Pre-K : shape exploration

This year, I am spending a lot of time with the smallest people in the school building - Pre-K. A very long time ago, the thought of teaching art to Pre-K was mind-boggling, but now that I've had the opportunity to work with them, I've learned that they are *magical*. They are so fun and I love them! I work with a Pre-K class every day of the week, so I have many chances to work out kinks and create what I think is best for them - which includes a lot of exploration and play with art tools. I am not an expert, but I do know that Pre-K's benefit so much from playing and experimenting with art tools. It gets kind of trance-like in the art room while they are busy making and playing and it's an incredible thing to observe :) I have been learning a lot from the blog by Meri Cherry and I highly recommend her e-book too, Art Secrets Every Teacher Should Know. 

Here are some results from our first project of the year - each kid created a large 12x18 multi-media artwork that we added to over the span of three, 40 minute art sessions together. We always start class with a fun book, then I introduce the tools one at a time so that I can really dissect them and how to use/care for them. So. much. fun!!!

Day #1 - pencils, shape stencils, then crayons

Day #2 - pre-cut paper shapes & glue sticks, dot stickers, then markers

Day #3 - watercolor paints! and water soluble oil pastels

2nd grade Seascape Collage

These seascape collages made by my 2nd graders are so texturally rich - what a fun way to build a seascape! We tried several different methods for the "sky" paper, my favorite being the texture rubbings with watercolor resist. All the painted paper for this project was made on the first day. On the second day, we chopped up the "ocean" paper and glued it into place. We also made the hulls of the boats using neutral colored paper, making sure to include a small, medium and large size to convey depth. On the third day, we made the sails, added some clouds and a sun all cut from paper. Pretty wonderful I think!