Dot Day Collaborative Painting

Back in September, my PYP classes celebrated International Dot Day with Peter H. Reynold's fabulous book "The Dot". I had posted previously about the dots that my Kindergarten and Grade 1 students created that were then framed to make an installation piece. I would also like to share what my Grade 3 students were creating during that same time as it was good fun and resulted in some beautiful work!

We had just finished up discussing Kandinsky and his famous circles while reviewing color mixing and complementary colors, so International Dot Day was a perfect time to put previous knowledge to good use!

To start off we read the book "The Dot" together and discussed the students thoughts about the story.
We focused on how mistakes in art should be thought of as an opportunity to make something new, not an excuse to give up.

I then split the students into two groups and gave each group a large piece of paper. Each group was instructed to make a circle painting full of patterns and colors of their choice, while being supportive and respectful of all their group members.

The students shared their ideas and worked hard together to create these colorful master pieces! 

International Dot Day

I love the book "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds, it is such a heartwarming story about how powerful art can be. As I am sure most of you know, International Dot Day takes place on September 15th. It is meant to be a celebration of creativity and individuality. What a perfect thing to acknowledge and celebrate in visual arts class!

During the week of International Dot Day, I read "The Dot" with my P1 and P2 classes and they loved it! After a short discussion of the book and brainstorming all the different types of possible dots that we could make, the students sat at their tables where I had provided paper and a variety of materials for them to choose from. I encouraged them with a line from the story, "Just make a mark, and see where it takes you."

The students had so much fun printing, coloring, and painting a variety of dots on their papers. 

The students were very engaged and took the project very seriously. Everyone wanted to come up with something new and different, not one dot looked the same as the other! 

              

They really had fun with this, it is definitely a lesson I will teach again!

A few weeks after their beautiful dots were born, I framed them all in 4x6 clear frames. I hung the colorful dots on the wall to make one giant dot, celebrating the students' unique mark making process. The P1-2 classes were thrilled to see their art displayed this way, and I am so proud of their hard work!