I love how these turned out! I was inspired by This project on Artsonia and put a little twist on it. We learned all about tints and shades and students remembered each by clapping about their heads in a triangle (tint like tent) and making a circle above their heads for shade (like a shady tree). We began with carousel painting. This dark-yellow was aptly named “the booger color”

The next week, students created a background using liquid water colors and salt. They were amazed at the magic of the salt changing the colors.

Students also used oil pastels to create patterns on their tints and shades squares.

The next time we met, we began by gluing down a piece of yarn as the power line where the birds are standing.

Then, students displayed their knowledge of geometry by cutting out their squares and turning them into circles. They chose three for their birds and three to turn into half-circles for the wings. Corners of scraps were chopped off for triangle beaks.

White and black oil pastels were used to create eyes and tall legs. These are so whimsical and the birds have quite a lot of personality.