After a very successful study of the primary colors (and a lot of snow days!), the interactive color wheel was taken out again to help students learn all about the secondary colors. I took all of the pie pieces off of the color wheel, and asked for student volunteers to choose one primary color and put it back in its correct spot. Both classes were able to do this successfully and effortlessly. When all three primary colors were back on the color wheel, it was time to introduce the secondary colors. What better way to do that than to read the book "Mouse Paint" by Ellen Stoll Walsh? Here is a YouTube video that I found of the book being read aloud: After reading "Mouse Paint," we reviewed which primary colors make which secondary colors when mixed, and then students got to put the secondary colors in their correct spots on the color wheel. I really can't stress how great the interactive color wheel has been. The students really love it! Students spent the remainder of the class using Crayola Twistables to make a color wheel of their own: Here are a couple of samples of the finished product: When students arrived for class the following week, we began with a review of primary and secondary colors and the color wheel. Once it was clear that everyone remembered and understood the primary and secondary colors, and knew which two colors to mix to make each secondary color, it was time to start their own Mouse Paint. As I walked around and demonstrated on a hand-held white board, students used a black crayon to draw their own mouse on a piece of drawing paper (sorry no photos since I was demonstrating). When the mice had been drawn, students gathered for a painting demonstration. They were going to be using tempera cakes, which they had used for their Shape Castles, but this time something was different. I asked the students if they could notice what was different about the paint this time. They gave their answer in an instant: there were only three colors in the tray! I asked what colors, and they replied, "Red, yellow, and blue!" Which are the.... "Primary colors!" I told them that they would be required to use SIX colors in their painting - how in the world would they do that if there were only three in the tray?! "Mix the primary colors!" I showed them how to mix colors of paint directly on their paper, and they spent the rest of the class (which wasn't very long) mixing and painting, painting and mixing. Students could paint the background any way they liked, as long as they left the mouse white and used all six colors on the color wheel. Students in both classes were excited to return the following week (or three weeks later, as it was, due to snow days!) to continue. After a quick review (the snow hadn't robbed their little brains of their knowledge of primary and secondary colors, thank goodness!), they were off! And here are the final results... nice work, Kindergarten! (Click to enlarge)*
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Although it is now almost February, and the last project featured on the Kindergarten blog was Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie, students have been very busy in the art room! In December, they made beautiful clay ornaments. Unfortunately, everything goes so quickly during those lessons, I was unable to grab my camera to snap any pictures. You can, however, read about the whole clay experience here. When we returned from December break, Kindergarten students started learning about the color wheel. We started with primary colors. I took out my interactive foam board color wheel, and removed all of the colored pie pieces. I asked for student volunteers to come up and choose one primary color to put back onto the wheel. I was very impressed with the number of students who already knew what the primary colors were! Once the red, yellow, and blue pieces were back in their spots on the color wheel, I told the students that the rest of the colors (orange, green, and purple) were going to take a little nap, and piled them up off to the side. The first part of the primary printmaking project was to cut three squares and/or rectangles from old sheet music and glue them onto a white piece of paper. Once that was done, the next step involved using primary colored crayons to color over the music notes. Students were allowed to use any combination of the three colors they wished on each square/rectangle. The following week, students were given an introduction to printmaking. They learned about its concept, and were given a demonstration to see how they would be doing their own version of printmaking on their primary colored music notes. The very first step was to mount the white paper from the previous week onto a piece of black paper to give it a nice boarder. While demonstrating, I asked the students where I should place the white piece (Way over here? Way up here? How about down here?). They answered with a chorus of "Nooooooooo!" and told me that I needed to put it right in the middle. Smart kids! For the printmaking part, I cut 3x3" pieces of cardboard, and showed the students how to hold it at the top and do one quick dip into the ink (the "ink" was actually washable liquid tempera paint). Once the bottom of the cardboard had been "inked," students watched as I printed lines around each of my three music note shapes. I made sure they understood that one dip in the ink goes a very long way, and that they might not even need to do a second dip. Students were very eager to try it themselves, and really loved it once they got started. In both classes, as soon as they began, you could hear a pin drop! Students were focusing, concentrating, and having a blast while they created their prints. The finished pieces are stunning! Check them out in the gallery below (click to enlarge): Excellent work, Kindergarteners! Next up, you guessed it, secondary colors!
