Kindergarten is Playing in the Snow!

I wanted to revisit self portraits with kindergarten.  

I break down full body self portraits using shapes in a demo first.  Then I let the children go back and draw their body.   I then do another demo showing them how to add in details(eyes, nose, mouth, hats..etc).   I don't do step by step...."guided drawing" because  I feel that they become to robotic looking & lack the child's personality.
I love my kindergarten students...they are AMAZING!!!!!!!

        

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.

Fall Trees: Kindergarten

My Kindergartners are growing so quickly! 
   I was worried about the start of the school year when I heard that the classes were all going to be around 26 or 27 students.  We were use to smaller numbers in years past.  Though they've turned out to be a WONDERFUL group...I still am careful when planning my lessons. 
You have to consider class size + materials + ability + storage!

I start every Kindergarten lesson with a book....and have a ton of fall inspired stories!! 

PROJECT

The students were given light blue construction paper.  They were first asked to draw three  rectangles evenly spaced(I showed them to have a hand space between each tree.) that touched the bottom & went up toward the middle of the page.  This might seem like a bit much to ask of Kindergartners, but they can do it with a demo prior to starting.  

From the top of the rectangle to the top of the page, students are asked to create thin rectangles that go up diagonally.  Yes...I use the words diagonal, horizontal, and vertical starting the first day of class!  If you use it...so will they!  After students completed their drawing they were instructed to obtain a crayon box for their table....and use a brown or grey crayon to color their trees.  Last, I gave each table a trey with red & yellow tempera.  They used Q-Tips to apply the paint.  We also talked about what red & yellow make....and discussed warm colors.  

YEP!  I PACK AS MUCH AS I CAN INTO AN HOUR!!!  

Practicum Take Over!!!

'My practicum students created & taught their own lessons this week!!  It has been fun to watch them as they see success & areas that need improvement.  As a teacher of many many moons.....it is so energizing to see young educators start to discover who they are!!

2nd Grade
Ms. Wilson did a POP ART lesson focused on Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans.
The kids loved creating their own wacky flavors.
(Though one is Mr. E flavored...and the paint brush has red on it?? My blood?)

1st Grade

Ms. Saunders focused her lessons on Picasso & him abstracted portraits.

The students laughed so much as they created versions of themselves with eyes, ears, and mouths going every which way!  They also enjoyed using construction paper crayons.

Ms. Alday read to the students a story about scarecrows.  The students focused on using shapes to create their works of art.  They also used construction paper crayons.  

The practicum students are doing an amazing job...and my students are really enjoying them being here at our school!!  It is really a win-win situation if you are on the fence about practicum students!! 

Fish Paintings: Kindergarten

Oh how Kindergarten loves to paint!!  We did a very controlled collaborative painting the first week of school...but this is the first time they've gone at it in a full fledged lesson! We are about 5 or 6 weeks into the school year now....so they've learned a great deal.  They also are very confident with our fish/sea theme we've been working on this 9 weeks.  After a demo & explanation of painting expectations & procedures...they students got to work! 

THE RESULTS...BEAUTIFUL!!!!

I use the wide bottom tumbler cups from Dollar Tree/Dollar General(have had them for years and years).  I only fill them about 3 or 4 inches full of water(in case of spills.

We use the "Biggie" watercolor sets with 4 colors.  Tempera cakes would work also. It is more getting them use to holding a brush, rinsing out the brush, ...etc. 

I do not do step by step exactly...I do a demo and then let them do it.  I don't want all the pictures to look exactly the same...but I do believe in guidance for my kinders!!!

This girls fish is super fun..and very different from the others.

 LOVE IT!

It is amazing how so precise some of the kids are at such a young age!

Sharing is caring!! Also...I know...I need to get new paints!!(get the refills!!..cuts down on cost)

IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY FEARS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT PAINTING WITH KINDERGARTEN...PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT OR CONTACT ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!

Time for Review: Kindergarten

So we have a month left of school, and I'm wanting to start reviewing some skills/concepts with my kindergarten before summer break.  I knew that they had their kindergarten graduation coming up....so I asked the kindergarten team if they had a theme or an idea of something to help fill up the background of the stage for their performance.  They suggested flowers.  I like to try to help/connect with classroom teachers where I can...and where appropriate in my curriculum.  This was an easy fit!!

I wanted to have a project where I could review painting procedures, work on filling up their page, and practice our lines.  This did that for me!!!  They are doing great with painting & lines, but filling up their page is a challenge for many of them. 

Kindergarten is Sleeping!

This week I read "RUSSELL THE SHEEP".   In it, Russell is having trouble going to sleep, and tries sleeping in different places..a pillow..and counting different things.  This is my jumping off point for the lesson.  I don't like having my students copy illustrators' images.  I wanted them to create a  self portrait while sleeping.  We've not worked much with interior spaces, so I thought that this was a great opportunity to practice.  We looked at many images of bedrooms.  We talked about perspective & the need for things to be on the floor.  Many wrestled with this, but I loved the results no matter!!! When you introduce more complex ideas like these at young ages, really your just giving them opportunity to attempt something outside of their "comfort zone".  There is no "failing"....it is only a chance to try something new!  

Color Explosion: Kindergarten

As promised...I'm going to break my all school art show down into grade levels. Here are my kindergarten students.  They are truly amazing artists!!

The students were allowed to chose from landscapes with houses, Warhol's cats(crayon & watercolor), Doughnuts(crayon and watercolor), and Kandinsky painting to music(tempera).

HERE ARE SOME CLOSE UPS!