Free Standing Structure Contest

I had been working on 3-D work with my students. 

I wanted to try something "different" using unusual materials. 

I gave them two playing cards, a pair of scissors, and painter's tape.

The goal was to build the tallest free standing structure.

Emotion Flowers: Collage

I thought these turned out so cute! The kids loved making them and felt successful. I had  examples of eyes & mouths showing a variety of emotions. I feel now more than ever that collage is an important lesson to teach and reteach to improve eye/hand coordination.& dexterity. 

 

More Kindergarten Snow People

I just can't get enough of the kindergarten snow people! I hope you are enjoying them too! 

Collage Bodies & Construction Paper Details

Kindergarten Snow People

 I love my kindergarteners! They have grown so much already this year. We've been working on cutting & gluing skills a good bit.  I think their snow people turned out absolutely adorable!

Winged Creature Collages

 The prompt I gave my students was to create a wing creature in flight.  We discussed what could be a "creature".  They decided it could be an animal, imaginary creature, food monsters, robot, or a person.  Here are some of the amazing pictures they created. I think they are incredibly fun!! 

Turtle Collage: Kindergarten

There was a time...long long ago...that kindergarten students had a good working knowledge of using scissors & liquid glue.  Those days are no more, and it is up to us as SUPER ART EDUCATORS to teach our youngest artists how to use these tools of the trade.  As a way of introducing new media & tools, I keep the kinder-artists' projects very simple.  Sticking with simple shapes, and not giving them unlimited choices of paper will allow for you keep the main thing the main thing!! 

For scissors I teach my kids to play follow the leader.  The scissors are the leader....and their other hand follows behind hold thing paper as they cut.  The leader is always in front & the other hand never gets in the leader's way.  For glue I do the ever popular....DOT DOT NOT A LOT!  I also teach my students that the orange part of the bottle ALWAYS touches the paper when they apply glue.  I also teach them to scribble scrabble the glue out once they've done the dots so it is a thin & spread out layer of glue.  YOU WILL ALWAYS....ALWAYS....have those students that you need to reposition their hands holding their scissors.  YOU WILL ALWAYS.....ALWAYS.....have students that use too much glue.  That is life as an elementary SUPER ART EDUCATOR!!!  They will get it...eventually.  

HOPE YOU LIKE THEIR TURTLES!!  

Kindergarten Snowmen Make Me Smile

 

For several years now I've seen my Kindergarten students cutting & gluing skills go down.

To many hours on devices....not enough time for such activities in the classroom...there are several reasons for this happening.  I needed to change my expectations & my projects a bit.  By this time, I use to have my kindergarten students creating snowmen with hats scarves..etc.  They were able to give them a bit more "personality". (They do have a little personality in how they cut & placed the pieces.)  Now, I just want to give them opportunity to develop the necessary skills/abilities to create!  There is a ton of time spent on how to hold scissors and cut properly that they use to come to me already able to do.

  That being said...I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!  

I LOVE KINDERGARTEN ART!!

How can you not smile when these young artists create!! 

They bring such joy to everything they do.

Kindergarten Fall Collages

Our kindergarten students this year are AMAZING!!!!!!!  I'm seeing some amazing stuff, and really am excited to work with them over the next 5 yrs!  I love their fearless attempts at creating leaves!!!  I showed them a number of ways to draw leaves before we got started, and asked them to at least try a few of them.  Not only did they attempt a number of different types of leaves...they successfully cut them out!  That is not an easy skill for the 5 yr old hands!!!  I loved how a few of their shapes & color choices reminded me of IKEA fabric! ha ha