin, as it has to stand later.
Use a knife/clay tool to create a tree shape (children might create a card shape to help with this).
Design and cut out small shapes to act as decorations for the tree.
Stick these to the tree using slip - make slip by dissolving clay in water to make a thick clay paste.
Make a clay base for your tree.
When dry, add colour with poster paints mixed with PVA glue.

The Best Visual Arts Site

NATIVITY PLAY

I suppose you could try being very brave with this and doing as the curriculum suggests.
What's that I hear you cry!
Well, using familiar stories as a basis for drama creation is one of the main aims here and after
all what story is one of the most familiar to children - that of the Nativity.
Have a go at letting the children design their own drama presentation using the familiar story
and creating the dialogue, constructing sets, designing and making costumes
and even adding new characters.

Alternatively use a different version of the Nativity story as a basis for an invented drama
to which you might add appropriate songs/carols as you go along. My own particular favourite
version of the Nativity story is "The Grumpy Innkeeper" written by Nicholas Allan and originally
published as "Jesus' Christmas Party" ISBN 0-09-989120-4

The story starts as follows:

There was nothing the innkeeper liked more than a good night's sleep.
But that night there was a knock at the door.
"No room", said the innkeeper.
"But we are tired and have travelled night and day" said Joseph and Mary.
"There's only a stable round the back. Here's two blankets. Sign the register" said the innkeeper.
So they signed it 'Mary and Joseph'.
The innkeeper shut the door, climbed the stairs, got into bed and went to sleep.
But then later there was another knock on the door
"Excuse me, but I wonder if you could lend us another smaller blanket?" asked Joseph.
"There! One small blanket" said the innkeeper.
Then he shut the door, climbed the stairs, got into bed and went to sleep
But then a bright light work him up.
"That's all I need" said the innkeeper.
So he shut the door, climbed the stairs, drew the curtains, got into bed and went to sleep.
But then there was another knock on the door.
"We are three shepherds""
"Well, what's the matter? Lost your sheep" said the innkeeper.
"We've come to see Mary and Joseph" said the shepherds.
"ROUND THE BACK" said the innkeeper.
Then he shut the door............

Now have a go with the children at finishing the story.
How will the innkeeper cope with the angels, the kings and all the other visitors?

MATHS MEASURES

Visit IKEA, yes really!
Collect some of the plastic measuring tapes that they provide free
to customers, long flexible plastic strips with cm on one side and
inches on the other, a great resource. Great for outdoor measuring
and for measuring around corners.
Their catalogs are also great for collage/montage, as are catalogs
from a variety of chains such as ARGOS, M&S, etc.

SHAKE N BAKE Story Ingredients

Make small cards in five different colours.
Each colour is for one of five categories noted below.
Write words for each category, a single word on each card.
Each child selects five different colour cards and tries to use the five words collected
in an interesting/unusual sentence.

Could a sentence be the starting point for a story, or even a piece of surrealist art?

Examples:
The happy sailor was jumping about the desert searching for a computer!
The ghost was overwhelmed by the solids walking around the lighthouse with scissors!
The waiter was quite cheerful as he played the bagpipes underwater while swimming!

PEOPLE
 artist   sailor   dentist    magician   ghost   scuba diver    lawyer   monster   plumber   astronaut   actor  doctor   hypnotist   teacher   farmer   elf   matador   jockey    baby    dancer   chef   opera singer   pilot   detective    clown    king   prisoner    queen   barber   fishmonger    grocer   author    cowboy   etc etc

PLACES
desert   zoo   dog show   bank    spaceship   lighthouse   shower   igloo   airport   ship   plane   bus   train   movies   theatre   haunted house   supermarket   truck   office   kennel   ocean    mine   cage   escalator   flagpole    subway    moon    mars   golf course    church    castle   museum   gallery   school   etc etc

PROPS
telescope   rubbish bin   statue   camera   toys   statue    newspaper   bagpipes   snow   ice cubes   glasses   drum   fish fingers   balloon   stilts   mask   totem pole   hammock   horse shoe   computer   TV   armour   fiddle   tombstone   scissors   fireplace   binoculars   telephone   piano   trumpet   oven   orange   etc etc

ACTIVITIES
jumping   falling   playing   flying   walking   sliding   painting   digging   crawling   eating   camping   flying   diving   searching   reading   inventing   calling   begging   swimming   dancing   hunting   moving   hiding   hopping   driving   fishing   climbing   running   watching   jogging    sewing   painting   etc etc

EMOTIONS
ashamed   afraid   jolly   delighted   quiet   disappointed   delirious    weepy   ecstatic   embarrassed   proud   disgusted   cheerful   irritated   distressed   dejected   tired   contented   blissful   mean   angry   curious   sad   coy   surprised   happy   jealous   arrogant   terrified   indifferent   overwhelmed   amused   etc etc

NEW MUSIC INITIATIVE

IME is an innovative resource for the music education community in Ireland that has been set up to connect the diverse strands of music education in Ireland, foster the exchange of ideas, knowledge, resources and expertise and be a flexible resource that can respond to the emerging support needs of research and practice in music education.

