Torn Paper collage - Frederick

This project started by reading the story Frederick by Leo Lionni.  We looked closely at the illustrations.  Students noticed that the mice were not drawn, but made by collage.  I demonstrated how artists can use their hands to make are by tearing and gluing paper.   This was new for most of the students and many wondered why we were doing it?  "What if we didn't have scissors?" I asked.  There are many ways to make art and tearing paper is one of them.  It is a great project to strengthen those fine motor muscles.

We tore oval shapes for the body, and ears of the mouse.  Circles for the eyes, and a skinny piece for the tail.  The next class, we were able to finish our projects.  In the story, Frederick the mouse is telling his mice friends all about the colors he observed in nature.  I wanted to have our mouse think of the secondary colors (orange, green, purple).  We learned about the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) when we did our snake prints.  For this project, I demonstrated how to mix colors: red + yellow = orange, yellow + blue = green and red + blue = purple

Primary Color Pattern Snakes

Here is the project that preceded our Pineapples.  This was a multiple class lesson. The students first discussed and analyzed patterns of all kinds.  We looked at pictures, clothes, and our environment to find patterns.  They then did a pattern worksheet showing me patterns of lines and colors.  After a demonstration showing them how to print triangles in a row by turning the triangle to make them fit together like a puzzle, the students created their own pattern prints using primary colors of red, blue and yellow.

Then next class we discussed the fancy art word composition.  Students learned that an artist makes a complete composition by making their artwork interesting.  They can do this by adding different colors, lines, and varied placement of objects on paper to make the eyes travel around!  To do this the students had to think critically and creatively about where they were going to draw a snake head and tail on either end of the triangle prints.  Snake you wonder?  Yes, we read the story Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh in which there is a snake who counts his mouse to eat!  The students were quick to guess that I chose that story based on the patterns prints they made because of the snake!  Snake skin has lots of beautiful patterns.  When finished with their snake heads and tails students were encouraged to add to their compositions by giving their snake a home in the background, i.e. lake, forest, desert.

Pineapples and Printmaking! Oh My!

 This post is a bit out of order.  I will get back here and add the two previous lessons as soon as I can.  But briefly - we did a lesson previously that studied pattern.  So...to reinforce the idea of pattern and see what they remembered we looked closely at the fruit pineapples.  Why??  Because pineapples are full of wonderful patterns.  From the colors, shapes and lines - patterns are abundant.  After discussing the many different patterns of a pineapple we learned how to draw them.  We discussed how all the shadows on the pineapple have cool colors (blue, purple and green).  They used these colors to outline and add shadows to their own drawings.  They then used bright and warm colors of brown, red, orange and yellow to add the highlights and complete the pineapple.  They finished their artwork by adding a table line and a dark cool shadow under the fruit so it appeared to be sitting and not floating.

Next Kindergarten students are learning about the printmaking process...see description in picture directly below: