Kindergarten Cuteness!

 "Kandinsky, a Retrospective" is just opening at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts.  In response, the MNPS teachers are introducing a lot of his work to our students, as part of "Artober" a month long celebration of the many artistic things that Nashville has to offer.  My Kindergarten crew has been looking at Concentric Circles, and learning about how artists use shapes and colors to create.  In their classroom, they are learning about the concept of families.  Sooo, I extended that idea to color families, specifically The Primaries, and we used concentric circles to make just about the cutest birds ever. I went to a workshop in preparation for Artober,  where the idea of turning a concentric circle into a bird was suggested.  I decided to beef it up a little by bringing in the family idea as well as introducing primary colors.  I supplied cups and lids to trace, and had cut paper into 6 inch and 3 inch squares, so the students knew they had to trace 3 bigs, and 3 littles. In an effort to offer choices, students were encouraged to combine the circle colors in whatever way they wanted, but I did point out that 2 of the same color would not show up as well.  We talked about placement, and how the size of the birds and the way they were grouped might represent family.  Another choice offered was feathers.   I placed the box of feathers on my supply table, and after talking about how color might represent family members (perhaps even their own), they could choose whatever feathers they wanted (2 per bird).  I demonstrated how to snip the corners of scraps to "steal" the triangles, for beaks and feet.  Finally, I allowed students to choose their own eyes- whatever sizes, etc.  If my high fliers (forgive the pun) had spare time, I had paper available for clouds and sun.

File Folder Neigborhoods

I am lucky, in that I see my kids every 3 days, for an hour at a time.  However, the flip side is that there is the potential to go through a lotta art supplies, especially with the Kindergarten crew, who tend to do shorter art projects to begin with.  So, how to keep their interest at the end of the school year, and not empty my supply cupboards?  File Folders.  Huh?  I had a bunch of leftovers, that the office was gonna ditch.  So, I wrote each student's name on one tab, and came up with this.  In MNPS curriculum, Kindergarten is to work on houses this 9 weeks.  They drew their own house, and we've been talking about how shapes work together to make things.  So, on the bottom of the inside, they used scraps, and created a neighborhood.  (3 houses was my requirement, some did more). At the end of art, it was a snap to clean up, and any necessary unglued parts could just be stored with their folder.  The next session, we did tissue collage on the top, to be the sky.  Then, they could continue working on the neighborhood.  Next session, we will finish the sky, by adding birds, bugs, hot air balloons, etc.  I am thinkging just having them draw contour line with sharpie.  And, my final plan is to have them create themself and their friends on the exterior of the folder.  So, there you have it.  Cheap, a great review, at least 4 artclasses of work (depending on how you stretch it) and fun, cause to the K's its kind of like a secret, with the picture being inside.  I'll let you know how it turns out, but so far, I think I love this idea.

Stamped/Painted Patterns

I gave the K's each a small piece of cardboard which they dipped in black paint, and we talked about finding the side with the bumps (the corrugation).  They were to fill their entire paper with patterns. (The previous day, we had drawn patterns both on the smartboard and on their papers, in order to check for understanding).  After stamping their patterns, and letting them dry, they used tempera cakes to fill in the spaces.  We did talk about color as a pattern, but they were so excited to paint, that they didn't all remember, or have the control to do that.  I think the results were great. And, the kiddos got some really rich colors out of the cakes.

Magazine Turkeys and a little Mask

My Kindergarteners are proving a bit needy of some cutting and gluing practice (as well as some basic listening/direction following skills), so I channeled the Turkey Day energy that's been buzzin' for this project.  It started with just basic cutting/gluing to create the body, wings, feet and beaks.  I had the brown and orange paper pre-cut, and they followed along with me.  For the feathers, I pre-sized some magazine pages into manageable pieces.  They used those to create feathers.  I encouraged ovals, but some got a bit rectangular.  The kiddos seemed to really enjoy this project- especially the ones who got cartoon scraps. 

 Also, my 3rd Graders have been working on clay masks and I just had to share.  Below, one student begins the painting process.  (I use acrylic- it's messy danger, but it looks great on clay!)  The other is by a boy who clearly loves making masks.  It's so rewarding when you finally find the thing that excites a hesitant student!  When we paint, I set up paint stations.  The kids move their mask to the station, rather than me pouring paint for every table that may or may not be used.  I have a student with Autism, and traveling is not in her best interest- I allowed her to stay at her seat with color choices.