IME is most importantly a ‘doing’ organisation. Its strength will be driven by its participants. Through wide ranging activities as the interactive website, monthly lead articles, practice group,  reading group, voicing conference and mapping music project, this initiative aims to connect the diverse aspects of music education, whether it is practice or research, formal or informal, based in school, studio, university, cultural organisation or wider community, and with people of whatever age or professional level within a multitude of music genres.

Go to http://www.irishmusiceducation.ie/ to get involved, find out more and be a part of this new departure for Irish music education. Please spread the word about this.

THE COLOUR OF CHRISTMAS

Use this little poem as a stimulus for mixing colour to create tones
or indeed for creating other types of art for Christmas.

The Colour of Christmas by Gervase Phinn
Red for Santa's scarlet hood
Red for the berries in the wood
Red for the robin's crimson breast
Red is the colour I love best
Red for the wrapping paper bright
Red for flames in the firelight
Red for the stocking at the foot of my bed
The colour of christmas is surely red.

Begin by reading the poem.
Brainstorm all the red things we see at Christmas.
Ask the children to bring in objects for a red display.
Use a dictionary to find other words for red e.g. vermillion
Put these words on a vocabulary chart.
Find similar poems about the colour red - or indeed
write your own simple poems.
Collect lots of cards and papers that show red.

Take out all the red drawing tools from various boxes and
containers and make a Christmas drawing using only these.

Make a red collage/montage by cutting and sticking
torn/cut papers and images together.

Cut strips of red papers to make a Christmas paper weaving or
collect red fibres to create woven table mats for the Christmas table.

Mix red paint with white to create lighter tones of red.
Mix it with black to create darker tones.
Use the various tones you have created to make a painting.
Use your red tones to add colour to clay pieces (see image above).

Do the same thing red, white and black printing inks and use your new colours
to make prints with found objects - alternatively use them with
any other printing technique

Construct a variety of red decorations using paper construction
or origami techniques.

THE BEST LITTLE CHRISTMAS POEM

I have always been very fond of this little poem by Jan Dean.
Its very simplicity makes it a wonderful stimulus for creating art about
the various scenes from the nativity.


ONE STAR

Mary's Son
Just begun       the journey to Bethlehem

Straw bed
Tiny head        the manger scene

Shepherds keep
Sleepy sheep          the hillside scene

Dark night
Angel light         the angels announce the birth

Sent them
To Berthlehem

One star
Travelled far         the Christmas star

Three kings
Brought things      the Magi

The light of heaven's starry skies
Shines in this small baby's eyes

Divide your class into six groups.
Allocate scenes as outlined above. Work with a particular strand of the
visual arts curriculum to
- create six detailed group drawings
- create six group paintings
- create six prints made with found objects
- create six clay scenes
- create six models or dioramas or
- create six fabric collages.

Alternatively ask each group to work with one strand of the visual arts
to create a variety of art pieces for a Christmas art exhibition.

Use the poem sections as captions for the pieces of art.

Storyland News

Create a newspaper for STORYLAND using familiar characters from literature, fairytales, novels, poems or nursery rhymes as your stimulus
Begin by looking at what appears in newspapers - headlines, reports, advertisements, visual images, classified ads, for sale notices, jobs, advice pages, letters to the editor, etc.
Here are just a few ideas to get you started

Headlines
- JILL PUSHED ME - JACK!
- JILL PUSHED ME, CLAIMS HUMPTY!
- IS THERE A SERIAL PUSHER IN OUR MIDST!

Letters to the Editor
Red Riding Hood writes to the editor about the presence of wolves in the woods.
The Tree Little Pigs write a response!

Appointments
Farm Worker Wanted! A Job Advertisment (Write Little Boy Blues's Application)
Advertisment for a House Sitter   (Write Goldilock's Application)
Advertisment for a House Painter  (Write Jackson Pollock's Application)
Write the news reports that might follow e.g.
- SHEEP AND COWS CAUSE CHAOS
- GOLDEN HAIRED VANDAL IN COURT
- PAINT MAD

Other headlines and stories
- HORNER SUES PIE COMPANY
- NIMBLE SUES CANDLE COMPANY

