Clay Pinch Pots

Students used clay for the first time to create small clay pinch pots. They started with a ball of clay and made a hole using their thumb. Then they pinched around the outside edge to shape their pot. After they were dried and fired the students painted them with tempera cakes.

Time: two 60 min classes

Materials:
Clay
Tempera paints

To teach students about the different methods of molding clay, in this case, pinch-and-pull.

 
Self Portraits

Students in all grades at Hemenway School create Self Portraits in Mrs. Brown's art class.  Self Portraits are a great drawing project because it can teach students to draw beyond just what they think they see... but to draw what is really there.  All students were given a mirror to observe their facial features and look for small details.  As children grow older they progress through the 5 stages of artistic development (named by Viktor Lowenfeld).  Kindergarteners are usually somewhere between the "Scribble Stage" and the "Pre-schematic Stage".  As the students grow older they work their way through the artistic stages of "Schematic", "Dawning-Realism" and "Pseudo Realistic."  Though it can sometimes be tempting, it is very important not to rush young children through the early stages of artistic development.  Students in Grade K, 1 and 2 are full of creativity, and it is important to let students take their time so they can nurture their creative development. There is plenty of time in grades 3 and above to begin teaching them about the more technical aspects of drawing.

Time:  one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" white paper
pencils
Sharpie markers
crayons

 
Name Design

Students practiced writing their name and then filled in the space around their name using a variety of lines and shapes.  Mrs. Brown challenged the students to fill in their whole paper.

Time:  one-two 60 min classes

Materials:
9"x12" white paper
pencils
colored markers

 
Snowman Collage

Students practiced their cutting and gluing skills when creating this seasonal picture of a snowman. They started by using the words "Small, medium and large" to cut out three circles. Then they used their extra paper to make the snowflakes. They added details to their snowman by using only cut paper, no markers or crayons were used.

Time:  one-two 60 min classes

Materials:
12"x18" lightblue or gray construction paper
12"x18" white paper
assorted small peices of colored paper
Elmers glue
pencils
scissors

To practice using liquid glue bottles. (Not too much, not too little, just right)

To create a seasonal connection

To encourage creativity so that not all snowmen are alike

 
Winter Mittens

We started the class by reading the story "The Mitten" about a boy who loses his white mitten in the snow. Then I told the students they would be designing their own mittens and the challenge was to design a mitten that would stand out against a white snowy background so it would never get lost. Students used mitten tracers to trace the shape of a mitten onto the colored paper of their choice. They were then asked to design a mitten using shapes and lines. They used construction paper crayons to add bright colors to their project.

Time:  one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" colored paper (assorted)
pencils
Sharpie markers
construction paper crayons
scissors
mitten-shaped tracers

To give students the opportunity to practice their cutting skills

To practice tracing

 
Crazy Swirly Line Drawing

Students drew one lone loopy and crazy line that covered most of their paper. They then filled in the shapes with as many colors, shapes and patterns that they could think of. This project gives students a chance to review key art vocabulary, and also a chance to practice their gross and fine motorskills.

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" white paper
colored markers
crayons

To help the teacher gauge the motorskills and work styles of new kindergarten students.

 
Fairy Tale Drawings

Students imagines their favorite fairy tale or childrens story and they drew a picture of the story. Simple drawing lessons are important during the beginning stages of artistic development because they give children a chance to practice using materials and it allows them to make different kinds of marks.  As students grow older they will fine-tune their drawing technique.

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" white paper
pencils
Sharpie markers
crayons

To give students the chance to draw freely without many constraints.

 
Picasso Portraits

Students explored the artwork of Pablo Picasso. They compared and contrasted his different styles of painting, naming characteristics of each style. Each student created a self-portrait in the style of Pablo Picasso. They used pencils and Sharpie markers to create their drawing, and crayons to add color. The final drawings are very intriguing!

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" white paper
pencils
Sharpie markers
crayons

To give students the chance to work creatively without having them worry too much about "making it look exactly like them".

 
Rainbow Collage

Students reviewed the primary and the secondary colors. Then they drew a large rainbow and practiced their cutting skills by collage pieces of colored paper along each on of the stripes.  We discussed the significance of why the colors were arranged in this order and the students discovered that the secondary color found between each primary color is the color you get when you mix those two primary colors!

Time:  one-two 60 min classes

Materials:
12"x18" white paper
markers
assorted colored paper
Elmers glue
scissors

 
When I grow up I want to be a...

In this project students were asked to think about what they want to be when they grow up. They then drew of a picture of themselves in the future using their imaginations.

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" white paper
pencils
crayons

To help the teacher gauge the motorskills and work styles of new kindergarten students.

 
Martin Luther King Jr. ~ The Crayon Box that Talked

The students learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the important message that he shared with America.  They talked about the importance of accepting the differences of other people and looking past outward appearances.  They read the book, “The Crayon Box That Talked”, about a box of crayons that is not getting along because the colors do not like each other. In the end the crayons learn that all the colors are important and they all get along.  After reading this story and talking about Martin Luther King, Jr. the students each made their own crayon and together they made a box full of lots of different colors!

