Operation Christmas Child

The OCC boxes are packed and shipped off with your artwork inside. I know that the kids who receive them will be excited to see your work.

Thank you for being so generous!

Degas Extension Activities

Degas is an artist that can easily capture your imagination. If your kids are as fascinated as I am, follow their interest by trying a few of these activities.

Create:

Degas was well known for his creative use of his art supplies. To create an interesting contrast in texture he would crush his pastels, steam them, and then apply them like paint. To try this for yourself, watch this demonstration and then break out your supplies to try it yourself!

Simple step-by-step instructions for drawing your own dancer are available at Ms.Julie'sArtSchool. The images are fairly light, so you may need to zoom-in to view them well.

Go:

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts has FREE admission this Friday. They host a large collection of Degas' works, including his bronze sculpture of the Little 14 year old Dancer. *Parents, please be aware that many of Degas' images include the female form and there is currently an exhibition at MFA which intentionally focuses this particular point in the evolution of his work. To pre-view the collection before your visit, go to MFA.org

Watch:

Take a peek into Degas' personal sketchbook at PBS.org.

Read:

Degas and the Dance is a great book for children available through the Manchester Library System.

Consider:

Degas' is well known for being dissatisfied with his work. This is a great opportunity to discuss this quality in your family.

Perfectionism is a struggle for many children, especially as they compare their projects to the work of master artists. If we are being quite honest, many parents will admit to struggling with perfectionism too. As we approach the holidays it is easy to see this in our own lives as we reach crisis mode immediately before company arrives for the holiday, attempting to create a perfectly clean house in which to serve the perfect meal to a family who we expect to behave with perfect manners. (Certainly not an achievable reality in my home)

Striving to become better and achieve excellence is very different from perfectionism. Try taking this helpful self-test with your older children and discuss the Bible references on the last two pages as a family. Perfectionism is not a good thing, but working hard and striving to be better is a great goal. Knowing the difference is very important.

November - Degas

October snow, I NEVER would have thought it could be so destructive. I hope all of you are warm and safe, despite the chaos!

**Parents, there is a bit of preparation that will need to be done before class, so please make sure to read the instructions for creating grid lines at the bottom of the supply list.**

Our artist for the month of November is Degas. He is famous for his work with dancers, and I know many of you will recognize the picture below. Please print it out and place it in a location that your family will view often.

Edgar Degas

(Pronounced: Deh-GAS)

French

1834-1917

The Dancing Class

c.1873-1875

Musee d'Orsay, Paris

For a printable image, click here

Supplies to bring for this month's class:

• One 8 1/2 x 11" pale pastel sheet of construction paper or copy paper, your choice *MARKED WITH GRID LINES* (instructions below)
• One 9" x 12" sheet of black construction paper
• Two pieces of scrap paper
• 2 tissues (without lotion) per student
• Black crayon, preferably with a decent tip
• Colored chalk
• Pencil WITH an eraser
• Glue stick
• Optional: paper towels to clean dusty hands (I often suggest baby wipes for clean up, but the moisture will cause smears on this project so paper towels are a better choice)
• Optional: Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts for underprivileged children. If you choose to participate, you can find more information about how to fill your box at:Samaritan'sPurse.org

**As I mentioned before, there is a bit of prep work that might frustrate the youngest students, so rather than holding everyone up with a lesson in fractions, I am asking that parents help me out. Please have this prepared before class:

You will need scissors, a ruler, and a pencil in addition to the paper mentioned above in order to prepare your child's paper.

First, cut both the black and pastel paper to size.

Next you will need to mark grid lines on the pastel paper. Simply use a ruler to lightly mark the top and bottom of your pastel paper into fourths in each direction (at 2 1/8", 4 1/4", and 6 3/8" along the short sides, and at 2 3/4", 5 1/2", and 8 1/4" on the long sides), and then VERY LIGHTLY connect the dots with your pencil and ruler. We will need to erase these marks later, so please do not use pen, fold the paper, or bear down on the pencil.

You should have 16 equal rectangles when you are done. If you have trouble visualizing what I need the final grid to look like, just watch this video. The paper he folds results in exactly 16 equal rectangles (DO NOT FOLD your paper).

Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

See you Tuesday, November 8th at 6:30!