Beautiful Butterflies in Kindergarten

 The other art teacher in our school finished out the end of last year with these beauties.  They're big too, 18x24".  I LOVE working big with kids...it gets them out of their comfort zone and makes the art seem so much more substantial, especially with the little ones like the kinders and first graders. The other art teacher shares my sentiment and the butterflies themselves were painted on 18x24" white paper and then cut and mounted on a colored background.

 The white paper was first folded in half and the students drew half their butterfly in pencil first. I taught a day or two of this lesson and when I had the kids do it I told them "no erasers, just draw and re-draw as needed". In my opinion, WAY too much time is wasted on kids compulsively erasing their "mistakes" waiting and trying to make their work "perfect".  Although, I will say that if your going to teach your students to work without erasers, that you should really discuss and model it,  it helps exponentially when you can coach them through it and explicitly teach why they don't really need to erase at all.  

After they drew half their butterflies they used black tempera and a medium-sized wide brush to paint over the half they drew, periodically folding and printing the wet paint onto the other side of the paper to create a symmetrical images. Lines that were faded or didn't quite touch were simply painted over.

 The drawing and painting was day 1. Day 2 and 3 consisted of painting the inside of the butterflies with colored paints.  Most kids, by June, have no problem matching the sides up pretty consistently.  It's AMAZING how much the little kindaroos grow and develop in one year.  Kindergarten teachers really do make magic happen. 

 Day 4 was cutting and gluing the butterflies onto a backing and then adding different embellishments like stickers, gems, and metallic confetti pieces. Some of the children were completely dedicated to keeping their designs symmetrical, even with the embellishments, and some just glue the sparkly stones on willy-nilly, either way the results are adorable. If I ever teach kindergarten again, this is a lesson I would totally "borrow". 

Hermit crabbin it up

And when I mentioned hermit crabbin in my post title, I wasn't referring to my long absence from the blog-o-sphere, although I could see how you could misconstrue...This lil' ditty of a project (and post title), got started like this: Today on probably what was the most humid of all humid days this summer, (and when I say humid, I'm talkin' Florida in July, wallpaper peeling, face meltin' humid!), I decided to go into my un-air conditioned room in my mostly un-air conditioned school and get a jump on my setup. The good news is that I was able to unpack all my supply boxes, hang my signs, label, sort, re-stock, decorate AND tackle one of the three bulletin boards I'm responsible for makin' all pretty-and-such. All that's left is 2 boards and a pesky showcase! 

                                                        "Hermit Crab Shell Change"

What your looking at on this board is an Eric Carle lesson I've seen around on a few pin boards amd such. It was the final kinder project of last year. It was two sessions of paper painting pandamonium followed by 3 more days of drawing, cutting and collage. I sprinkled in some cute clips of hermit crabs and read the book that inspired the project: "A House for Hermit Crab" (duh!).

 My fave part of the whole lesson wasn't the adorable smirking quirky crabs, which I do adore, but was actually watching the look on the kiddos faces when I showed them what hermit crabs look like in real life. Amongst the videos I showed em' after reading the story was of a real hermit crab changing it's shell. if you ever wanna see the most varied facial expressions and reactions form a 5 year olds, show em' this video! I got every look from disgust to fascination, but hey, it kept them alll hooked! And really, can you actually teach this project the right way without showing them the real life star of the story? I think not! 

Enjoy, and good luck in the "new" year!

Kinder Texture Burgers

I was looking for a lesson that would introduce texture to my kindergarten students and be simple, open ended, and fun. After looking around awhile I came across a few sites that had projects where imaginary burgers were stuffed with all sorts of uniquely textured  and interesting items. The humor and whimsy of the projects really appealed to me, so I figured I'd give it a try. 

 

 I used the food sculptures of Clase Oldenberg as inspiration and the kiddos examined some examples and discussed the similarities and differences of the various textures they observed.  I always feel like viewing and discussing art with kindergartners is like pulling teeth, but they seemed to get a big kick out of Oldenburg's work.  Does anyone else feel like it's unusually hard to get kinders focused, observing and critically thinking about art? Do any of you have any good tips or strategies you use with the little ones for art appreciation? If so, I 'd love you to share em'!