VOTE!

I have a kindergarten student up for "Artist of the Week" on Artsonia.  For those of you unfamiliar with Artsonia, they are a site where you can maintain a digital portfolio of your student's work for their family and friends to enjoy.  They are encouraging of all artists, and each week, they randomly select a few artists to be "Artist of the Week" contenders.  At the end of the week, the student in each category with the most votes wins- $50 in art supplies for them, and $100 for my art program.  We are a small school, and we don't generate the thousands of votes that most students can- so, I'm putting it out as many places as I can think of.  You can vote once a day-per device.  I'd appreciate your vote.

When you click the link,  look for Megan from Hermitage in the Pre-K to 3 category.  And, thanks!

Drawing Lesson with Kindergarten

Spring has sprung here in Nashville, which means it's time for some fresh Spring projects.  Much like Mr. E, I am kind of trying to avoid the traditional O'Keefe flower lesson (though, it is an old favorite).  I find that my plastic bug collection has come in handy.  Our Kindergarten students are learning about insects/bugs/nature-ish stuff in Science, and since I am trying to incorporate more common core into my lessons, I decided bugs were something we could have a lot of fun with.  I handed each student a plastic bug as they walked in, and we talked about similarities and differences between species.  We looked at the shapes/lines/colors that made up each bug, and then I demonstrated how to draw a much bigger bug on the paper.  Here are some of the drawings my kiddos came up with- not too shabby! As we finished drawing, I gave out sharpies to trace.  Students could use any color combination they wished, as long as they colored around the sharpie lines, not over them.

Art Show

4th Grade- Cat Paintings and Clay Facades

3rd Grade- Word Art

Kindergarten-Birds on a Wire

2nd Grade- Bird Houses

1st Grade- Heart Weaving

Sign in, Summer Art Program brochures, and Artsonia Updates.

Cookies and punch- I brought in my nice plate and punch bowl-if I'm throwing a party, I try to do it right.

The music teacher and I decided to take back Youth Art Month this year.  He did his 1st and 2nd grade program, and I did the school art show.  We planned the event as one big "Arts" night.  Mixed feelings- We had a good turn out, but many parents did not bring their older kids, because they did not have a child in the program.  I did get a chance to talk to a lot of parents, and get some updated emails for my Artsonia page.  I like the idea of the arts night, but will have to think about how to entice parents in all grade levels to come, and not just because they are killing time waiting for the program.  Good thing I have a year to puzzle this out.

Why Kindergarten is Awesome!

I love my kindergarten students. Yes, they have the attention span of a gnat, and it's kinda like herding cats or goldfish most days, but they are so easy to please.  Today, we "dunked" our clay textured heart pendants, and strung them on a rainbow shoelace. (I discovered years ago that a bucket or two of acrylic paint with a lot of water allows many to add color quickly.  With the older kids, we dip first, then add details later, but for this project, dipping adds the splash of color needed).  To add a little bling, we strung a few beads on either side of the heart.  I mentioned that they might want to create a pattern, but they were so stinkin' excited to get their little fingers on my beads, that they could not concentrate on a pattern.  And THAT is why Kindergarten is awesome.  A shoestring and a box of beads, and they were in heaven- they strung away, until I cut them off, so that we'd have time to tie the ends all up.  The "Meat" of the lesson was a focus on texture, and basic clay techniques.  We made small slabs, and experimented with a variety of objects to create texture.  I cut out a heart from each one's slab, and then they used some of their left over clay to roll a coil, and create their initial, which we attached to the heart.  I poked holes, and fired, and well, you know the rest! 

Primary/Geometric Birds

Birds are OVER, clouds are UNDER the wire.

Clouds are Organic, while birds are Geometric

The kiddos had not used the feathers, and were delighted with the chance.

