Kinder Turkeys: Red + Yellow = Mixing Secondary Colors!

To combine a seasonal theme with skill building, I came up with these turkey paintings. Rather than have the kinders stamp their hands into paint and make a hand print, I decided that they could trace their hands with pencils, then mix colors RED and YELLOW to make the secondary color ORANGE and paint in their shape. 

open hand turkey

closed hand turkey with red snood

At circle we read Run, Turkey, Run! (it worked fine, but I think I'd like another book if I do this lesson again... something that doesn't make me feel bad about eating turkeys). 

Next, I modeled how to write a message, my name, and the date in marker along the border. 

Then, how to trace my hand - open and closed feathers were their choice. I also showed how to draw stick legs, triangle nose, and snood. (Snoods can be painted in red paint with one stroke!)

Lastly, how to use the color wheel palettes to mix the two colors. 

After showing them how they'd clean up their palette and brush, I sent them to seats. 

Materials I put out at tables:

-pre-cut and glued green and orange paper (6x6" green on 9x9" orange paper - cut from 12x18" pieces)

-markers to write a message/date/name in the border

-pencil for the hand trace

When students finished tracing their hands, I then handed them 

-a laminated color wheel "palette" that had red and yellow tempera paint on it.* 

-a brush 

-paper towel  (No need for water cups!!)

After students were finished painting, they practiced cleaning off the laminated color wheel with a sponge in the sink, putting it on the drying rack, cleaning their paint brush and leaving it hair up in the cup to dry. 

Here you can see the laminated color wheel palette! 

I have them leave their paintings at their table OR put them on their name-tagged carpet square at circle. Then they could choose free-draw with markers or free-dough, which is just a ball of Crayola play-dough on a tray that I have available. 

*FUNNY STORY.... so after I cut and glued 40 of these paper squares and set up the palettes for the first class, I then tried my sample. And that's when I realized that yellow paint doesn't show up on green paper very well. And that the green paper also made the orange looked like brown. Ha. My jaw dropped and I yelled at myself "This is why you try it yourself FIRST!" But luckily, not too big of a deal! Turkeys are brown after all! It almost looked like I planned it on purpose! What I did to make the tempera yellow pop a little more was to drop a little acrylic yellow paint into it. I was lucky this time! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Form - Designing a Place-scape

Dots make lines.

When lines intersect they make shapes.

When shapes are in the third dimension they make form!

All grades designed place-scapes using large paper, paper strips, tape, staples, and scissors. I also put out markers in case they wanted to draw into their places. We had some road lines and people drawn in. 

When I walked kindergarten upstairs I told them to look for curvy lines around them to help build schema.

Then, we read Dr. Seuss's Oh the Places You'll Go! for inspiration for unique places with repetition of curved and straight lines. (I skipped a few pages in the middle after the Waiting Place, then jumped back in when it was upbeat again.)

I showed students how to make flat paper pop into third dimension by twisting, folding, rolling, curling. 

I taught two methods of adhesion: tape and staples. 

They designed roller coasters, water parks, skate parks, towns, and some unknown mysterious places. 

The concentration was so focused and engaged. I loved how creative they were. Some of my toughest customers in 3rd grade said this was "the best art lesson ever." Many of the E1 students even moved onto the floor and make large cooperative places with friends. I totally recommend this lesson. We're going to be continuing with something like it next week!  

   

                                    

                                

Geometric and Organic Shape Collages

Dots make lines. 

When lines intersect, they make shapes!

This week we read The Shape of my Heart  by Mark Sperring, which is about seeing the shapes in the neighborhood around us. Abstract shapes like square and circle, as well as recognizable organic shapes like eye shape and hand shape. 

Because we live in New England and the trees are changing color, I chose to make my example drawing the shape of a tree. 

I showed how to cut geometric shapes with scissors --even drawing them first by hand or with stencil-- as well as tearing the paper for soft organic shapes. 

Then I introduced the glue sponge! And showed how to press into the sponge like a stamp, then stick it on the paper. 

