Ceramic Fish Bowls

In the Art Studio, the Kindergarteners traced and cut fish shapes from clay slabs, and then drew patterns on them. They created bases by attaching a ring to the bottom using scoring and slipping. After the fish were fired in our kiln, the students glazed them, learning the difference between glaze and paint. As inspiration, we read The Rainbow Fish and Fish is Fish, two classic fish tales. 

Big Apples

As part of the Kindergarten Art room Primary Color Unit and the Kindergarten Classroom Apple Unit, the Kindergarteners painted all shades of red apples. They mixed red, pink, reddish orange, and purplish red paint on giant apple shape papers.  Then they had the opportunity to create textures with various tools and to add tissue paper, stems or leaves.

Japanese Cherry Blossoms

In the Art Room, the Kindergarteners took a nature walk on campus to find beautiful emerging Cherry Blossom trees early this Spring. We learned about the gift of 3000 cherry blossom trees bestowed on Washington, DC by Tokyo, Japan. Then we studied photos of cherry blossoms and Japanese paintings of Sakura- cherry blossoms. The students used a drip method and straws to create the branches. Then with fingers and corks they added pink, red and white paint blossoms. With tissue paper, they glued on more blossoms. They also studied traditional Japanese calligraphy and the special brushes and ink required for that art. They had an opportunity to practice copying some characters and then making their own special signature character or Hanko.

Kindergarten Sunflower Studies

In Art Class, we looked at real Sunflowers and read Camille and the Sunflowers, a story about Vincent Van Gogh in Arles. The students quickly drew in craypas and then painted their own big, bold and beautiful versions of a Sunflower. These always make viewers smile.

 

No Mistakes in Art

In the Art Room, the Kindergartners were introduced to the medium of watercolor paints and were encouraged to experiment with various techniques and color mixing. Inspired by the book, “The Big Mistake,” they learned there are no such things as mistakes in art as each result is unique and beautiful.

Kindergarten Fish Mobiles

The Kindergarteners read The Rainbow Fish and other fishy books. Inspired by the beautiful illustrations, the students made their own two sided fish. Colors and patterns were added with craypas and watercolor resist.  Finally the fish were stuffed and strung with beaded lanyard.

Kindergarten Snow People

All our snow inspired me to dig out the beautiful Snowy Day by Jack Ezra Keats and the adorable Snowballs by Lois Ehlert. The first week we painted and learned about pastel colors. The students created snow by mixing colors with white and painting a sheet of paper with the resulting pale colors. They used combs and rollers to add texture, and then pencil erasers and brush tips to create dots of snowflakes on the background paper. In the next class they traced and cut circles to form the snowpeople and added other collage items to make them unique.