Thursday, May 10, 2012

Succulent plants in Mexican pots



This is a new lesson that 4th graders tried out this year during our unit on the art of Mexico. I found this amazing lesson on the Room 9: Art! blog and decided to give it a try.  If you haven't seen this blog, definitely check it out - I have been inspired by it several times this year.
We began by looking at different varieties of cacti and succulent plants like aloe and jade, and we discussed the climate necessary for these plants to thrive.  We looked at colorfully painted Mexican pottery, and put our handbuilding skills to use as we pinched pots and modelled clay.  We mixed a variety of different greens for a natural look to our container gardens, and even added broken spaghetti noodles for the cactus prickles.  We were a bit rushed for time with these, as school is out next week, but I think they are really fun and cute and I hope they will adorn many mother's shelves this Mother's Day.



















7 comments:

  1. That is super cute!!! Love the idea. Hmmm..maybe my pinch pots with 1st grade next year. Also could see it being an undersea thing too!!

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  2. These are so cool!! Love all the textures!

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  3. Hi Hope!
    I'm happy that you are inspired by my lessons and it is so fun to see your young students tackle these projects with such enthusiasm. When I logged on today, I had a weird, " Hey, that's my lesson!" moment when I saw the update on the blogs I follow. Thank you for consistently being so supportive of my work and for attributing it to my blog, www.room9art.blogspot.com. I noticed an increase in traffic when you posted this and I appreciate it!
    Here in Rhode Island, we still have another month of school, so be sure to check back soon to see how we end the year!

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  4. This is a really cool clay lesson. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Hi Hope!
    Do you have the hand outs in Word format that you can send my way?
    Love these little pots.
    Thanks!
    Laura Stowers
    stowersl@fultonschools.org

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  6. Hi! These are so cute. Did you use clay or airdry clay?

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