Kindergartners drawing people!

We just switched trimesters.  This means that I have a new group of kinders that have never had art class before (it is rare that our population of students have attended preschool.)  I like to begin with some drawing exercises with them.  About half of them are in the pre-schematic drawing stage, but some have entered the schematic phase.  As a class, I like to have students look at their bodies as if they were shapes.  What shape would a head be?  a body? an arm? a hand?  leg?  Instead of only providing them with a formula, it is important that you encourage them to actually look at what they are drawing.  Encouraging this early on (and continuing to practice this through out the elementary grades)  is essential because this will hone their observational skills and ultimately successfully bring them through the stages of artistic development.  

Who We Are: 1st grade self portraits

Originally, these were going to be realistic self portraits.  But as we were creating realistic portraits, I noticed that my 1st graders really wanted to defy the rules of reality through their use of color and form.  I ended up making this a two part assignment.  Yes, students had to make a realistic portrait.  But they also had to make an imaginary one! 

We used the rules of symmetry to fold our paper and cut it to make a symmetrical head, eyes, mouth, and nose. 

Who We are: Quiltmaking

During first grade's unit called "Communities" we examined the art of quilt making.  Quilts can be made by a community of people that contribute one piece to a bigger whole.  Students were required to cut and glue fabric shapes onto a piece of tag board.  They enjoyed the tactile/texture component of this and were also visually stimulated by all of the exciting fabric patterns!