The second thing on my to do list was to work on my supply orders. I am very lucky to be in a large county that has a supply warehouse where they buy in bulk which discounts a lot of what we need and want. I am also lucky to be in a small school (in comparison to other schools in my large county) that also supports the arts and allows me to have a budget where I can get what I need and want for my classroom without much problem. I am still a penny pincher and I am always looking for a great deal so it still took me quite a while to figure out what the best things were to purchase and what deals or coupon codes I could use. I will have to share some of the new products that I am trying when they come in and I will let you know what I think about them.
Another thing on my to do list was to write on this blog. I am apart of several art teacher groups on facebook (and if you aren't yet, you should! One of the best things I've done in a while) and there has been a bunch of discussion about kindergarten. What are some of the best projects to do with them? and how do you even make it through the class with them??
Although kindergarten can be in the most exhausting class, it is one of my favorites. I feel like a performer because I do a lot of song and dance to keep their attention but it also helps keep information in the brains. I have a mat in the front of the room where they start class each time and it is the only grade level that I use it but it is also something I can not live without. It makes a huge difference for them. I tried one year to not start with the mat or rug and it was so much more difficult. I love to start off with a children's book or song or even a video clip that I can connect the lesson to. It gets their attention and it can break up the time a little too.
I also use a lot of "repeat after me" too. I go over directions several times and use my "art people" magnets (which I added pictures of in an earlier post) on the board so that they always have a visual reference to go back to if they forget the next step. Having those visual ques are a huge help for me to keep from repeating things over and over but also for them because I think it gets them to be more independent and not relying on me for every single thing.
So along with those tips, I also want to share some of my favorite kindergarten lessons. Since my own kiddos were in kindergarten last year, these are some of their pieces :)
First lesson I start with each year is my dot day lesson after reading the book The Dot by Peter H Reynolds. It is great because it reminds them to write their names on their papers and it moves them past the "I can't."
These were made with different sized circle lids printed on white paper after they were dipped in different color tempera paints. Then we talked about different kinds of lines and they used markers to add them to the circles once the papers were dry. After that, they given golden yellow paper to use as the frame and they have to sign their names.
Another favorite is the Gingerbread man. We have several books about the gingerbread man at home because it is a favorite of my daughter. I like this lesson because it goes over positive and negative space which is a hard concept for little ones.
I gave out red and green tempera paint with q-tips along with people stencils that I made out of tag board. The stencil was the positive space and they dot painted the negative space. Once the paint was dry, they used pencil to sketch out what the gingerbread men looked like, they outlined with sharpies and then used oil pastel to color them in. They were a cute winter activity.
The last one that I will share for now, is what I had them create for our Fine Arts Night last year at our school. It was a tie in with Georgia Okeeffe and with symmetry.
They viewed images of Okeeffe's flower paintings and we talked about how she painted them very close up so they drew their own flower as big as they could. They were outlined and painted using tempera cakes. The next day, they were given coffee filters and markers to create the wings of butterflies. We talked about symmetry and folded the filters in half so they their designs would go through to the other half too to be symmetrical. The were given twisteez wire and beads to make the bodies of the butterfly and then we added the wings. I hot glued them to their flower paintings. (This is a picture of my son pointing to his- I'm a proud art teacher momma!) They tied in perfectly to the kindergarten end of the year parties too because our kindergarten teachers teach manners and different dances to the students and they end the year with a Butterfly Ball. It was adorable!
I have many more projects to share so I will post again soon! Hope everyone enjoys the three day weekend!
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