I came across a lesson on Pinterest which used geometric shapes to make "birds".  It was just cute enough to try with the Kindergarten Crew.  It gave me the opportunity to review Primary/Secondary colors, as well as introduce Geometric/Organic shapes.  It involved so much opportunity for vocabulary, that it is a new favorite in my book.  I read a Bird Book to inspire us, which reviewed the concept of Near and Far.  We were able to discuss contrast, in the context of using a variety of colors- red beaks on red birds just don't show up.  And, Over/Under also came up too.  Such a fun little lesson, packed with so much good art information.  Little details like the wiggle eyes and the feathers encouraged the kiddos to stay focused and continue on even when a little tuckered out.  I am pleased with the results, and  I will be showcasing them in our upcoming Art Show. 

American Symbols

The Kindergarten students have been looking at American Symbols- this is a classroom standard that I agreed to work into my plans over the next few weeks.  So, we drew one of 4 symbols (Flag, Eagle, Statue of Liberty or Liberty Bell).  I provided both color and outline images for students to see, to help in this process. We traced our drawings with sharpies-I think tracing the lines helps cement them in the students' heads, as lines to stay inside/around. I have no proof, but have just noticed that when the littles trace, they tend to paint a bit more carefully. After painting those using appropriate color schemes, we drew a mini-self portrait, which was cut out and attached into the picture.  I taught them how to draw stars, and after some practice, they used silver sharpies to draw stars around their painting, as a picture frame.  Our focus artist was Romare Bearden, and his work "Roots".  While we did not delve into the deeper issues within his work, we did discuss Freedom, and symbols which stand for it.  I think it was a great attempt by my students to paint in a more realistic way. 

Back at it Tomorrow!

Got my word "wall" all straightened back out

I section off my whiteboard to make room for Grade Level "Objectives" and vocabulary.

Gonna try to work with the Kindergarten Students on American Symbols-it pairs with the classroom objectives- I'll let you know how this shakes out.  I'm excited about the possibility, but realistic about how Kindergarten can go.

Tomorrow, I go back to school after a restful Winter Break.  This year, our school system did our calendar a little differently.  In years past, teachers went back a day before the students, and had a teacher work day.  This year, we got our work day the day after the kids left for Winter Break.  On the surface, not such a big deal, we still got our day, but it was a change in thinking.  I had a hard time stepping out of the current semester, and trying to prepare for the new one while I was still cleaning up my room after the previous.  I managed to get cleaned up, and as the day progressed, I got organized, and tried to prepare.  It was nice to get organized again, and I'm looking forward to another great semester.  We'll be preparing for the Spring Art Show, and I'll be up to my eyeballs in creating the yearbook,  so it'll be busy.

On the Farm

The kindergarten students and I have been working on texture.  We created these little farms by using odds and ends around the art room.  Way back at the beginning of the year, this group practiced painting by covering an entire paper with sky color.  We used it as a backdrop for our Red Grooms exhibit, and now that the exhibit is down, we recycled them by making our farm sky with them.  Wallpaper was used for the ground.  The rest is an assortment of crafty left overs. 

Red Grooms-Artober

Here in Nashville, an event called Artober has started up over the last couple of years.  It is a way to highlight art events in our fine city, and encourage everybody to get out there and get "Artin".  The art teachers in our district were encouraged to use Red Grooms as our focus artist, and find a way to install work inspired by him in our school.  My K-3 students worked on a collaborative city scene, while my 4th graders worked on Carousels.  The carousels were modeled after Red Grooms' Fox Trot Carousel which depicts scenes and events from our city's history.  As October comes to a close, I thought I'd share how our installation looked upon completion, before the students start taking the bits and pieces home.

Carousels in "The Park"



The Big Finish



Kindergarten Pumpkins

If you've been teaching for any amount of time, you know that the pumpkin lends itself so well to the art room at this time of year.  It's easy enough to draw, the kids have likely visited the farm or pumpkin patch, and it translates to Halloween or Fall- whichever way  you prefer to go.  I had my kiddos use black paint only to trace a pumpkin that they had drawn on the 1st day.  On the 2nd, I gave them other colors, and we filled in.  I used tempera cakes, as my kids are still learning the painting routine.  They are so bright and cheerful- I'll have to post a few more, but here's a couple.  On a side note, I read them "Spookley, the Square Pumpkin" which I understand is a cartoon movie now, but the book is so sweet.