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Turtle Art Project

by on May 23, 2009 in Art, Art Projects, First Grade, Kindergarten, Pre-K

We are really going green with this cutie of a turtle. He is made with an apple sauce cup and a plastic spoon. The best thing about this project-no need for glue!

Supplies Needed:

  • apple sauce cups (emptied and cleaned), 1 per child
  • green paint, brushes and smocks, 1 per child
  • plastic spoon, 1 per child
  • green construction paper, 1 5X8 piece per child
  • pencil, 1 per child
  • markers, 1 per child
  • tape, 5 small pieces per child

Art Project of the Week-Turtle Allow each student to paint the outside of an apple sauce container. While the paint dries, demonstrate how to make the turtle’s body parts. Using a pencil, plastic spoon, and green construction paper, trace the top of the spoon for the turtle’s head one time and the end of the spoon (trace down until you reach the middle of the spoon handle) four times. Once traced, cut out the pieces. Tape the straight end of each piece to the inside of the dry apple sauce cup. Bend the ends of each leg to make the feet. Finally, use a marker to draw a face. Don’t forget to name the little cutie!

Art Time Tips

by on May 13, 2009 in Art, Teacher Tips

Here are a few tips for art time that I have discovered or have received from colleagues over the years. I love the idea of working “smarter” not “harder”.

If you have some art time tips, please share them with us!

  • For easy clean-up, use vinyl tablecloths to cover table tops. They can be wiped off and then reused again! Check your local Dollar Store for these handy helpers.
  • If you have generous parents or a generous budget, purchasing baby wipes to quickly clean off hands makes art time a breeze. Plus you avoid having the little ones get paint on everything their little hands touch on their way to the bathroom to wash!
  • Work spaces can also include a paper bag spread out or the top of a box (if you have boxes of copy paper at your school, snag the tops! These can be used and reused without a lot of mess.).
  • Short on smocks? Ask parents to send in old t-shirts for the children to wear. Socks (clean ones) also make great erasers for white boards. Big paper bags can also be placed over the head (sides cut out so children can move arms freely) to protect the clothes during painting time.
  • Need a place for artwork to dry? String a piece of yarn in a not-so-active corner of the room or a window. Hang pictures on the string with clothes pins. This also makes for a nice place to display their beautiful work.
  • For my young girls with beautiful long hair, I keep a few hair ties available to pull hair back during art time.
  • To avoid having to worry with those irritating glue bottles that get clogged all the time, store your glue in butter containers for the kids to use. To get the glue out, provide small brushes (preferably the ones that have a wide bristle span) for the kids to apply the glue to their projects. Teach the kids how to use the edge of the container to wipe off any excess before brushing on. You’ll be amazed at how much better this works for projects.
  • For classrooms that paint frequently (I love those kind!), think about attaching a paper towel holder directly to the bottom of your art table. Placed near the edge, this can be a handy-dandy spot for grabbing a paper towel when those LITTLE spills occur.

Daffodil Art Project

by on May 12, 2009 in Art, Art Projects

Ah, springtime. The grass is green, the birds are singing, and the flowers are blooming. Here is an art project for prek-k that celebrates daffodils. These cute little flowers make use of cupcake liners.

Supplies Needed:

  • paint-yellow and green
  • smocks
  • paint brushes
  • glue or paste
  • scissors
  • Daffodil Template
  • blue construction paper or stock

Directions:

Daffodil Art ProjectPrint the “daffodil template”. One per child is needed (A copier can be used to print the template onto a heavier paper for the purpose of painting it later). Have children cut out the daffodil pieces. Next, children should paint the flower yellow and the stem pieces green. While the yellow flower piece is still wet, have children place one cupcake liner in the middle of it. The wet paint will help it to adhere to the flower piece. Once dry, children can glue or paste the flower pieces onto blue construction paper.

*The longest stem piece will be too long for an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of construction paper. If using this length, have children glue that piece on first and then the yellow flower on top of it so it will accommodate the page without hanging off the edge or requiring the need for cutting.

