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!!
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