If the Dinosaurs Came Back!

Kindergarten Art

In Art class, we read the story “If the Dinosaurs Came Back.” We were inspired to use squares and rectangles to draw a city scene with marker. Then we drew and cut shapes to create a dinosaur!

I am so impressed with the artwork my Kindergartners have been creating this year! We created these still life vases after looking at many examples of still life paintings and reading Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert.

 

 

Chameleon's Colors

Kindergartners made these colorful chameleons in Art class after reading Chameleon's Colors by Chisato Tashiro. We began by drawing and painting our chameleons. On the following days, students used cut paper to make colorful flowers and leaves in the background.

Cave Art

Kindergartners just finished a great lesson about Cave Art. We looked at images from Lascaux and used the smartboard to play "eye spy" and find certain pictures on the cave walls like horses, paw prints, foot prints, and circle designs.

Then students used a handout from the awesome book Dynamic Art Projects for Children by Denise Logan. They each began with a rectangle for a body, added their own head, and finished with designs inside the rectangle body.

Using the handout for inspiration, kindergartners did a great job drawing with marker, coloring with oil pastel, and smearing chalk in the background of their "rock" pictures.

Paul Klee Cat and Bird

I love Paul Klee's Cat and Bird painting. I think the Lois Ehlert book, Feathers for Lunch, is the perfect companion when talking about that painting with Kindergartners! Today we created these works of art inspired by the book and painting!

Jim Dine Hearts

Kindergartners learned about the art of Jim Dine in art class and used plasticine clay to "paint" their hearts!

Kandinsky Circles

Kindergartners were able to practice many skills with this project! We began by using the smartboard and Kandinsky's painting Concentric Circles. I had students use the pen and trace over all of the circles from the famous work of art. Then we watched some video clips about shapes from Sesame Street on You Tube.  We also read The Dot. Next, they used colored squares of paper to draw all different sizes of circles. Finally, they used scissors and ONE dot of glue to create their own circle compositions. This lesson took us two 55 minute class periods.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I love the art of Eric Carle. I introduced his style to the Kindergartners with this fun and easy project. On the first day they used texture plates and oil pastel to fill their papers. Then they painted over the textures they created with watercolors. For the next class period, they cut out all of the parts of the caterpillar and assembled them!

Elmer's Day Parade

First graders just love Elmer! We read just about every "Elmer" book there could possibly be, but our favorite was Elmer's Special Day, by David McKee. We were so inspired by all of the beautiful Elmer designs that we drew and painted our own elephants. Then we used cut paper and oil pastels to create circus cars. First graders loved this project. They are displayed in trains around our school and are receiving so many compliments!

Mouse Paint

Kindergartners are learning all about primary and secondary colors in Art class! We will begin by reading the book Mouse Paint ,by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Then we will be dancing with our fingers to mix the primary colors and create secondary colors. Finally, we will make a little white mouse out of model magic for our palette.

SNOW!

Kindergartners just created the cutest snowmen in Art class! After reading books like The Snowy Day, Snowmen at Night, and Snow, students used torn and painted papers to assemble a snowman. They were able to practice following multiple directions, put together lines and shapes to make snowflakes, and use their fine motor skills to cut, tear, and glue. It was a very successful project for us!

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!

Kindergartners and first graders love the book I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! To make our projects, we used watercolor to paint designs all over our traced hands and arms. Then we painted our background with some kind of abstract design or color composition. Finally, we made our paintbrush with cut paper and chalk. The results were very nice!

Our Favorite Art

A great bulletin board idea is to have children vote on various works of art they have learned about through the year. This is also a good tie in to math and writing. I had Kindergartners write a few sentences about why the artwork was their favorite and draw a picture to accompany their sentences. It was a great one day, cross curricular activity that tied up a lot of loose ends at the end of the year!

Paul Klee Cat and Bird

Kindergartners are learning all about famous artists. One of the works of art we liked best was Paul Klee's Cat and Bird. After looking at that famous work of art, we read a similar story by Lois Ehlert and practiced a guided drawing to create our cats!