 

The project took 3-40 minute art periods. Day 1 was viewing the work and discussing texture. I also passed out some objects with texture for the kids to feel to help them understand the concept. Then we spent the rest of the period making the table (which was pre-cut to fit the paper), the plate, and the bun, which the children drew, cut and glued themselves.
On day 2 I demonstrated how to collage on about half the items. It's important to show the kids how to glue the items in a vertical manner one on top of the other, otherwise they have the tendency to start scattering everything all over the page which takes away from the humor of the burger. 
Day 3 was the same as day 2 , with new items and the additional step of going back and checking the previously glued pieces to make sure that everything was stuck down thoroughly. It also allows the students that were absent on previous days time to catch up. 

Here are some of the items that we either added, or that I had brainstormed for adding to the burgers:

Ketchup-red felt, thick red string, red fabric 
Mustard-yellow pipe cleaner, yellow felt
Onion-purple, pink or white ribbon, or paper pre-cut into small swirls
Buns/Meat -corrugated cardboard
Olives-yellow and green foam shapes
Lettuce-green colored crumpled or twisted tissue paper
Seads, pasta
Shredded Lettuce/ Onion/Coleslaw-different colored raffia

Bon apetit! 

Kinder Cool Penguins

These darling penguins were taught by the other art teacher in our school.  She used step by step guided instruction to teach the kiddies how to draw and cut the shapes that make up the penguins.  To help add personality she gave them scrapbook paper to add embellishments. Lastly, she had the kids used cardboard and caps to print on some snowflakes and designs. Too cute!

Kinder 'Wild Things'

 

On the last day of art I had my students watch an animated version of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.  I asked my students to take notice of what shapes and features the wild things were made of  and after the video I recorded a list of parts that included yellow eyes, feathers, horns, fangs, tails, scales, and claws.  Following the video I did a short demo on how to draw a wild thing by using basic shapes like ovals, circles, triangles, etc.  I then set them loose on 12 x 18" black paper and using crayola construction paper crayons, they dove right in.

 The drawing part took about 15 minutes, although some students pronounced "I'm done!" within about 4 minutes of drawing...However, I wouldn't let them off the hook with quick 'scribble-scrabble' coloring,  and made them take their time and color their monsters in slowly and completely to the best of their ability. For the last 10 minutes or so I explained how to rotate tables to switch colors and let them paint over their drawing using Sax brand glitter paint.  Each table had one of four colors including gold, purple, green, and blue (which were what I used) and 4 brushes.

  Students had about 2 minutes at each table with the paints and presto, finished wild things in 40 minutes :)

Just on an additional note...I like the crayola construction paper crayons, they come out a little brighter and opaque on both light and dark colored construction papers.  I'm so-so on the glitter paint.  It's semi transparent so I think it's good for painting over already colored areas like I did in this project, but I wouldn't use it by itself on unless a I wanted a semi-transparent color with small flecks of glitter throughout. 

Kindergarten Birds and Bird Nests

What do you do with just a TINY amount of clay left for the year?  Make kindergarten pinch pots of course!!  Tired of plain old pinch pots, (as I'm sure we all are!) I decided to turn them into 'bird nests'.  The whole process took 3 days.

On the first day I discussed where clay comes from, how it gets hard or soft depending on the moisture, how it gets its color, and how to manipulate it.  I had a 2-slide power point with different things artists do with clay and how my students can manipulate it by pinching, pulling, squeezing, smushing, twisting, and so forth.  As a class, at my large demo table we all practiced using our hands and arms to 'explore' the clay.  I refrained from using the word play, as I didn't want the students to get the wrong idea about what do to with it.  I also explained to them that we don't hit, slap, smack, or throw the clay at any time.  Thankfully,I had few if any students handle the clay improperly. For the remainder of the period students sat at their tables and explored the different things they could make with clay.
On the second day we had a more formal lesson where I demonstrated how to wedge the clay, create a pinch pot, and then add texture to the outside by using different texture stamps around the pinch pot, and if large enough, inside them.
Day three came about 2 weeks later, after the clay had dried and been fired.  My first 3 classes I had glaze their pots with green and brown stroke n coat.  When I ran out of glaze (it was the second to last week of school) I had my remaining 3 classes use brown and green tempera.  Both came out cute.