Personal Ads
- GLINDA MAKES AN ENQUIRY ABOUT THE RUBY SLIPPERS
- JACK SEEKS BEAN SELLER

Classified Ads
- WANTED. GLUE EXPERT. Apply to Mr Dumpty
- LOST: BLUE JACKET. Reward offered by Mrs Rabbit
- SEEKING TRAVEL COMPANIONS. Apply to Mr Bilbo Baggins

ULTIMATE MUSIC WEBSITE

Check out the singup website at http://www.singup.org/
This has to be the ultimate resource for teaching music.
Hundreds of songs organised alphabetically, by theme or by genre
with a search engine for finding all types of songs.
Each song includes
- a performance
- backing track
- ideas for beat, rhythm, ostinato, etc
- integration ideas
- teachers' notes and
- pupils' workpages
You have to register, but access is free.
You'll never need to buy music programmes/workbooks again!

Visual Arts: Books for Teachers

If you want to buy reference books for teachers, these are
full of great ideas for process art.

"Creative and Mental Growth" by Lowenfeld and Brittain.

The Bible of visual arts education - in which the stages of development in children's art was first outlined.

The 2 "Art Books for Children" published by Phaidon.

Wonderful ideas that originate in the work of famous artists.

Encourage children to work in impressionism, surrealism, abstraction and as pop artists.

Children are inspired to work like Warhol, Picasso, Dali and Magritte, to name just a few.

The ultimate series of art books for the classroom library.

The 2 series are "Adventures in Art" and "Adventures in Architecture".

Published by Prestel Publications.

The ultimate reference book on looking at and responding to art.

Published by the Tate Gallery, London.

The wonderful "Start with Art" by Sue Fitzsimons, a great guide to a variety of techniques for the exploration of colour and tone.

The "Step by Step" series of guides is an excellent way to become familiar with a variety of techniques, from many of the. curriculum strands,

Step by step images illustrate techniques such as stencilling, block printing, collage, coil pottery, papier mache, etc etc.

Be on the lookout for the increasing number of children's books about artists and artists' lives.

And don't forget to take a look at various games that involve visual art!

Poetry, Music and Visual Arts - The Train

One of my favourite poems of all time is "The Engine Driver" by Clive Sansom.
Use it to teach beat/rhythm, ostinato, composing and construction.

THE ENGINE DRIVER
The train goes running along the line,
Jicketty -can, Jicketty -can.
I wish it were mine, I wish it were mine,
Jicketty -can, Jicketty -can.
The engine driver stands in front ---
He makes it run, he makes it shunt;
Out of the town,
Out of the town,
Over the hill,
Over the down,
Under the bridges,
Across the lea,
Over the bridges,
And down to the sea,
With a Jicketty -can, Jicketty -can,
Jicketty -can, Jicketty -can,
Jicketty -can, Jicketty -can…

BEAT
The train goes running along the line   4 beats per line
Chant the poem while clapping/tapping the beat.
Chant the poem using percussion instruments to keep the beat

RHYTHM
Jickety can  Jickety can 
Tap or beat this rhythm  *** *   *** *    *** *
Chant the poem while tapping this rhythm
Chant the poem replacing the words with this rhythm (tapped or played on percussion)

Chant the poem combining both of the above (one group clapping the beat, another tapping the rhythm)
Do the same with one group playing the beat with claves, the other playing the rhyth on woodblocks.
Try creating a soundscape by omitting the chanting altogether and experimenting with different instruments.

SPEED/DURATION
Try slowing down the train/speeding it up by varying the pace at which you recite

OSTINATO
Have one group chant the "jickety can" rhythm while the other chants the poem
Invent other sound patterns to replace the words "jickety can" and try these out

COMPOSING
Invent a simple melody for the poem
Put it all together in various ways!

CONSTRUCTION
Add some visual arts work!
Divide your class into groups, ask each group to get a shoe box.
Construct an engine and carriages using a variety of contruction materials.

Visual Arts and Gaelige

The emphasis in the Gaeilge curriculum is on encouraging conversation and on the development of oral language skills so why not use the visual arts to do this through the use of posters designed and created by the children themselves.

Take the topics/themes outlined in the Gaeilge curriculum, write these on small cards, put them into a small container. Divide your class into groups and ask each group to select a card. Each group must do a collaborative/cooperative drawing/painting about the subject - get them to try and converse in Gaeilge as they are working and to include a lot of detail (they might need to work on this over a number of days).

When the posters are complete each group must display their poster in turn. Ask questions as Gaeilge of each group about the content of their poster
- ceard e seo
- an bhfuil ........sa phictiur
- inis dom.....
- ce he seo   etc etc

Each group must then collaborate to create an oral presentation, as Gaeilge, about their poster and deliver it to the class. They must then write out this presentation for display beside their poster. These can then be read by children from other groups.

Take digital photos of the posters, write the commentaries using a word programme on the computer and assemble all together into a book - make your own reading programme!