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
3"x9" colored paper (assorted)
pencils
scissors
Sharpie markers
construction paper crayons

 
Abstract Instruction

Students were given simple commands to follow such as "Draw three straight lines" or "Draw two circles". They used those prompts to create an abstract picture. When we were done we looked at all the pictures in the room and were surprised to see that even though they were given the same instructions all the pictures looked different, and that was okay!

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
12"x18" assorted colored paper
markers

To give student the opportunity to talk about artwork as a class, and compare and contrast the pictures using Art vocabulary

 
My Monster

Students read the story "Where the Wild Things Are" and then created their own "Wild Thing" using construction paper and crayons. They were encouraged to be creative and possibly combine parts from different animals. They were also instructed to create friendly "Wild Things" like the ones in the story.

This can also be done by reading the story "I Need My Monster". Another fun way to add to this project is to have students verbalize their monsters name and special powers and to add a speech bubble expressing those things. For example, "Hi my name is Igor and I love to hide under kids beds and eat their homework while they are sleeping." The things that kids come up with is priceless!

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
12"x18" paper
pencils
Sharpie markers
crayons

To encourage students to think creatively and to invent something from their imaginations

 
Positive and Negative Valentine Hearts

Students created Valentine pictures using two different colors of construction paper, and markers. They cut out a heart shape from one paper, creating a "negative shape" and used the cut out to form a "positive shape" on the other half of the paper.  We reviewed the new vocabulary and then students decorated their Valentines in way they chose.

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" pink paper
9"x12" red paper
pencils
scissors
colored markers

To give students the opportunity to practice their cutting skills

To create a seasonal connection

 
African Plate Necklaces

Women from many African tribes will adorn themselves with beautiful necklaces made out of metal or natural materials.  The students in kindergarten brainstormed different things that they could make from an ordinary paper plate.  They were encouraged to think creatively. When they came up with necklaces they were shown photos of necklaces from different cultures.  They created their necklaces using mixed media materials from paints, to feathers, to beads. It just goes to show that an ordinary paper plate can become a gorgeous work of wearable art!

Time: one 60 min class

Materials:
paper plates
tempera paint
Elmers blue
beads/jewels/etc
scissors

To teach children that you can make artwork from ordinary objects

To give students the opportunity to work with a new material, liquid tempera paint

 
Owl Collage

Students reviewed the word "collage" and what it meant before beginning their talk about their new project, creating an Owl Collage. They learned the word "nocturnal" and discussed why we might make our collages on a black paper background. We then drew the outline of an owl and began filling in the area with torn paper to create the owls body. After we completed that we added details like the eyes and beak. This project gave the students more practice with ripping, cutting, and gluing.

Time:  one 60 min class

Materials:
12"x18" black construction paper
assorted colored construction paper
pencils
scissors
Elmers glue

To give students the opportunity to practice their cutting skills

To give students the opportunity to practice drawing large shapes.

To practice using liquid glue bottles. (Not too much, not too little, just right)

 
Leprechaun Collage

This project gives students another chance to try collage, but this time we incorporate new materials like glitter and yarn. Students create a leprechaun using cut paper and glue. They add small details like real yarn for the beard and glitter in a few places to make it look like real gold. Naturally, this project takes place around St. Patricks Day.

 
Classmate Portraits

For this project students drew a small portrait of every person in their class. We then exchanged portraits so every student got 24 pictures of themselves back, all drawn by a different classmate.  The above example is a collage of the pictures given to me by a class of Kindergarten students.

Time:  one 60 min class

Materials:
12"x18" colored background paper
small 2"x2" squares of white paper
pencils
colored markers
Elmers glue

To help the teacher gauge the motorskills and work styles of new kindergarten students.

 
Butterfly Wings

Students created a drawing of a butterfly, and they also learned about mirror symmetry.  This project gave students the opportunity to explore the technique of using crayon and watercolor resist.  

Time:  one 60 min class

Materials:
12"x18" white paper
pencils
Sharpie markers
oil pastels
Tempera cake paints

 
Texture Rubbings

Students divide their paper into several sections, then create texture rubbings using peeled crayons and plastic texture sheets.

Time:  one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" white paper
pencils
plastic texture sheets
peeled crayons in assorted colors
 

To give students the opportunity to use a new material in the Art room (texture sheets)

 
Torn Paper Portraits

This lesson was developed to teach children about the sometimes fun and expressive nature of art.  Each student used torn paper, and wacky colors to create a portrait. The portrait could be real or imaginary. The only rules were... no scissors! The pictures came out very creative and fun!

Time:  one 60 min class

Materials:
9"x12" blue paper
assorted colored paper
Elmers glue
Sharpie markers

 
Pattern Worm or Snake

This is a fun project that gives students a chance to get back to drawing. They create a curled up snake and fill the body with many colors, lines and patterns. When they are done coloring it in they can cut out the snake and let it hang down unraveling itself!

Time:  one 60 min class

Materials:
12"x18" white paper
pencils
Sharpie markers
colored markers