It's Not Halloween Without Pumpkins!

My third graders had a blast creating their clay jack-o'-lanterns the past few weeks! I originally saw the idea in either Arts and Activities or School Arts about seven or eight years ago and have been doing variations on the project ever since. I skip the glazes and instead we use tempera and Mod Podge. Quicker and a lot less expensive!

I love the little Mini-Me in this Jack's hand!

Cute little bows on this Jack...or is it Jackie?

Look closely to see the teeth in Dracu-Jack!

Not to be outdone, my sixth, seventh, and eighth grade Muse Club students came up with some creative interpretations of old Jack at our club's Halloween Breakfast Club Meeting during Halloween week. I put out foam pumpkins from JoAnn Fabrics, pieces of foam, colored permanent markers, yarn, glue, and glitter and let the creative juices flow along with the fruit juice and doughnuts!

 

Yes, those are Elvis-style sideburns!

I love it when a student applies something learned in class...
in this case, Zentangles!

Love this artistic interpretation!

Brings to mind Phantom of the Opera for me!

Of course, the kitty cats are always crowd-pleasers!

Look closely for this Jack's face...it's there!

My second, third, and fourth grade students voted for their favorite pumpkins and of course, prizes were awarded.

 



Abstract Jacks...Same idea, Different Grade Levels

Sometimes the best projects are the result of a last-minute unanticipated change in plans. This lesson turned out to be a good example of this for me!

Abstract Jacks is my fourth grade October project. The idea for using jack-o'-lanterns to teach an oil pastel lesson about abstraction was originally submitted to Incredible @rt Department by Stephanie Corder. This year my students drew their jack-o'-lanterns, then they used one of our homemade viewfinders to choose the most interesting composition. After drawing the enlargement on 90# paper, the students chose a 3-color combination from our color wheel review (primary, secondary, warm, or cool colors) and painted their Abstract Jacks with tempera paints.

 

 

About mid-way though the fourth grade project, my eighth graders were getting close to completing a drawing project using one-point perspective. I knew they needed something more relaxing for the next lesson, but still wanted to stay on target with the curriculum. That's when I had that "A-ha!" moment...color theory review, blending colors, altering images...perfectly suited for an up-scaled version of Abstract Jacks!

 

 

 

This is a project that will definitely be done again next year!