The week before we hosted the Whole Schools Initiative Winter Retreat at my school, I realized we needed something to hang on the bulletin board in the foyer by our school entrance. There was a ton of artwork in our foyer already. I panicked only a small amount before hitting Pinterest.

Pinterest Inspired Art Project

I like to come up with my own projects for my students. It is part of what I think is fun about my job. So, I don't usually do a lot of projects that I see on Pinterest. Well, at least when I do, I try to tweak them somewhat so it doesn't feel like we are just copying other classrooms/teachers.

Anyway, I do have several boards on Pinterest where I pin things that I might like to make a project out of one day. When I am pinning, I'll say to myself, "I smell a children's art project." Then, I'll laugh because I think I am funny.

So, I'd pinned a lovely pin and ran across it as I started trying to figure out what I could do for that bulletin board. The pin led me to the Tumblr of Amy Van Luijk. It is wonderful. You should be checking it out right now!

A Van Luijk Art Project: Assemblages 

Assemblages literally means something made of pieces fitting together, so I was able to quickly pull some scrap papers for this project. I showed my fifth graders Van Luijk's website, which is also wonderful and you should check it out right now. With my school being a 2-5 school, I've been teaching these fifth graders for at least four years. So, I told them to use what they have learned about composition to create a collage.

It took about 45 minutes (one class period) for them to assemble these projects. They are about 12x12 inches, created on a silver poster board. We had an event at school that used that bright paper, and I saved the scraps. The other papers used were from a tub I keep with cool scraps of paper.

The bulletin board has that cool black and white fabric on it. I think these really pop with that background. These were fun, and the kids enjoyed naming their work. You can see a photo of one with the word "Fashion" by it. That is what the student had decided to name his work. Other names were things like "Circleooska" and "Biohazard." Of course, because I believe everything in the school should provide an opportunity to learn, I put those printouts about Van Luijk and the vocabulary with the artwork.

This was super fast and easy. I recommend it for mini-lessons or when you need something produced quickly. If you get in a pinch, like I did, you'll be glad you had this kind of lesson in your arsenal! What quick, emergency-type projects do you keep at the ready? I'm always curious to hear from you!

OH! And I'll throw this out there just in case… If you know Van Luijk, I'd love to meet her! Send her my contact info!!! Y'all know how I love to meet people!

AMANDA KOONLABA - MARCH 17, 2021