Henri Matisse Art Lesson

I started out my art lesson by reading "Matisse" by Laurence Anholt.  There is a series of books on famous artists that Anholt has produce ... you must check them out as they are very well done.  Once finished, we talked about making our own stained glass art.  I used a die press to punch out flowers on 11"x17" construction paper cut in half.  Cutting out brightly coloured tissue paper, students were able to glue the tissue down around the flower cut out and successfully glue the back side of the stained glass.  We hung them above our desks to celebrate what we learned about Matisse. 

Ten Apples Up on Top

At the beginning of the year, one of the first activities I have students do is "Ten Apples Up On Top".  I pre-cut the apples and give 10 to each child.  After reading the story by Dr. Seuss, I have students draw their face at the bottom of the sheet and glue the apples upon their heads, then write the numbers from 1 to 10 on the apples.  This is a really quick way to see who knows their numbers.