For Thanksgiving, I wanted to do a fun, non-turkey, project with Kindergarten students. This one-day, mixed media pumpkin pie was a great lesson to introduce students to the art of collage and also to using mixed media to create art. To start, each student received a paper plate. They first drew a circle around the inner rim of the plate with brown crayon and then colored the outer rim. I showed the students how to hold their crayon sideways and color against the ridges to create the look of a pie crust. Once the "crust" was finished, students used paintbrushes to apply a layer of water- glue to the inner circle of their plate. They then covered the glue with small pieces of orange tissue paper. Students continued to layer glue and tissue as they filled their plates. When the whole inner circle of the plate was covered with orange tissue paper, another layer of water-glue was added on top of the tissue. I sprinkled glitter over each pie to look like sparkly cinnamon, and the students pulled a cotton ball apart and pressed it onto the middle for whipped cream. All students worked really hard on their pies, and were very proud of them! They certainly looked good enough to eat!
After learning all about lines, Kindergarten students began to study shapes. They learned that when a line goes for a walk and comes back home, a shape is created. Students were asked to think of all the different types of shapes they knew, and I was most impressed to hear some of them say hexagon and rhombus! For this lesson, we were keeping it simple. First, we read the book "When a Line Bends... A Shape Begins," written by Rhonda Gowler Greene, and illustrated by James Kaczman. Next, students were shown pictures and illustrations of castles and were asked to point out the different shapes that they noticed when looking at the pictures. They saw rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles. After that, students were shown how to use those simple shapes to draw their own imaginary castle with a black crayon. Following the demonstration, students were eager to get started! The drawings came out fantastic, and when the students arrived the following week, everyone was very excited to start painting! Kindergarteners had already used tempera cakes for their dot projects, so after a quick refresher, they got right to work. The finished products are beautiful! Great job, Kindergarteners!
Kindergarten students have been so busy in the art room! After working on their Perfect Square projects, Kindergarteners completed a series of mini-lessons to prepare for a bigger project. We began the first mini-lesson by reading the book, "The Dot," by Peter H. Reynolds: After discussing the book, students were given a demonstration on how to paint their own dots using tempera cakes. We were out of orange tempera cakes, so the students even learned how to mix red and yellow to make orange! I gave them a little time to practice getting used to the process so that they were ready to go for the next class. Students had the freedom to paint their dots however they wished. When students came to class the following week, they were given a choice of colors on which they were to mount their dots. I told them to really think about what color would look best surrounding their artwork, and had them experiment with a few until they chose the one they thought was best. The finished pieces came out beautiful and unique! After finishing their dots, students segued into the next mini-lesson: lines. They learned that "A line is a dot that went for a walk." - Paul Klee. We discussed straight, wavy, curved, and zig-zag lines. Before putting "pen to paper," students participated in two activities. First, everyone stood in the carpet area and turned their bodies into lines. They did straight lines by putting their arms tight by their sides; they made two straight lines by standing straight and stretching their arms out to the sides; they made straight diagonal lines by leaning to one side; they made curvy lines by arching forwards, backwards, and side-to-side; they made zig-zag lines by drawing in the air with their fingers; and they made wavy lines by making wavy movements. It was a lot of fun, and I wish I had pictures! For the second activity, students sat on the rug and pointed to the sky with the hand they use to write with. They then put their other hand flat on the rug and were shown how to use the pointer finger of their writing hand to "trace" their other hand. After completing the activity once or twice, students realized that they had just "drawn" a long, wavy and curvy line! Students were finally able to put their new knowledge to test on paper. They traced their hands in the center, and sectioned the paper into four by folding. Each section was filled with a specific type of line repeatedly, and the center of the hand was filled with whatever type or types of line or lines they wished. Here are a few works in progress: Students continued their exploration of line over the next couple of classes. The first thing we did was read the book "Lines that Wiggle," by Candace Whitman. After discussing the book, each student was given a 10x10" square of white paper to begin the next mini-lesson. I demonstrated how they were going to draw five lines on their paper: two from corner to corner diagonally, and one each from top to bottom and side to side. After showing students a few different examples of how the lines could be drawn, students were directed to draw each line, one at a time with a black Sharpie. Next, students were given a small black frame and were asked to discover what happened to the lines inside the frame when they put it down onto their paper. Imagine that, the lines turned into shapes! Students then moved the frame around until they found a spot where they thought it made the most interesting shapes. The frames were then glued into place and students began using different colored crayons to color in the different shapes. Once all of the shapes within the frame were colored in, students then chose a color to mount their finished piece on. Amazing work, Kindergarten!!
I am so happy that you are here at Fales for Kindergarten and that we will be working together to make beautiful works of art! We will have an adventurous year as we explore and discover many new things. When I was in Kindergarten in Westborough, it was at the Forbes School, which is now headquarters for all of the schools in Westborough, and it is also the Police Station. My teacher was Mrs. Lalone, and her class was in the Lilac Room (my favorite color!). I really loved Kindergarten, and I hope you do, too!
Here is my school picture from Kindergarten. My mother made my dress, and as you can see, she even sewed my name onto the front! I didn't wear my hair combed to the side as it is in the picture - the photographers combed it like that, and my mom wasn't to happy! |