Once Upon a Northern Night

I first learned of this book from reading Patty Palmer's blog over at Deep Space Sparkle.  I bought my own copy and fell in love.

The first project I used it for was a simple monochromatic landscape with my second grade.

As we read the book, we not only talked about where the light, medium and dark colors were but also about accent colors - using a color to draw attention to something important.  The kids had fun pointing out the accent color and stating why that object was important for people to notice.

Following the story we set up with place mats, brushes, and trays with only black and white.  I demonstrated working lightest to darkest (snow first, then the gray trees and then the black shadows).  I was really impressed with the results.  The kids did a really good job with this.

I had only one of my six second grades finish in a single class.  Everyone else took two classes.

Some of the works in progress and the completed landscapes: