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My name is Jennifer Jones and this is my third year teaching art at Mathews Elementary. I spend four days at Mathews, and then on Fridays I travel over to East End Elementary to teach students over there. I have always enjoyed art growing up as a child, so it only seemed natural for me to do something with art when I got older. I graduated in 2005 from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. with a Major in Art Education and a Minor in Art History. I am looking forward to a wonderful school year! This year in art, I have a lot of wonderful and exciting activities planned! My Kindergarten and First Grade students are going to be spending the year learning all about the Elements of Art. They are line, color, shape, space, texture, form and value. We have just completed 2 lessons about warm and cool colors. Now, we are learning about Claude Monet, the famous French Impressionist painter. We are going to be making water lily tissue paper collages. My Second Grade students will be taking a trip around the world-focusing on art from many different cultures. Our first project brought us to Mali, Africa where we learned about mud cloths. Instead of using real mud for our designs, the students made prints using real ink and brayers! Want to make your own mud cloths? Click to find out more: Discovering Mudcloths Now, the 2^nd graders are traveling to Japan. We are learning how to make origami cranes. Check out this website so you can practice at home! Origami Cranes The Third Grade students spend the year in third grade learning about South Carolina History, so why not learn about the many different talents that are here in our own back yard? We have just completed a lesson on Philip Simmons and his iron gates in and around Charleston, S.C. Now, we are studying about the Gullah culture and will be making some weavings. Check out this website, featuring Aunt Pearlie Sue. Learning about the Gullah The Fourth Grade begins the journey from when we first discovered “art”-with cave drawings; all the way to the Renaissance when Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. They will be spending much of the year working on projects that focus on art history from these time periods. Their first project was charcoal and chalk cave drawing. Check out this website to see some real cave drawings! Lascaux Cave Now, the 4^th graders are finishing up Ancient Roman inspired paper mosaics. The Fifth Grade students are picking up where the Fourth Grade left off-with Mona Lisa inspired self-portraits; all the way to the 21^st century. They will spend much of this year also focused on art history inspired projects. They are learning about Alexander Calder and are making mobiles. Try your hand at making one, (the hard part is getting it balanced!) Making Mobiles Please stop by to take a look at what our creative kids can do at Mathews!