Making these kites with my Kindergartners was so much fun! I adapted the lesson from Camelback Desert School in Scottsdale, AZ. The art teacher, Jo Schloss, has an incredible gallery full of exciting art made by her students!
If I learned one thing, it would probably be that I would make these on a smaller scale next year. I love the enormity of them, but they are a bit awkward to store and keep together. Plus, I discovered that most Kindergartners were folding them to place in their backpack to take home.....eeeekkkkk!
Day #1: Students chose one piece of 12x18 colored paper and used all the lines and shapes they know from art to make a pattern from top to bottom. Then they selected 4 paper strips and cut them in half and glued them along the bottom of the paper.
Day #2: I read a book about the Chinese New Year to the kids and then we talked about how to make an interesting dragon head. I showed students how to choose one piece of 12x18 paper, fold in half to make a book and then cut all the sides except for the fold. This was actually a little difficult for some students, so allow plenty of time and back up paper :) I encouraged lots of interesting cuts and the kids loved seeing their dragon head when they opened up the paper. We continued by cutting out facial features for our dragons (using the scrap box). I showed them a couple of tricks----like how to fold a piece of paper in half so you get two shapes at once. I also showed how to fold paper and cut on the fold so you get an interesting shape to use for a mouth or even a nose.
I'm pleased with the results and the kids were very excited about them too. Many asked if we could fly them....you gotta love Kindergartners!
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