Last week was my first class with my first graders in two weeks! They were eager to get back into their artwork. Within a shorter class due to a half day, students made amazing Georgia O'Keefe inspired pieces with oil pastels. I showed them her beautiful paintings and students told me what they observed about her style. They all noticed that her paintings usually have one flower and are a close up of it. I provided some students with "view finders" to help them ignore the background and focus on one flower for their composition. They were excited to work from observation, and each group of students had a vase of fresh flowers to work from. They look great!
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Last week, the second graders continued artwork inspired by, and created for the 4th grade production of the Lion King. Since class was a bit shorter due to a half day, second graders worked diligently to make their own unique stamps inspired by Kente Cloth. Some of their stamps will be used to decorate belts for the lions to wear. Everyone will get to use their stamps and take them home, for reuse this coming week. They did a really nice job creating a design out of positive and negative space. When they finished up with their stamps, they worked together to string necklaces and bracelets out of their hand rolled beads from the week prior.
This was another week broken up by scheduling due to the PSSA, so sadly I was unable to teach my first kindergarten class in addition to my first grade classes. Luckily, the kindergarten teacher was able to keep our kids on track and filled students in on the lesson.
For my remaining kindergartens, we talked about the traditions of Buddhists and Hindus creating mandalas out of sand, and how wishes and prayers are placed into the sand while they create it and then released back into the earth when they're done, by pouring the sand into a nearby river. I talked about both religions valuing nature, and kindness to all, and how the mandala sign can be found in nature and is often replicated in architecture. Students made observations about mandala symbols and noticed that they are circles, and they are made up of many shapes, usually shapes from nature like leaves, trees, swirls, etc. They also noticed that the mandalas have patterns in them. I talked to them about radial symmetry- how the mandalas are symmetrical starting from the middle point and extending to the outer edge. Using a circular grid of dots, students designed their own mandalas starting in the middle and repeating their patterns to create radial symmetry. I am honestly so impressed by their creations! The second graders have been asked to help create costumes for the 4th grade musical The Lion King Jr. They did an amazing job turning 2D paper into colorful 3D beads using pre painted and patterned paper and Mod Podge. Some students also designed their own. This coming week they will break off into groups to string necklaces and create more jewelry and costume accents. Students enjoyed listening to The Lion King as they worked :)
This past Friday, the kindergarteners traveled to Asia. They began class exploring books with each other and talking about what they'd learn. Students read about India, China, Japan, Korea, and more.
I then showed students examples of Chinese Ink Paintings and talked about VALUE, as being the range from dark to light within a color. I showed them a gray scale as well. Students told me that in order to make a color lighter you should add white paint and to make a color darker, you should add black. Since we were using ink, I demonstrated how to get a dark, medium and light value using water. All students watched me paint some bamboo that I brought in, since nature is often the subject of Chinese art. I was stunned at how well these turned out. Students worked in almost silence while I played music, and stroke by stroke, created paintings of a bamboo forests showing a great range of value and attention to detail. Great job kindergarten! PARENTS- this coming Friday we will do artwork from India. If your child has anything from Asia that they would like to share, I will allow them the time and space to do so. Thanks! The week of April 8th, the kindergarteners did an amazing job discussing art and exploring African artifacts, in addition to weaving their paper strips to create a personal paper kente cloth. After remembering the folktale of how kente cloth began (involving that famous spider Anansi) students set out to weave. When they were done, they explored artifacts from Africa ranging from wooden bowls, beaded dolls, various books, to an elephant mask from Kenya, and more. We gathered together to ask questions about the artifacts and art. Can art be something you use? Can art be something you play with? Why do people make art? I also asked them to share an artifact they explored and were curious about. Students hypothesized what their artifact was, and were asked if they think it is art. Students seemed to enjoy this "trip," and left with a broader understanding of what art can be. In one class we had a student prepare "3 fun fats about Egypt" and he shared them with the class. It's nice when the students can learn from each other!
The first graders did have art class on 4/8, and I was very impressed by their creativity. I introduced them to the artist Piet Mondrian and discussed how Mondrian wanted to be "the last artist", because he had figured it all out! His art work began as very simplified forms, using only vertical and horizontal lines and primary colors. I asked students to think of an object they would like to draw, and to fill the object with a Mondrian inspired pattern. The finished products are amazing!
Sorry for the late posts- please do not think that my student's have not been making art! The past two weeks have been the PSSA's, so there have been a few changes in schedules. Unfortunately my first graders have not been able to have art class, but I will see them before I know it. In the mean time, I am proud to say that the second grade portraits are finally complete. To review, they had a lesson on body proportions, face proportions, and aimed to either illustrate their person of interest for their biography, or their future self- when they grow up. They put time into thinking about relevant clues to include on the figure as well as in the background. Last week, they completed their work (it should be at home now), and they did an awesome job writing a short artist statement, and sharing their work with their peers.
On Friday, the kindergarteners packed up their things and traveled from Europe to Africa. As a group, we talked about the diversity of the continent. Students told me that Africa has to have more than one culture because there are so many countries. They learned about all of the language spoken in Africa as well. Students were excited to share what they know.
I told them that Africa is very diverse and each country has it's own people, culture, history, traditions and art. I wanted to give them idea of what some African art looks like, so I share photos and imagery on the presentation board shown below. Students were surprised to see the connection between Spanish artist, Picasso's paintings and African masks. I then talked to them about kente cloth and how each color and pattern has a meaning. They learned the origin story of kente cloth as well. Students them prepared paper strips, which they will weave next week. They were able to hold and observe sample kente cloth , although I did not want them to copy the geometric patterns. I asked them to use symbols and colors that mean something to them to decorate their paper. Students had time to look at the photos from Africa and explore, read and discuss new books in our art library. Next week we will weave our paper kente cloth mats and reflect on our journey. I have invited all students to share something about Africa. I will bring in a few artifacts (small instruments, statues, jewelry, etc.) to explore. PARENTS- if your child has any photographs or artifacts from Africa (that are not too fragile) I welcome your child to bring it to class on Friday April 8th to share. I would love for students to get the chance to present ideas and information. Thank you! This past week, the first graders dove deeper into the styles of Picasso and created their own Picasso portraits. I read them a short story about his life, and we studied some of his paintings. We then made a list of our observations. They had full freedom to create, design and distort their portraits. I don't know if I've ever been prouder of them- these portraits are full of creativity and style.
See if you can spot the Picasso Abraham Lincoln below! |