Texture Monsters

At the beginning of the school year the focus for P1 students is learning about and experimenting with the elements of art, then using that knowledge throughout the rest of the year to inform their work.

This lesson was started after the students played a short game involving different textures. I had a box filled with different materials and labels on the classroom carpet with words like "soft" "hard" "rough" or "bumpy". The students took turns taking an item from the box and deciding which texture word it fit with best.

After our game and discussing how each item felt, I began demonstrating what visual texture is by using a textured plate and rubbing it with crayons. The students practiced doing this multiple times in their classroom sketchbooks as seen below:

When the students finished their texture rubbings, we met back on the carpet and read the book Where The Wild Things Are. As we were reading together, I would stop and ask the students what kinds of textures they could imagine with the different monsters throughout the story.

After reading and discussing the variety of imaginative monsters, the students worked in their sketchbooks to create their own creature with a variety of line and visual texture using crayons, markers, and textured plates.

Here are a few examples of their finished textured monsters. I love the creative results!

Clay Dali Portraits

This is was one of my favorite lessons in Kindergarten this year. I don't think myself or my students have ever laughed so much during a class period before.

I decided to introduce my little kinders to my absolute favorite artist, Salvador Dali. We viewed some of his surrealist paintings and discussed how imaginative they were. I also showed them a few pictures of the famous painter himself and they fell in love with his mustache!

Then came the giggles. I did a demonstration for the kids on how to roll and pinch their clay into a flat oval for the portraits face. We used rolled paper for the nose, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners for the mustache. The kids loved it!

I only have one picture of this particular project from the art show, we were having too much fun to stop and take photos during work time!

The students still talk about this project and how much they love Dali. He's now an artist they will never forget!

Kindergarten Architecture Prints

I stumbled across this art lesson while trying to come up with some new ideas for printmaking with my Kindergarten students. The original lesson can be found here: Smartest Artists. I really liked the idea of using simple materials to get a bold line for the architecture print.

At the beginning of the school year I had ordered a great book called "Roberto: The Insect Architect" by Nina Laden and have been wanting to share it in my classes for some time. I thought it would go great with this printing lesson! However, the book is quite lengthy for a Kindergarten class, so we mostly talked about the fun illustrations and different types of architecture seen through out the story.

After our book discussion, I asked the students about the different kinds of houses that they know. They described shapes, sizes, and materials that houses are built from. I then did a demonstration of how to print different lines and shapes on the paper to create a house.

Kindergartners began printing after the demonstration. They were really enthusiastic and the only materials used to print were different sizes of cardboard and recycled bottle caps for circles.

During the next class period we reviewed the different types of architecture discussed during the story and colored in the printed houses with crayon.

             

            

Texture Projects

I recently introduced the art element of texture to my Kindergarten classes. I began by passing around different items (cotton, sand paper, etc.) and we discussed how each different item felt. I then described how in art there are two types of texture, actual and visual.

For our first project we worked with visual texture. The students used plastic textured templates to rub with crayons underneath their paper. They were so excited as the patterns became visible. I also encouraged them to use as many different colors as possible and cover all of the white spaces on their papers.

The next part of this project I actually saw via Pinterest, and it really worked out great with the students. I passed out small pieces of clay that were to be rolled into balls. The students then pressed them into their plastic templates to see and feel the texture. We then glued the clay onto the papers. It was really an awesome way for the kids to see both actual and visual textures. 

For our next project, I wanted to start using more clay. At the beginning of class I read the book The Mitten by Jan Brett. We talked about each animal and how it would feel. My favorite animal in that book is the hedgehog, and what a great animal to discuss with texture! 

I demonstrated for the students how to roll and pinch the bodies of their clay hedgehogs. Eyes and toothpicks were then pressed in. During the second class, we painted them. I absolutely love how each one looks so different! 

                       

Both my students and myself loved this project. They are hilarious! 

Kindergarten Fall Trees

This project was an idea that stemmed from a lesson I viewed on Pinterest. The lesson involved sponge paint with fall trees. I decided to tweak it a bit and take it a step farther in order to incorporate a background as well.

The Kindergarten classes always do a unit on seasons with their home room teacher. I love to incorporate what they are already learning in their classrooms into my art lessons, and this fit perfectly!

As a class we discussed the colors of the fall season and what happens to the trees during that time. After looking at and talking about different pictures of trees, it was time for the fun to begin. Students made small and large lines with a brown marker on their paper. After that, they sponge painted red, orange, and yellow leaves with round brushes.

During the next class period, we reviewed the season of fall again. They were given a new piece of paper and traced leaf templates on top. Students then used the season's colors and painted with water color around their tracings. Later, I mounted their initial painting on top of the second and they turned out stunning! I actually used them for the art show at the beginning of the year.

My goofy class being proud of their work at the art show!

Kindergarten Dinosaurs

This project worked out great for my Kindergarten students. It took two class periods and we had so much fun! Before starting the dinosaur part of this activity, we began by reviewing the secondary color green.

In order to review, I read the book "Green" by Laura Vaccaro Seeger to the class. The students loved the pictures as we went through the story.

After I read the book and we discussed the pictures, students were sent to their seats to mix green on their papers. They painted their whole page yellow first, then mixed blue on the top to make green. Even though this was a review, I heard so many "oo's" and "ahh's" as their papers changed color.

The students then used plastic forks to scratch in some texture to their paint. There was a lot of giggling going on while using cutlery instead of brushes!

During the second class period, students used pre-cut dinosaur templates to trace on top of their green painted papers. They cut out their dinosaur and created a background by cutting colored construction paper. Many students added volcanoes, palm trees, and other creative ideas to their pictures.     



I really enjoyed this lesson for Kindergarten students. So many important concepts were practiced and they had a lot of creative freedom. And who doesn't love dinosaurs? 

Beautiful Oops

I just read the book Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg with my Kindergarten classes. Every art teacher should own this book! It is as the title suggests, a beautiful story about how wonderful making mistakes can be. I always tell my students, "It's not a mistake, it's an opportunity!" and this little story fit in right along with my motto.

After exploring the pictures and making creative guesses about what each splat, spill, or blob could be turned into, we created an "Oops" of our own.

The day before their class, I had made an "Oops" on different pieces of paper for the students. Each individual paper had a paint splatter of a different color, shape, or line.

 My Kinders were instructed to use their paint splatter in order to create an image, object, or picture. Their amazing imaginations went to work. It was exciting to see the students so engaged and I'm happy to share their creativity!

 Aren't these just too much fun? If you don't have Beautiful Oops in your library, I suggest ordering it. Great book for any art teacher!