 The week or so between the clay drying and being fired I had my students create Model Magic birds, I would've liked them to create their birds out of clay but I didn't have enough. In the end it worked out well, I was able to have the students add feathers and pipe cleaners which wouldn't have happened with traditional clay. We made the birds by using 1 package of model magic colored with Mr. Sketch to alter the color.  Students rolled the package into 1 large and 1 small ball of clay and pinched both balls to make a large tail and a tiny pinched beak.  The had and tail were attached and feathers and pipe cleaners were attached to the tail and sides of the body. 

As an extension activity for students that finished early, I gave each student a piece of  9x12" white paper and markers and had them do an observational drawing of their bird and nest.  They can out adorable.  It was a good end of year project and it was done just in time for fathers day!

Kindergarten Color Wheel Clowns

After teaching my students all about primary colors and lines I wanted a project that would introduce them to the secondary colors and show them how primary and secondary colors are connected to one another in terms of color theory.  I came across color wheel clowns on some blogs and websites noted below and decided to try it out. 

Deep Space Sparkle
DebraSnowArt
Tatanka Art
Studio Zanne

We began by discussing patterns and looking at different clowns and their bright colorful pattern-filled clothing, I then had the students use 12x18" white paper folded in half to paint two different patterns.  Later on, these patterns would be cut up and used to collage the arms and legs of their clown.  After that I had them trace a plastic lid on a 9x12" piece of white paper and draw and then cut out their clowns face.  Before they drew their face, I put up a few images on the Smartboard for them to view as reference.  I then pre-made a color wheel about the size of a 9x12 paper and demonstrated how to paint a color using only the primary colors. I posted a picture of the color wheel and showed them that if they paint the primaries first, they can figure out which two colors mix together to make the secondaries. Lastly, students collage on the head, body, arms and legs and draw on hands and feet. 

The thing I love most about this project is the vast differences in the final product and the lively and humorous expressions the clowns have.  They really do embody the personalities of their creators!
I'll post a few more individual pictures in the next day or two.

Jims just in time for Valentines Day

 I think in the cumulative 4 years or so of teaching this is the first lesson I have ever finished in time for the holiday it was meant to represent!  Inspired  by a post from fellow blogger Mini Matisse, I had previously done this lesson using paint instead of collage.  This year I added the collage because it tied into the first lesson my kindergartners did this year based on the book Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. For this lesson we discussed symmetry and pattern.  Cute, no?  The bulletin board work will follow soon...

Kindergarten Aboriginal Dot Paintings

Alright....so the first time I wrote this post, it was long and detailed, then I accidentally deleted it today while trying to file it under my kindergarten lessons. Then, i just wrote it again now, and my mozilla crashed.....So now you're getting the 'condensed' version of this lesson.

We learned about the Aborigine's of Australia, warm colors, how to make a print (we did bubble wrap prints on the hands) and symbols.

Here are some results!

1st Project of the Year done!...Finally!

All my projects seem like they take forever. Between my 6-day cycle, days off, holidays, sick days, personal days, assemblies.....I'm sure I'm preaching to the art teaching choir out there, but nonetheless it's the week before November and I finally finished my first project of the year.

Kindergartners made collage elephants based on the book 'Elmer' by David McKee. The thing I love most about the lesson is the way each elephant has so much personality. I had my kinders do a guided drawing with me of an elephant so each drawing is totally unique to each student. Considering this was their first art project in kindergarten and half of them can't write their name or write it upside down and backwards (or some variation of the former), they did really well creating their art.

Overall, the lesson as a whole went pretty well, I would have liked to add some sort of decorative frame or background drawing on it just to make it look more 'finished' but I'm pressed for time in putting up the main hallway bulletin board so a construction paper color mounting will have to do.





Yes, some of the elephants look like armadillos, and some look like anteaters, but there so damn cute who cares?