Gearing up for the Big Pig Gig, the kindergarten students were the first to begin their pig unit! I read them the book Olivia Meets Olivia which is about Olivia the main character meeting a new student named Olivia. This book focuses on the identity and individuality of the students. The kindergartens were almost all familiar with Olivia so this was an appropriate book to read. The students used warm colored sheets of construction paper and simple shapes we discussed to create their Olivia pigs. The second day, the students heard a second Olivia book, Olivia and the Rain Dance! I felt this was appropriate since March is a rainy month! This book is shorter too which was nice since today was more labor intense. The students first found buttons that match and used them for eyes. Next, they cut out a small circle of construction paper and glued it on the face for the nose (and used a Sharpie to make two small circles for the snout). Third, the students cut a pipe cleaner smile. After this, they painted white stripes on the arms, legs and ears of their pigs. The third day, the pigs were glued to teal paper and the students painted white stripes as a border to frame their Olivia pig! They all began with the same instructions and demonstration but all ended up looking so unique which was exciting.

Arty On!

My classes of kindergarteners were ready to do another Dr. Seuss project! I was excited and chose Yertle the Turtle! This book is all about a turtle who wants to be king of the turtles and see everything around the pond and cannot control himself to stop building his turtle stack. We as a class, are making five turtle stacks. I read the book to the students and then a turtle stencil for each of them. I wanted to observe how they traced and how that image translated when they cut them out. The students used cool colored paper and cut out five turtles. They could be facing left or right, could be placed sideways and upside down in the stack, so students enjoyed this aspect of the lesson. After the turtles were cut out, students added faces and patterns with construction paper crayons. The patterns were just added to the shell, not the entire turtle which was adorable! The last step was choosing background paper, students could choose green or blue and their works were then matted on the opposite color (see images). These were sent to the library to display for Read Across America!

Arty On! Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Gearing up for Dr. Seuss's Birthday and Read Across America, our kindergarteners got the chance to hear the story of The Lorax. The Lorax was chosen because it is a popular Dr. Seuss book and the movie is coming out soon and many of our students have been talking about it! I read the book to the students, which is a long story but captivated them with the rhymes and riddles. Such a fun book to read and hear! The students then worked on making 3-D Truffula Trees! I worked with two different groups of kindergarten students and each group created a different tree.
The first group used pipe cleaners and twisted them together to make a trunk that looked striped. They made 4 trees and used pom pom balls for the truffula tree tops! The base was a green piece of paper and a ball of Model Magic that the students painted green.

The second group used dowel rods painted white and they painted black stripes around them for the trunk. This group only made one tree due to drying time and assembling stages. Their truffula tree tops were made of yarn balls which were cut in different places to create a pom pom effect! Their base was also a green piece of paper and a ball of Model Magic that the students painted green.
Everyone enjoyed the project and getting to choose what bright colors to use for their trees!

Arty On! Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

This concludes my second week at SCPA and my first week of teaching projects from the beginning to end! I was so excited when my mentor mentioned her love for tiny little Matryoshka dolls (Russian stacking dolls). I was excited to work with her to plan this project! Several sets of Matryoshka doll examples, both 2-D and 3-D were on display for the students to see. Kindergarteners used stencils to cut out three different sized dolls. These dolls were decorated with lines, shapes and patterns. Then, they were glued together with popsicle sticks between to hold them up in their foamboard bases (making them look like large game pieces). Students chose matching eyes and cheeks from buttons and foam shapes and had a pipecleaner smile!

Arty On!

As I began my student teaching, the kindergarten classes were working on a Pablo Picasso unit, with a strong emphasis on his colors and time periods using them. The project was influenced by his Rose Period so students were using red, orange, yellow, pink and peach. Since Valentine's Day is approaching, our subject was hearts. Students used paint, oil pastels, scissors, construction paper and glue!

Arty On!