cutting with kinders!

The kinders have started their second rotation with me this week and they are cutting and gluing with me for the first time... and it is going wonderfully!

So many of the kids are doing a fantastic job of holding, opening/closing, and following their drawn lines. This is not necessarily the case every year, so a big shout out to kindergarten teachers and families that have got these little ones on their way:)

I'm using the work of Marcos Roman as the inspiration for this project. I've used his work before with a couple different grade levels. He recently did a series of mask portraits for #inktober and has been posting them on instagram as he makes them. We focus on one image in particular and look at how he uses round shapes (ovals) , how he decorates them with patterns, and how one of the shapes looks like a face. We then go through and identify the various face parts in the collage Marco made.

To start the project, I actually pre-draw the oval/egg face shape. We go through and add the face parts and patterns with a pencil (or white color stick if on black paper). I encourage the kids to make choices with each step- what shape will they use for the nose? the ears? the mouth?, and so on.

The classes working on white paper then use a marker to make the lines bold and those working on black go over their lines with white once more.

Students then draw an oval as big as they can on primary color sheets of paper and add line patterns to each.

Then we are ready to cut! I model how to hold the scissors, opening & closing, and using the hand holding the paper to turn it as we cut. Once everything is cut out, we plan where the primary color shapes will go and then where the face will go. I model using a gluestick, how to raise the glue level, how to do the gluing on the paper and not the table surface, and hold to press the parts on.

When everything is done and kids have cleaned up, some classes have had enough time to collaboratively build a few sentences that explain what we did for their teachers. This has been a great way to get many kids involved in using the vocabulary of the day:)

trying out texture!

The kinders have been experimenting with texture in their most recent rotation with me. We met before spring break and did one project and then this week (after a 3 week break) we continued investigating what texture is and how you can use it in art.

The first lesson was based on a travel poster series by the Filipino group of Team Manila. Over 1/3 of our students have Filipino ties, so it's always great to share contemporary art from there with them. We looked at one poster in particular and talked about the patterns found on sailboats called vintas in the Philippines. We then got into texture and students volunteered to touch items around the room and described how they felt.

We then drew out the basics of the composition together on styrofoam plates, so we could turn the image into a colorful relief print. We added lines to the sail and students added patterns of their choosing to them. After demonstrating how to hold the marker when coloring on styrofoam, the kids filled their scenes with water soluble marker colors.

Everyone then transferred their image onto a piece of smooth watercolor paper with my help to wet the paper and to hold the paper still as they rubbed.

This week, we have been looking at an illustration by super rad LA based artist, illustrator, and animation designer Kevin Dart. We started by looking at one of his image and spending almost 10 minutes identifying things, shapes, and colors in the landscape. As we identified items, I wrote them on the board next to the image, so the kids could see the wealth of vocabulary present in the image. We used this image as inspiration for a landscape drawing. Instead of using polka dot patterns for the centers of the flowers, we used plastic texture plates to add patterns in those spots. I also encouraged students to add little lines to their field to give that area a sense of grass like texture.

And one last thing! Did a test today using students drawings as backdrops for stop motion shorts. The flying bee was done first against a green screen, took a photo of a student drawing, and then combined the two. My hope is to do much more of this- having kids make their drawings come alive, as a choice center at the end of lessons. We'll see how it shakes out this year:) 

castles with kinders.

This week I got to work with a few kinders again. 3rd week in a row with these kiddos due to our parent conference schedule. We continued working with shapes- both natural and geometric, but I put away the scissors and glue for this one:)

I shared a print by Japanese artist Keiko Minami with them. Keiko lived until she was well into her 90s and during her lifetime she made some wonderfully minimal scenes of nature. Very light. Very delicate. We talked about how this one is an example of a landscape in art and we took a few minutes to identify the geometric shapes and patterns she used to create the scene.

The project was done in 3 basic steps- we drew  the basic elements in pencil, used marker to define the shapes and to add patterns, and then we used crayons to add the bushes up front and to add color variety to the castle. With this last step, we focuses on learning how to press hard and soft to make the crayon colors look light and dark.

I had time with a couple classes to create sentences together at the end. We built most of the sentence together, sounding out the words and making finger spaces between them. We then came up with a list of things that we made our drawing with, I wrote these on the board, and students picked one of the words to complete their sentence.

scary symmetry.

I get to play with my kinders again this week. We are focusing on some major concepts- primary colors, geometric shapes, and symmetry. All those, while making some scary/funny creatures out of cut paper:)

The lesson starts with a quick review of how we used line to make shapes in our earlier lessons. I then introduce them to geometric shapes- I draw them on my board and they tell me what the shapes are. I draw triangles in different ways and the rectangle both vertically and horizontally and see if they still know those shapes;)

Then we look at a short video, a cool commercial really, for Stack and Scare blocks by Invisible Creature. Normally, kids can't shouldn't call out in my class, but I tell them that when they see a shape they know, to say it out loud. They kids love the video and the music, and by clocking in at just under 2 minutes, it's a sweet little hook to get them jazzed about making creatures with shapes.

For this project I have all the shapes pre-cut. Next week they are going to start working on cutting skills, but I just want them to get familiar with what they can do with these shapes this week.

When my classes come in, I already have a few cut shapes for each of them at their tables. Each of them is one of the primary colors, so I visit this right before diving in to play with our shapes. I show the classes some examples that I have done, as well as other kinders, and I emphasize that their creature can be arranged any way they like, as long as one side matches the other.

I have the students plan out/play with their shapes before doing any gluing at all. I demonstrate moving things around on mine after I have all my shapes placed. Once they are satisfied with their creature, they glue the pieces in place.

Students then add line patterns to some of their shapes, using primary color construction paper crayons.

If we have time at the end, I guide them in writing a sentence about their project.