What better way to wrap up Spain than by studying Picasso? I began class by doing a picture walk through a book about Picasso when he was a child (I have to look up the author, sorry, will post later!) The story explained how he thought about the world in a differently way. He was a very curious child and liked to collect objects from nature and rearrange his toys. He would draw on the walls of his home (looking very similar to cave art) and would continuously get in trouble. Eventually his parents realized he was an artist! They supported his interest and he never stopped. I then showed students images of a few of Picasso's cubist portraits. They made observations such as "he used bright colors" and "he puts things in weird places!" Just like when he was a child- Picasso continued to paint look at the world differently and he created a new style of art. The kindergarteners then used brightly colored play doh and cookie cutters to create their own unique Picasso portraits!
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The first graders got in the mood for spring break by doing really beautiful paintings inspired by Picasso's "Bouquet of Peace". Note- these are not your ordinary bouquet of flowers! I pulled out my trusty color wheel and talked to students about a few new concepts: monochromatic and complimentary colors. Students were able to identify the pattern that complimentary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel- red and green, blue and orange and yellow and purple. In these bouquets, you should be able to find at least one the following flowers:
1. Monochromatic (light, medium and dark of one color) 2. Complimentary pair 3. Warm or cool colors Job well done! Second graders portraits are still underway. Our last class before spring break, we talked about face proportions. Students studied their neighbor's faces and worked diligently using handy dandy proportion charts to put everything in it's rightful place. This week- we'll begin to paint to bring these portraits to life!
Hello! How could I have forgotten to share the wonderful works of my first graders last week? I just realized and apologize for the delay. The first week of Matisse we talked about organic shapes. This past week, we looked at the figures in his paintings and recognized that they are cut "loosely", are not perfect and they are often in action, usually dancing. I asked the first graders to add Matisse-like figures to their works and other Matisse-like embellishments such as a border, star bursts, etc. When they were done, I challenged them to do a free draw with only organic shapes and they made some beautiful images!
Last Friday was a special day. Our next continent is Europe, and we began this lesson with a special guest from a parent- Alejandro. He was kind enough to take the time to prepare a wonderful, colorful and diverse presentation for all of the kindergarten grades. All four classes joined together to learn about what life is like in Spain. They saw videos of a flamenco dance as well as traditional folk dancing with flowers, and with sticks. The stick dancing follows the rhythm of the sun and the flower dancing helps encourage growth in the fields. They saw beautiful images of the landscape of both countryside and cityscapes. They loved watching a short video about the discovery of cave art by a 9 year old girl. Alejandro encouraged them to recognize that they are at the age of discovery, themselves!
We learned that lots of cultures traveled through Spain and left a piece of their culture there. The Roman concept of the arena changed over time from the spectator traditions of gladiators to bull fights, and the ever popular sport of futbol. Students saw a short clip of a girl who speaks Arabic and a girl who speaks Spanish. They soon realized how similar their languages are, with some words only differing in spelling. After class, students discussed what they saw, and they filled out a reflection page. We also made a venn diagram about differences and similarities between Spanish culture and many of our own cultures. Students that finished their reflection page tried their own individual venn diagrams. They are making some great connections! Next week they will have a project related to Spain. PARENTS: Since we will be in Europe, if your child wants to bring in an artifact to share from Europe, they can do so on this coming Friday the 18th. We only have time for one country but I would love to hear from students as well! Drawing people isn't easy- but it's all relative, right? Last week, the second graders began portraits. Our main goals for this project are:
- Draw the body in proportion - Draw ALL body parts ( we talked about how people often forget to draw small but very important body parts like the neck or ears) - The portrait should fill the page. Often times children draw things the same size they're used to and leave a ton of blank space when given a large piece of paper. I find it fascinating that we can draw bodies based on simple shapes. I showed students a few posters I made to demonstrate this. One class is working on drawing portraits of people they are studying for a biography project. The other two classes are doing full body self portraits of what they want to be when they grown up. They are all off to a good start. I provided them with templates to trace to help their bodies fill the page and stay in proportion. Sorry I don't have a lot of photos from this session but will capture more later. Looking forward to the coming week! After missing a week of art due to professional development, the kindergarteners refreshed their memory about Australia and Aboriginal dot painting. I read them the "Australia ABC's", and they did a wonderful job writing about their artwork for the first time. Two weeks later, students drew the symbols they used in their dot paintings and wrote about their work. Some wrote about the experience or process, while others wrote about the meaning of their symbolism. We began a few new routines last Friday, including getting our first stamps in our passports.
Next stop, Europe! Last week the first graders were introduced to the life and works of Henri Matisse. I read them the story "Henri's Scissors" by Jeanette Winter. We then talked about the difference between geometric shapes and organic shapes, which helped us name the shapes in Matisse's artwork. After observing samples of his paper cut outs, the students set out to create their own Matisse inspired compositions.
Work is still underway! Sorry for the late post! We missed art two weeks ago because I was out sick- stay healthy! However, last week, the second graders worked very nicely together to finish up their collaborative group projects. There were about 4 people in each group spread throughout all three classes. No one idea was the same. Check out the photos below to see how students incorporated at least 6 out of the 7 elements of art. Some took on the added challenge of including a pattern and symmetry.
Another job well done! |