making lines with prek

Most of the activities I do with Pre-k students are sensory activities. Today we used detail brushes to paint various types of lines on black paper using white paint. I demonstrated all the lines at the beginning of class and then sent them off to a table to work on their lines. 

 

 

kindergarten puppet

           My kindergarten students make puppets every year using recycled materials, paint and tissue paper. This is the link for the ones we did last year. We begin by rolling newspaper for the head, then using masking tape to attach the head to the body, which is a throw away cup or a yogurt cup facing down. Next we paint them skin color. 

Here is an image of how I arrange the tables to have kids walk around and choose what skin color best matches their own skin color. 

              Next, we have kids use glue, tissue paper and ribbons to dress their puppet. Here is an image of all the puppets once they are dressed. They are all bald and ready to have hair put on them for the next class. 

I am always so proud of my students and how hard they work making the things they love. This child below is carefully adding each strand  of "hair" to his puppet. 

              Once the hair is added, the next time they come they trim the hair to make it the length they want. 

Next, we accessorize. Children got to choose from various broken jewelry (donated by families), caps from bottles and other small items. 

sewing intro

 

prek snowmen

I teach a class of 4 year olds twice a week. They are just a wonderful group of little ones. We often do tons of sensory activities and we use the 35 minutes I have with them very well. For this drawing activity I had all kids, all 17 of them, on my rug with a clipboard and a sharpie, yes, a sharpie. I talked extensively about how we behave and do not behave with a sharpie. Then, step by step I demonstrated, as they followed, how to draw a snowman; while all along asking what comes next? what comes next". When we finished we turned the paper over and did it all over again. This time a few kids took off and did not wait for me to cue each new part. 

Holidays at Claremont

Every few months we have an art party. This is more about having the kids have different centers in which they could choose to either linger or switch as they want, when they want. My main focus in these activities is having students follow an agenda and reading each part to know what to do next as well as being able to go to each center and really enjoy making art that is personally meaningful to each child. 

Making ornaments that will last many years to come was the goal. At the end of the hour and 10 minute class most children had 4-5 ornaments. 

One example of an agenda children might follow in class. It often has both words and images to assist the kids in identifying the words much easier. 

Prek printmaking

     Kids in pre-k created a collagraph printing plate by cutting and   gluing foam shapes onto a piece of wood. The next class they go to roll ink onto their plates and make several prints. 

Desserts: tactile texture exploration with fourth grade

        I have worked with this same class in 2nd grade and again in Kindergarten. Each year we work with clay. Seeing as this is the last year we will be working together I wanted their work to not only be more sophisticated in terms of techniques, but I also wanted them to be deeply personally invested in their final work. After giving them several classes of exploration and challenges in order to build their skills, I noticed that quite many of them were making some form of food, not just food, but desserts. 

           One skill-building activity required kids form different tables to create as many textures as possible. Part two of the challenge required students to create anything out of their clay and use one of the textures they invented. 

We used many types of tools and explored how even one tool could be used several ways. 

        Rich visual resources are available in class for students reach out for further inspiration. 

Final pieces will dry out for the next few weeks and will be ready to glaze.