Warm and Cool Colors

by on March 15, 2009 in Art, Art Projects

Objective:

Students will recognize “warm” and “cool” colors within nature and works of art.
Students will recognize the purpose of using warm and cool colors within a work of art.

Procedure:

The lesson will begin with the students seated at their desks. Students will be shown some pictures-a yellow sun, a sunflower, a pitcher of lemonade, and a bowl of oranges. The students will be asked what the pictures make them think of. Various answers will be given. The students will then be asked how the pictures make them feel. They will be asked to pay particluar attention to the colors represented in the pictures. The students may recognize that the colors have an energizing effect on the mood. The students will be told that colors such as red, yellow, orange, and even brown and black are considered warm colors and are vivid in nature. The students will then be shown a new set of pictures-a blue ocean, a green meadow, and a purple sunset. Again, the students will be asked what the pictures make them think of and how they make them feel. The students may recognize that the colors tend to have a calming effect on the mood. The students will be told that colors such as blue, green, and purple are considered cool colors and are soothing in nature. The students will then be asked to draw a picture of something they have seen in the outdoors using warm colors and then a second picture using cool colors. Once the pictures are completed. The students will be asked to meet on the “carpet area”. The students will be asked about what kind of pictures they drew and how they want the pictures to make people feel. The lesson will come to a close with the students being asked to share something they learned from the lesson.

Materials:

Photographic pictures, crayons, two pieces of drawing paper per child

Henri Matisse

by on March 15, 2009 in Art, Art Projects

Objective:
Students will recognize the difference between a “realistic” piece of art and an “abstract” piece of art.
Students will recognize the cutout work of Henri Matisse.
Students will create an abstract collage that contains a pattern.

Description:
The lesson will begin with the students seated on the “carpet area”. The students will be given a brief history of Henri Matisse. The students will be told that due to illness and age he became unable to paint, so he began experimenting with cutouts using bright colors and unusual shapes. The students will be told that these works are called “collages”, which means that shapes were cut and stuck to a background to create a picture. The students will then be introduced to what “abstract” means. They will be told that although Mr. Matisse painted realistic pictures early in his career, his pictures gradually became more “abstract”, meaning that they did not look exactly like real life. The students will also be told that although his collages were very abstract, recognizable objects can be found by looking closely. The students will then be shown examples of Matisse’s work and we will discuss the shapes that students see. The students will be told the title of each work and asked if they find any of the objects in the picture (for example, “The Beasts of the Sea”). Students will also be asked if they see any repeated patterns throughout the pictures. The students will then be introduced to the activity. The students will be told that they are going to make an abstract collage using some of Mr. Matisse’s ideas. The students will then be directed to return to their seats. I will first demonstrate how to cut an interesting abstract shape by starting at the bottom of a piece of construction paper and cutting up and around in order to eventually return to the bottom of the piece. Each child will then receive 2 pieces of 6 x 9″ construction paper. The children will be told that they will be using all of the paper. I will then guide the students in cutting an abstract shape. The end result should result in a “cutout” (or “positive”) shape, and a “leftover” (or “negative”) shape, both of which are from one piece. The students will then be told to glue one of their negative shapes in a top corner of their background paper, lining up the edges as neatly as possible. The students will then be shown how to reposition the positive shape within the negative shape (it should fit together like a puzzle). Next, the positive shape will be flipped down beneath the negative one and glued into place, creating a mirror-image effect. The students will then be given the opportunity to glue various shapes around the images as they prefer. The students will be encouraged to add shapes that repeat. The students will be shown an example and asked to notice how the picture is “balanced” by the surrounding shapes. The students will be told that Matisse sometimes used small repeating shapes, or patterns, to create a pathway for our eyes. Students will be given about 15-20 minutes to work on their art. The students will then be brought back to the carpet area. We will briefly review the new concepts. The students will then be asked to share what shapes and patterns they used throughout their artwork.

Materials:

White drawing paper, scissors, glue, 4.5 x 6″ construction paper in various colors, various examples of Matisse’s work.

Assesment:
Students will be assessed according to their participation in the group discussion as well as their completion of an abstract piece of artwork that contains a pattern.