Yes to chalk pastel!
Chalk Pastel Pumpkin by Third Grader
Fall in the art room, honestly, does it get any better? Autumn provides so much inspiration for a wide variety of projects! With Hispanic Heritage Month, Halloween, fall colors, iconic leaves and trees, Thanksgiving and Native American History Month, I wish it was a longer season! So. many projects, so little time.
Since it is still the beginning of the school year, I like to use my fall lessons to build skills that my students can use further into the year. One of my favorite ways to do this is with chalk pastel. I know what you are thinking, chalk pastel, really? Well, let me share, it took me awhile to get to this place of ultimate love of chalk pastel projects. After I realized that it just takes some creative ways to manage the dust, the dread of these messy lessons was lifted. And, by making it fun, it turns a heavily focused lesson into a favorite of many of my students.
So what are these chalk management techniques? It’s pretty simple really. There are two things that need managing: chalk dust and messy fingers. Practicing the Triple T and Pet the Pony help manage my little messy marvins. The first rule I explain is NO BLOWING the dust. It’s just not safe for anyone and who wants a face full of blue chalk dust? Instead, we do the Triple T. The Triple T stands for Tilt and Tap on the Towel. I give each student a disposable paper towel, because I want to be able to fold them up and throw them away at the end of class. Checks the box for safe and proper media management. Then we simply practice by tilting the project paper onto the paper towel and give it a couple of taps. Then we start the project and as soon as there’s a little accumulation of chalk dust, we do the Triple T together. We do it together a couple more times and then I tell them that they are on their own to remember to do it when they start seeing a pile of dust. .
Another rule I explain right away, is that they are not to crinkle up their paper towel today. Today, the paper towel must remain flat. If they are left handed, it should be on the right side of their project paper, and the left for the righties. Then the next chalk management technique is Pet the Pony. The same paper towel serves as a place to wipe messy fingers. So we do the Triple T on one half, and the other half is reserved for Pet the Pony. After we finish with one color, we Pet the Pony. and wipe fingers down the towel. As a general rule I tell them to make sure to Pet the Pony before changing colors. This way they can blend their chalk, but hopefully with a singular color on their fingers. I also show them how to reserve fingers for certain colors. For instance, use your pointer finger for the orange, the tall man for white, ring finger for green, etc.
Chalk Pastel Pumpkin by Third Grader
I created visual slides that I use along with my document camera to demonstrate these techniques. But I also us the slides for much more. We talk about color theory, and certain elements of art. For instance, if orange and blue are complementary colors, if we blend them together, what color will they make? Will this color perhaps come in handy at some point in your project? We also talk about if orange and blue are complementary, and we have an orange pumpkin, what color would be good for the background to pop the pumpkin?
Another element of art we talk about is form. The outcome of this project, after all of this learning, is to have pumpkin that looks like it has volume, and that the moon is lighting it from one side. In the end, they truly do a fantastic job. When they come in at the start of the year they always ask - “when are we going to do the pumpkins?” It’s almost become aright of passage and they get excited knowing that their pumpkins will soon be on display like others have in the past. If you’d like to try this lesson out, this link will take you to my TPT store. If you try, leave a review and let me know how it worked for you and y9our students!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easy-Pumpkin-Fall-Art-Project-Chalk-Pastel-13881218