Reflections

During Brilynn and Maycie's first off track break they decided they wanted to participate in the Reflections program.  We jumped on the internet and started searching for ideas.  We really weren't abel to find very many.  After much brainstorming they both had their idea.  The theme was The Magic of the Moment.  Brilynn did a canvas waterpaint picture. She used water colors to paint the scenery and then cut the other parts of the picture out of an old book and used the printed book paper and water colored those pages as well.  The title of her's was "The First Magical Moment in Utah...This is the Place"  Maycie decided to also use a canvas and paint the background with water colors.  Then she painted different kinds of noodles to show the lifecycle of a butterfly that they had been learning about in class.  She titled her's "Magical Monarch Butterflies."  

Brilynn's entry Form

The First Magical Moment in Utah…This Is The Place

Last year in 4th grade I learned all about the Pioneers and their journey to a new land.  It made me think about what it would have been like to be a pioneer.  They suffered through many hard trials but kept on going.  I can only imagine how they felt when Brigham Young announced, “This is the Place!”   I know that was a magical announcement for all the pioneers.  They could finally start their new life in this beautiful valley.  This was the first of many magical moments for the state of Utah.  

The materials I used for my art included a canvas, glue, sheets from an old book, watercolor paints, water, paper plates,  paintbrushes, and scissors. 

The size of my art is 16x20x1¼ in

The first thing I did was go to the store and buy all my materials.  We put the water colors on the paper plates and I used the paint brushes to create the scenery on the canvas.  Once the background was created I found an old book.  I used the pages of the book to cut out the sun, oxen, covered wagons, and pioneers.  Then I painted the cutout pictures with the water colors and glued them onto the canvas.  The last thing we did was add some finishing touches with the water color paints.    

Maycie's Entry Form

Magical Monarch Butterflies

In my 2nd grade class I learned about butterflies.  I think it is magical that it starts as an egg, turns into a caterpillar, then into a chrysalis, and last of all a butterfly.  I also think it is magical because at first it is a caterpillar and it can’t fly and then it will grow wings and be able to fly all over the world.  I think it is very fun for the butterfly to be able to fly because it had to crawl very slowly when it was a caterpillar.  I also think it is cool that when it was a caterpillar it was stripped and when it turned into a butterfly it had polka dots on the wings.  

The materials I used for my art included noodles, water paints, canvas, water, paintbrushes, food coloring, and hot glue

The size of my art is 16x20x1¼ in

The first thing I did was I put the noodles in a cup and added water and food coloring.  Next I painted the canvas with the watercolors. Then I painted the noodles that didn’t have food coloring on them.  Then I glued them with the hot glue.  Last I painted the antennas on the caterpillars and butterflies.  

I was contacted before the assembly so that I could be there when they received their awards.  Brilynn won 2nd place and Maycie won 1st place.  They got a cute bag full of goodies for winning.  Brilynn was disappointed though because Maycie got a trophy and she only got a medal.  She was also bummed that Maycie would go onto district and she would not.  We had a long talk about being happy for others and also being proud of herself for what she did accomplish.

It was backwards day at school so all their clothes are on backwards :)

 Maycie ended up winning at the district level as well and moved onto the regional level.  She ended up receiving an award but did not move on to the State Level.  This is always something that we have skipped in the past but the girls loved it and we will probably end up doing this every year in the future.  Some of the comments they received from the judges were: Brilynn-Incredible! I love the way the books were used.  Very Artistic. Great color usage.  I love how you used the books and created interesting pioneer people. Great job!  Maycie-I love how the different noodles depict the cycle of a butterfly.  Very creative use of all mediums.  Lovely colors and creative visualization of the trasmutation of butterflies. So beautiful! Truly Magical! Love it! Great transformation image.