Kindergarten Snowmen Make Me Smile

 

For several years now I've seen my Kindergarten students cutting & gluing skills go down.

To many hours on devices....not enough time for such activities in the classroom...there are several reasons for this happening.  I needed to change my expectations & my projects a bit.  By this time, I use to have my kindergarten students creating snowmen with hats scarves..etc.  They were able to give them a bit more "personality". (They do have a little personality in how they cut & placed the pieces.)  Now, I just want to give them opportunity to develop the necessary skills/abilities to create!  There is a ton of time spent on how to hold scissors and cut properly that they use to come to me already able to do.

  That being said...I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!  

I LOVE KINDERGARTEN ART!!

How can you not smile when these young artists create!! 

They bring such joy to everything they do.

Collage Self Portraits: 2nd Grade

My students are finishing up their second day working on collage self portraits!  For the most part...I'm thrilled with the results.  There are a lot of students that still seem to struggle with using scissors & glue properly, but I feel so much of this is lack of experience from  home & classroom.  Students spend more time with TV & electronic devices...and less time "making stuff".  Also, the demands on classroom teachers prevents them from having much time to cut, past, and craft to go along with their content.  All that said...I really am pleased with my students' work.

They each started by selecting three sheets of construction paper.  

SKIN COLOR

SHIRT COLOR

BACKGROUND COLOR

We talked about how to cut the head/neck/ears/nose & how to cut the shirt to create a "bust" self portrait collage.  After this, I did a quick demo on cutting out the eyes/lips/hair/ & other details.  

At first I thought we'd be able to do this in one class time, but I quickly realized a second day would be needed.  In the second day we did a quick gallery walk around the room & then back to work.  We ended the class with another gallery walk after clean up & some complement sharing! 

Another reason to love teaching elementary art...

I posted this on my social media, but wanted to make sure it was here as well.

I love teaching elementary art!  The amazing work they produce still surprises me 21  yrs later.  Sometimes it is because of the amazing skill with which they create.  Sometimes it is the fearless approach they bring to creating.  Sometimes....their work is just hysterical....even if they didn't mean it to be.  This is one of those situations.

My 1st graders had been charged with creating a creature/animal in the style of a school picture on top of a fun watercolor checker board they created the week before.  Most were extremely cute cats, dogs, mice, bears..etc  Then I came to this one.  Mind you...this student has no clue on what he has created.....BUT I DO!!! 

 I give you the most amazing GROUCHO MARX BUNNY!!!

I adore this picture....and wonder if I can somehow keep it for myself!! ha ha  

Dino Hatchling Collages: Kindergarten

This week is the second class time for the kindergarten dinosaur unit I'm doing!  I wanted to revisit collage so that my students could become more proficient with scissor & glue use.  They just aren't having the opportunities in there classrooms!!(Not the teachers fault at all...just the kindergarten is now-a-days!)  I started with the story THREE LITTLE DINOSAURS. 

I allowed the students to select one big piece of paper(background), one small piece of paper(dino), and one white piece of paper(egg) at the beginning of class. 

The started by drawing an oval for the egg.  Once they cut it out, I had them cut a zigzag line across the middle.  I then had them fold their small colored piece of paper in half.  They drew an oval and cut it out(with paper folded to get two of the same shape/size).  I showed them how to cut a wedge shape out for the mouth.  We then used our scraps to make the eye, arms, and tail.  After students glued it down...I allowed them to get crayons to add details.

Collage Fish: Kindergarten

This week I'm introducing my kindergarten students to collage...which also means introducing scissors/scissor safety & glue usage.  Personally, I feel collage is more challenging than painting with kindergarten.  There are more elements & unknown variables.  Unlike years ago...students don't have the opportunity to cut & glue in their classrooms(and if they are...you can bet it is glue sticks!).  Kindergarten teachers have so many more requirements that they don't have time for activity type learning which requires these things in their classroom.  There is also that fact that fewer children are having exposure to scissor & glue use at home. Sooooo....when we get these awesome little sponges...we are going to be doing a lot of introducing and correcting.  I think the main issue I've been seeing this week is scissor grip.  I've literally had students that had NO IDEA how to pick up, hold, and use scissors!  I know I shouldn't be amazed by this...but I kind of am!

I've only had a few students that just couldn't get it at all.  Most of them were able to do "something".  I view this as a time to introduce & build upon skills....so I'm looking at the long term & not just the immediate.  Some of the kids that are struggling now...will be master scissor users by January!!

Hickory Dickory Dock: Kindergarten

Here is a possible kindergarten project for the art show.  We read Hickory Dickory Dock, and then created a page of clock faces.  Next they traced all their pencil marks with crayon to create the resist.  They then picked two colors to do a wash over the page.  We finished the day with sprinkling salt on top of their wet pictures.  Next week they will be creating collage mice to add to their pictures.

City Scapes: 1st Grade

I've been doing a city scape unit with my 1st graders. The kids really enjoyed this project a lot...getting to cut out the skylines & creating the details on the foreground!! The following week I put a twist into the project..the kids started by finishing the details & then tracing with Sharpie.  I then showed them Starry Night.  I asked the students how they could incorporated some of Van Gogh's ideas into their picture.  The brought up colors, lines, and time of day.  The end results were pretty great!  Now these are good examples....I did have a few students in every class struggle with cutting the skyline out to stretch clear across the paper(no matter what I showed them...what I said...or that I stood over top of a few and tried to help!?!?).  

Rizzi Collage: 3rd Grade

My students loved the work of James Rizzi! 

(Be careful about what images you select to share!!!)

We created our pictures in collage, but I know people that have done them as drawings, paint, and even clay!  It really can be a fun and versatile inspiration piece

I love the variety of their work.  

Emotion Birds: Kindergarten

The 4th nine weeks has a lot of skill checking for kindergarten!  I don't want it to be repeats of projects though!!  I really love this lesson.  I start by talking to them about moods/emotions.  We discuss what colors would be good to represent which emotion.  I really is a fun discussion...and you can see how much they've grown by their thought process!  

After we make a chart of what colors go with which emotion....I reviewed spirals.  They then created a background of spirals using the colors of the emotion they chose to show. 

Next they selected paper out of the scrap box to create their bird. This is a new thing for my kindergarten students.  Usually with collage, I have paper pulled for them to use prior to class, but I wanted to make sure they'd be ready for 1st grade when they must select their own from the scrap box!  We reviewed the colors once again to make sure they would pick the right colors for their emotion(most of them did?!? ha ha).  I did a demo on how to create their birds, reviewed scissor safety, and reviewed proper glue use.  I was thrilled that the birds did each have their own little personality.