Vol. 5, No. 068, March 30, 2020

5068 - Finding Joy.

In this time of uncertainty, many things have been canceled. One thing that we can't cancel is Birthdays. There are so many kids that were so excited to celebrate their Birthday at school and are now celebrating from home. One of these kids is Middle Miller. His birthday has always. Fallen over spring break, this year was different. But he's celebrating at home anyways. To make the celebrate a little bit better, I offered to make him a cake. Middle  Miller wanted a Reese's Ice Cream Cake. Since all of the DQ's within a 20 mile radius are closed, I offered to make one. Chocolate ganache and Reese's peanut butter cups smooshed between ice cream sandwiches and smothered in more chocolate ganache. Thanks Margo for making the ganache.

Vol. 5, No. 067, March 27, 2020

5067 - Double The Fun.

Today I was invited for for Double Miller Time, that's Miller Time with twice as many Millers. We got together to show our appreciation for our hard working healthcare providers.  We covered the sidewalks at both clinics and the hospital with word of encouragement and thanks. It was a fun way to spend some time outside during our quarantine time. This shows 4 of the squares that I decorated.

Vol. 5, No. 066, March 24, 2020

5066 - Lunch Doodles.

Today during Miller Time, the Miller Littles and I watched Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems. We learned how to draw Pigeon from Mo's pigeon books. I made my pigeon into a king ruling over a castle. I also made a creature with lots of legs standing guard.

Vol. 5, No. 065, March 23, 2020

5065 - Bug Family Dinner.

I had a little bit of Miller Time today. During "art time" I drew a family of ants eating family dinner. H decided that the ants were eating a cheeseburger with pickles, ketchup and mustard.

Vol. 5, No. 064, March 20, 2020

5064 - Monster Sports.

I decided on a graphic design challenge today. I manipulated a photo of my wax house to make it look like a monster of sorts. Then I added a soccer ball and stuck it all on a green background. Thus a monster playing a sport.

Vol. 5, No. 063, March 19, 2020

5063 - Other Planet House.

I sculpted a house out of cheese wax. It is a two story house with a balcony. I encountered some difficulty as the wax kept cracking.

Vol. 5, No. 062, March 18, 2020

5062 - Strange Toppings.

Today I was one of the few people working at school today. So while taking a break, I made an art pizza. It was a rectangular pizza modeled after a classic school lunch. My pizza toppings include shredded paper, glue sticks, scissors, pencils, and markers. It's not edible, but it is fun to look at.

Vol. 5, No. 061, March 17, 2020

5061 - A Robot Jumping Rope.

I dug in the junk drawer to find materials for this installation. I used a variety of batteries and lip balm for the robot. The jump rope was made from screws and a tape measure.

Vol. 5, No. 060, March 16, 2020

5060 - A Dinosaur Playing An Instrument.

Following today's SoulSparklettes prompt,  I drew a t-rex playing the drums. It started snowing heavily this morning, so I decided to take my art outside. After planning my drawing in the margin of a newspaper, I took to the sidewalk with a stick. I had to work sort of quickly as it was snowing pretty hard and my picture was disappearing as I drew.

Margo also got in on the action. Without discussing what the other was making, we both chose to draw a t-rex. Margo made hers more comical, drawing a t-rex trying to play a ukulele. Little arms make it hard.

Vol. 5, No. 059, March 15, 2020

5059 - Flexible Learning.

In light of the  COVID-19 pandemic, my school has implemented Flexible Learning for at least the next two days. To prepare, I created a Google Slide for my 7th grade students to follow to create art at home. Their first project is to choose a prompt from the list provided. There are a wide variety of prompts to choose from including a llama surfing. Students then gather materials (whatever they can find) and start creating art. When they are finished they have to share their work and write and artist statement. To support my students I will be doing similar projects for the next 3 weeks. However, I am following a different set of prompts than I gave them. My prompts were provided by Julie Soul of soulsparklettes. I found her list on Instagram. You can follow these prompts too. Here is the link: https://l.instagram.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.soulsparklettes.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F03%2F3-Weeks-of-Daily-Drawing-Prompts-for-Kids.pdf&e=ATNyBKVNnPNgGhWhpdqXx0lFPhW7JgLB9eKeWp9NDffKAEsZR4KKuDFtU-Cc6wbVf2FEv_Ssz-XHEFpz&s=1

Vol. 5, No. 058, March 11, 2020

5058 - So Many Dinosaurs.

