Kindergarten PumpkinsDuring the month of October pumpkins are everywhere. And kids think jack-o-lanterns are super fun. So I usually like to do some sort of pumpkin project. For this one we focused on the element of Shape by making a pumpkin collage. In Kindergarten we work a lot on building our fine motor skills, so in this project they practiced tearing with the orange paper, and cutting with the black paper for their pumpkin's face. I let students use the white liquid glue on their own to make the circle for the pumpkin, BUT I supervised the tables individually to observe and assist when necessary. I have found that classroom teachers typically use glue sticks to avoid the mess of liquid glue, but I like to start them on liquid glue early so that by the time they reach third grade it isn't a new material. Lastly, we added some pre-cut tissue squares (as we were running short on time and I wanted them to make it home before Halloween!), and they drew a moon and stars for their night sky. They couldn't wait to take these home! .First Grade Splat MonstersFirst grade has been BEGGING to get their hands on some paint. So I saw this on The Art Teacher's Closet on Pinterest and thought it would be so fun for October. For day 1 of this project I set up art centers so that I could individually supervise the group with the paint. The other centers were iPads (which the kids love), and blocks/foam shapes/magnetic shapes board (all in one center). The objective for the iPads was for students to draw an organic shape monster blob, and to add geometric shapes for details. Students were also allowed to free draw on the iPads. At the blocks/foam/magnets center they were encouraged to build and create a place for their monster to live. At the paint center students blew through a straw to make the paint move across their paper. This created the drippy, splatter effect. Students had never used paint in this way so it was really fun! Very engaging! Day 2 of this project we read the book I Need My Monster. We discussed the different personalities of the monsters in the book, and looked at the illustrations for inspiration. We did some brainstorming of what shapes to use for what facial features. Then I let students pretty much go at it on their own. They were given a scrap bin with colorful construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, and crayons. I was so pleased to see the creativity coming out with these monsters. I also had them write 3 words to describe their monster on the back of their paper. This was the most challenging part for some! A few of my classes haven't finished their monster yet, but so far I am loving the results!
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I’m a little late in getting this thing up and running, but excited nonetheless! It is my first year at Riverside Primary, and so far I couldn’t be happier! Over the past 6 weeks we have been having fun and working hard in the art room. I’ll give you a quick rundown on what we’ve been up to. The first week of school was spent introducing myself and, of course, covering rules and procedures, which are important… BUT I made sure we got into the art-making (fun part), too! We started with reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, and the kids made a Dot-inspired drawing. The great thing about this book is that everybody is successful, and it is great in teaching young kids to identify as artists. Kindergarten has been introduced to Line and Shape, which we will continue to work on over the course of the year. They finished cute little house drawings that have so much personality. I happily hung them all over the school in preparation for Open House. 1st grade has just finished their Silly Cityscape drawings. We talked about Line, Shape, and Color as Elements of Art. This ended up being a 3-week project because I let them trace their pencil lines with Sharpie markers! It’s amazing how quiet a class of 25 first graders will be when you give them these special markers! Before coloring them in we talked about craftsmanship and how to fill in neatly with crayons- they turned out beautiful! Lastly, I wanted to share something new that I tried for the first time this week… Art Centers! I have known that centers are popular in the classroom, especially for younger grades, but I had never thought to use this strategy in the art room. It probably didn’t occur to me because my last art room was barely big enough to fit our tables, and didn’t have a sink, along with many other challenges. Anyway, my art centers have been a big hit this week.
Center activities included wooden building blocks, foam shapes, a magnetic shapes board, Play-doh, and free draw. They were all super fun and engaging, which allowed me to work with a small group at the "Project Center" on Apple Printing! Yay Art Centers! |
Mrs. Carter
I teach art to grades K-1 at Riverside Primary in Mableton, Georgia. Archives
April 2017
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