Painting With Kindergarten

Are you afraid to paint with Kindergarten.....

WELL YOU SHOULD BE!!! 

BE AFRAID...BE VERY AFRAID!

ha ha Just kidding! ha ha

Painting with Kindergarten is truly a joy for them....AND YOU!

However, you need to set yourself up for success. Many of your students will have limited experience painting before your classroom.  You have to be very organized & very clear in your expectations.  

Set yourself up for success!!!

I have the BIGGIE PANS watercolor...where there are 4 giant pats of paint(Red, Blue, Yellow, Green).  However, they were looking a little rough, and it is going to be awhile before I can order.  So instead I set up the four colors in the refill strips I had left over from last year.  Limiting your color choices helps prevent MUD from happening by young artists.  It also helps encourage the mixing of colors to make new ones!! 

Pre-fill water cups half full. I use the fat/short tumbler cups from Dollar Tree/Dollar General.  They last forever and don't tip easily.  I also go ahead and place two paint brushes in each cup.  This helps speed up the process.  You need your attention to be on the kids...not getting things ready.  Paper towels at the ready for messes...you never know with Kindergarten.  Sometimes they're great...sometimes they are a hot mess! ha ha  I also use cut up old art shirts for rags.  I wet them and squeeze them out so they are good to go when cleanup time happens at the end of class.  

I place the water cup and paint on their table and tell them NOT to move them.  Placing it right between the two of them will help avoid them standing up, reaching, and bumping the table...causing their table partner to mess up or spilling the water cup!  I also go a through a whole funny thing about tap tappin' the brush on the side of the cup(something they are NOT allowed to do...because it makes a mess and it is annoying to listen to!)....and a shtick about washing your brush every time so you don't mix colors.  The kids this year have done AMAZING so far...but it isn't always like that.  Reminding often for young artists is NOT a bad thing!! ha

The results of their hard work!!  I love how different & beautiful each one is!!

(These are a part of a larger fish unit I do at the start of the school year to build confidence and explore different media!)

LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS...HAPPY TO HELP!