The Kindergarten dinosaur excavation had been going well. However, after the students were finished excavating, they didn't know what to do next. To make the process take a little longer, I created placemats that show each of the dinosaurs buried in the sand. Now when a student finds a dinosaur, they can look at the chart and identify the dinosaurs. It also helped a little with sand getting everywhere on the table.

To make the placemats, I first had to identify each dinosaur. Next I had to find pictures to go with each dinosaur.

Vol. 5, No. 057, March 6, 2020

5057 - Dino Dig.

This afternoon, I put in a lot of overtime at school, prepping supplies for kindergarten Dinosaur Exploration Centers. On Monday we will be beginning our Dinosaur Drawing Unit, which begins with centers that allow students to explore dinosaurs seeing their shapes and characteristics up close. It looks a lot like playing, but they are learning as they go. One of the centers is a dinosaur dig. Students get to pretend they are archaeologists, digging for fossils. Last year, they were  given a container with dinosaurs buried in loose sand. The dinos were usually uncovered in under 30 seconds and there was sand everywhere. To try and fix these problems, I decided to bury the dinos in homemade moon sand. It was made using 20 parts sand, 10 parts cornstarch and 3 parts water. The moon sand replicates the feel of wet sand, causing it to clump together more. The dinosaurs are buried under the sand, I just laid a few on top for the picture.

Vol. 5, No. 056, March 5, 2020

5056 - Tin Heart.

As I was sitting at the dinner table tonight, I noticed a Dove chocolate wrapper sitting on the table. After reading the saying, I started mindlessly playing with the foil. All of a sudden I had a cute little heart.

Vol. 5, No. 055, March 1, 2020

5055 - Surrounding Smells.

When I arrived for Miller Time on Saturday, Miller4Ever was finishing up breakfast and asked for a banana. The smell of that banana inspired me to bake some more banana bread when I got home. I used heart shaped pans this time. I filled the pans a little full, so they aren’t quite as heart-shaped as I was hoping.

Vol. 5, No. 054, March 1, 2020

5054 - In Your Cup.

Before heading out for a Miller Time adventure, I had a cup of coffee. I using dot markers, I created a coffee mug picture.

Vol. 5, No. 053, March 1, 2020

5053 - Emotional State.

As I was hanging out at Wheel and Cog with the Miller Littles, I spent some time with Littlest Miller in the foam pit. She wanted me to bury her and then she popped out. It was a perfect expression of our fun day and the fact that it was Leap Day. I love that the foam fell into a heart in her lap at the end.

Vol. 5, No. 052, March 1, 2020

5052 - Nature Shrine.

This project was a family collaboration. Becca, Nate, Dad, Eleanor and I all made hearts using the melting snow and ice. We left the hearts in the park for others to enjoy.

Vol. 5, No. 051, March 1, 2020

5051 - Contrasts.

Momma Miller both started working on this prompt with out consulting each other. While we were crafting at Wheel and Cog, she used thick and think tape lines to make Oldest Miller a sign. I added the heart and made a tape bookmark.

Vol. 5, No. 050, March 1, 2020

5050 - Lost.

I’ve gotten a little behind in my posting. This project was inspired by Oldest Miller. As we were crafting at Wheel and Cog the other day, I read her all of the prompts that I hadn’t completed yet. She said that one thing she keeps losing is her blanket. She started making a card with flowers on it similar to the colors on her blanket. I helped her finish it, adding a heart.