We had many other trees designed, and even had a few squirrels hiding in the folded leaves. 

Overall, success!!

   3rd grader who cut out a leopard and made fringe with paint sample cards. 

Ukranian Eggs: Pysaty Folk Design

More lines, colors, shapes, and patterns!

This Easter-timed, but culturally-focused work follows our discussion about story-telling in art.

Each color and pattern on a Ukranian egg represents a story. The word pysaty itself means "to write" with beeswax.

I found this fabulous, old-school Reading Rainbow featuring Patricia Polacco dying pysaty after they read her book, Rechenka's Eggs.

I did this lesson with Kinderhaus first, then tried it with older grades. I wasn't planning on doing it with Middle School, but when they saw the eggs they wanted to, too. A few middle school girls are even planned an egg hunt for the Kindergarteners using the eggs they designed.

I have found that although the watercolor crayon-resist method would make the most sense in this lesson, students have more control of their designs when they just use marker.

Of course another egg-stention of this lesson would be to try to actually dye the eggs in the traditional method, but I wasn't ready for that this year. We'll see about next year.

At the bottom of this post, I copied the symbols and color meanings of the designs from http://graphicoriginals.com/history.html.

Symbols    drawings of symbols (will open in a new window)
Sun, circles- life, warmth and the love of God
Swastika- a common motif for happiness, blessings, good fortune and good will.
Tripod- a solar symbol known from Trypillian times meaning a trinity: birth, life, death; man, woman, child; the magical number 3
Star or rose-usually 8 pointed but also 6 and 5 pointed in ancient times signifying purity, life, the giver of light, the center of all knowledge, beauty, elegance and perfection; the eye or divine will of God, symbol of God's love for man. Today sun and cosmic symbols signify happiness, prosperity and good fortune
Triangles-a trinity; formerly air, fire, water or the heavens, earth and air. Now the Holy Trinity is meant.
Lines-unbroken to not break the thread of life
Sieve-dividing good from evil
Basket-contained knowledge, motherhood, the giver of life and gifts
Rakes-rays from the sun, reference to harvest
Spirals-divinity or immortality
Grape vine-continuity, good fellowship and strong, loyal love; as the wine of communion-the love of God and of Christ for mankind
Deer- leadership, masculinity and victory
Horse- an ancient sign for the sun, believed in ancient times to pull the sun across the sky; therefore, wealth, properity, speed and endurance
Ram- perseverence, dignity, leadership and strength
Rooster- coming good fortune, for men it predicts a rich married life with many children
Hen- fertility
Spider-patience, artistry and industry
Hen's feet-protection of the earth toward her young; guidance of the young in their search for knowledge
Horns-nobility, wisdom and triumph over problems; an implication of manhood and leadership
Wolves' teeth-loyalty, wisdom and a firm grip
Churches-appeared at the time of Christianity, used only in western Ukraine
Birds- precursors of spring
Fish- symbol for Christ and Christians
Netting- separating good from evil
Crosses-in many shapes, usually to represent Christ's suffering
Meander lines- eternal life
Ladders- prayer and rising to Heaven
Wheat- generous harvest
Pine needles- eternal life
Dots- stars and constellations
Flowers- wisdom, elegance and beauty
Leaves and flowers- life and growth

Colors
White-purity, virginity, innocence and birth
Green-renewal, spring, hope, health and victory of life over death, freedom from bondage
Yellow-light and purity, harvest, warmth, wisdom, youth
Orange-endurance, strength, ambition, the everlasting sun, the red of passion tempered by the yellow of wisdom
Red-a positive color for passion, action, fire, spiritual awakening, divine love, used especially for children and youth
Black- constancy, eternity, used with white as respect for departed souls, also fear or ignorance
Purple- fasting, faith, patience and trust
Brown- mother earth, bringing forth bountiful gifts
Blue- blue skies, life-giving air, is a talisman of good health
Pink- success, contentment
4 or more colors- family happiness, peace and love