Kindergarten Line Drawings

This is one of my favorite kindergarten projects and it is perfect to teach at the beginning of the year.

Lines are introduced and we talk about the many types of lines... straight, zigzag, loopy, wavy, etc.  Then I show them how they can make dotted and dashed lines, lines that start out wavy and then become spiky and even lines that are made by placing shapes in a row.

The kindergartners start with a black marker and draw the lines across the page (9x12":  I find that drawing on a small piece of paper is good for this project, because the kids get tired of coloring neatly after a short time)   This usually takes the entire first class period (40 minutes). 

The second class period, I show them how they can color in the shapes and in between the lines.

This is also a good sub plan lesson if you choose to use it that way, since it uses just a few materials and is pretty straightforward to teach.

This is an affiliate link for Dick Blick. I buy some art supplies from them and they have very fast shipping. This week I ordered some watercolor pencils from them and they literally arrived at my door in 2 days with regular shipping. You know how teachers spend their own money on things for their careers... like professional development, books and so forth? Well, I'm lucky to work in a school that is very supportive of all these things, but of course I do spend my own money on online workshops, art classes, books and some personal art supplies for my own artistic development. If you feel so inclined to ever buy something from the little ads on my blog, it just helps me to purchase more art-related things. Just thought I'd put that out there. 

And, if you are just starting out with teaching art or are looking to buy art supplies, I recommend Blick art materials... and Nasco too.  Nasco is awesome!  Honestly, I've bought supplies from just about every major art supply company and those two are my favorites.  Michael's is good for when you need to just pick up a couple things.  Did you know that there is almost always a 40% off coupon (on one item) on their website?  NEVER go to Michael's without printing off a coupon from their website.  Also, they give 15% off of every purchase for TEACHERS.  Just make sure to bring in your teaching id or paystub and you will get a discount.  You can't combine coupons though.  Joann's does the discount too, but you have to go through a little more of a process to sign up for the discount card. 

Fabric Collages

I never posted about these fabric collages that we finished at the end of the year last year.   The third and fourth graders made these.

We worked together to paint fabrics!

We painted with acrylic paints on muslin fabric. We sprayed the fabric with water to allow the paint to spread more easily.

We made graffiti fabrics!

We had lots of painted fabrics at the end.

We even painted over ugly patterned fabrics.

Then, we chose our pieces and cut them up!

Some of the students chose to make a fabric collage with a friend.

We cut pieces, glued them and added stitching!

Lots of colors and designs.

Ribbons were a nice embellishment.

We learned and practiced our stitching skills.

You can still see some of our doodled designs in the cut up pieces.

This project was challenging and we explored many new skills.

Starry Nights-- kindergarten

This was one of my FAVORITE lessons this year.  I just loved how each and every one of them turned out.  They are so expressive and colorful.  This is a new spin on a Starry Night lesson.

I started by introducing Vincent Van Gogh's art by showing prints of his art and by showing a movie:

Then, the students drew swirls, dashed and dots to create MOVEMENT using markers.  I told that this would be their night sky, so they could add stars or other "sky things" if they wanted.

These could be interesting and beautiful artworks on their own!

Then, the kids cut out buildings, trees or anything from black paper to create silhouette forms.

Finally, to add extra color, the kids added colorful shape stickers for windows and other details.  I ordered this huge pack of shape stickers from Discount School Supply.  These should last us a LONG time.. the package of stickers is HUGE!

Here are some of the finished masterpieces!

I am HAPPY to share my ideas with you and give you some inspiration.  Pin it, bookmark it, print if off...  Heck, copy the lesson exactly!  But, if you decide to copy the lesson exactly and repost it on your blog.. please link back to me!  I know a Van Gogh lesson isn't original, but this one was my own unique take on a Starry Night lesson.    When I was searching for inspiration for my lesson... I found these two projects which I LOVED:  Starry Night Idea #1 and Starry Night Idea #2....