There you have it - oral language, writing and reading, all based on the children's own language! No need to buy a commercial Gaeilge programme!

CATAPILLOW

One of my favourite poetry books for children is "An Imaginary Menagerie" written
by Roger McGough. Puffin Publishers ISBN 0-14-032790-8
It's a collection about both real and imagined animals and contains wonderful
examples of word play.
My particular favourire is a play on the word 'caterpillar' where the poet plays
with the word to imagine a creature called a 'catapillow'.

A catapillow
is a useful pet
To keep
upon your bed
Each night you simply
fluff him up
Then rest
your weary head.

Use this poem as a wonderful stimulus for work with fabric and fibre.
Each child is asked to bring to school a pillow/cushion (or indeed to bring
pillowcases and stuff these).
They collect pieces of interesting fabrics and varieties of fibres.
They are asked to imagine a creature called a 'catapillow' that lives
on their bed.
By sticking, stitching, collaging, using applique, embroidering, etc etc they
construct their creature.

Follow up by writing about their creature.

MODROC

'Modroc' is the technical term for plaster-of-paris bandaging when it
is used as a visual arts material. It's a very versatile material and can
be used to replace the more traditional technique of strip papier mache.
Three or four layers of bandaging dries much more quickly than papier
mache and results in a much sturdier product

These pots were created using modroc.

Coat paper/plastic cups with vaseline.
Cut the modroc into small manageable strips.
Dip the strips into water and begin to cover your pot.
Work in different directions and layer the strips as you work.
Allow to dry - only takes a day or two.
Remove the inner form.
Decorate your pot with ordinary poster paints, inside and out.
When the paint is dry add a coat of PVA glue to seal

You might use the work of particular artists to inspire the painted design.
Modern artists such a Klee, Gris, Picasso, Matisse, etc can provide inspiration for striking designs.

Use these pots to
- plant small plants in for Mothers' Day
- create Easter gifts by filling with tiny Easter eggs
- hang upside down as Christmas tree decorations etc

Any form can be covered with modroc in a similar way.
- cover blank masks to create fantastic masks for Halloween
- cover vases, bottles and other containers to create larger forms
- cover plastic catering plates to do a project on ceramic design

Oral Language: Telling Stories / True or False

I was at the ACAE workshop at the weekend.
I loved this idea for storytelling presented by Claire Murphy
from Children's Books Ireland.

The children are asked to each think of some exciting/interesting/scary
event that has happened in their lives.
In turns, groups of three children are asked to leave the room and tell
their stories to each other. One of the stories is selected to be the one told to
the class.
When the three return to the class they must tell the chosen story in turn. Two
have to pretend that it is their own story and tell it as if it had happened to them.
The listeners must decide who is telling the truth - whose story it actually is!

Great for both developing listening and speaking skills.

A Writing Idea: New Comparisons

Examine a few common similes such as "as proud as a peacock" or "as good as gold".
Firstly try to get the children to create alternatives to these conventional similes.
Afterwards suggest a few advectives and ask them to come up with new comparisons/similes
Here are a few to start you off

Conventional Similes
- as proud as a peacock
- as good as gold
- as warm as toast
- as white a snow
- as heavy as lead
- as drunk as a lord
- as quick as lightning
- as cold as ice
- as sweet as honey
- as light as a feather
- as mad as a hatter

Adjectives on which to base new similes

happy    long    short    beautiful    clean    clever    small    rich    tall    clever    strong    poor
wise    lazy    free    colourful    fresh    ugly    smooth    powerful    innocent   
juicy    delicious    brilliant    sly    rotten    mad    boring    peaceful    shy    furious

Create sentences that include your new similes.

HISTORY The Origins of Everyday Things

Take a look around your house and you will see that it is a kind of museum. In every room, on every surface, are the exhibits, everyday things that are taken for granted, but each of which has its own story. Engage senior pupils by doing a research project on objects such as the microwave oven, the iron or the umbrella. Broad historical themes will emerge as part of the children's research. Many everyday objects have surprisingly long histories, dating back to the dawn of civilisation, their development often follows a pattern; invented by the ancient Egyptians or Babylonians, perfected by the Greeks or Romans, lost in the dark ages, rediscovered during the middle ages, mechanised and electrified by the Victorians and mass produced in the 20th century. Choose objects to research from
- the kitchen: washing machine, fridge, food mixer, tea bags, sliced bread etc
- the bathroom: toilet, toothpaste, soap, hairdryer, lipstick, etc
- the bedroom: futon, eyeglasses, alarm clock, dentures, buttons, etc
- the study: lightbulb, pencils, biro, paperclip, etc
- the general household: matches, vacuum cleaner, television, etc