I had another Art Vistas lesson today.  I have been busy with a trip planning that I did not pay much attention or talk about art vistas until this weekend.  Stuart was totally surprised that the lesson was today.  This hands-on project was straight forward which was another reason that I did not stress too much about it.  I cut some papers and got supplies ready this morning at school after dropping Logan off, then I returned to get Connor registered for kindergarten for the upcoming school year.  After grocery shopping and a quick lunch, it was almost time to return to school.

     I rolled my cart through the lunch area; I did not see Logan this time, but the girls from his classroom were excited about Art Vistas.  My parent helpers and I quickly got ready while the kids returned from lunch.  Once they settled down on the rug, I began the lesson by reviewing the previous elements of art we learned, then we discussed how artists apply them to show textures which was the topic for the day.  The kids were very eager to answer questions as usual.  Logan raised his hand a lot and I called on him twice.  The second time he asked a random question which led a boy going off on tangent, so I had to bring them back.  I then showed the class and we practiced three techniques using oil pastels to show textures, i.e. stippling, hatching/cross-hatching and masking.  Finally the kids attempted to use one or more of these techniques to create their own drawings.  The parents and I went around the room to remind the kids to use the learned techniques.  Most kids were imaginative and their drawings were cool.  The class was good today, but occasionally became more rowdy so the teacher had to calm them down for my further instruction.  Toward the end of the class, I also asked the kids to draw and design a cover with “Art Vistas” and their name in preparation for the portfolio.