Artists celebrated the end of the year! We looked at example photographs and then used lines to draw our own fireworks!

Students constructed sand castles and built special homes for hermit crabs using paper and markers.

Students looked at the Great Wave and then created their own waves using pastel and paint!

Students rotated through centers using markers, tissue paper, and paint!

Artists looked closely at example photographs of snails. We noticed shapes and colors. Then, artists created their own paper sculpture snails using markers and crayons.

Artists learned about quilts and noticed lines and colors in the Gee's Bend quilts. Then, artists drew black lines all around the paper using oil pastel. Next, students filled in the lines with color.

Artists created flying butterflies! They were introduced to oil pastels and used them to add lines, shapes, and colors to butterflies.

Artists created spring trees full of flowers! We looked at example trees and then artists drew the trunk and branches. They then pinched, tore, and crumpled tissue paper to make the blossoms.

We read Eric Carle's Little Cloud and then students transformed their own clouds!

Artists learned about rainbows and rainbow order. First, artists put the paper strips in the correct ROY G BIV order and then they tore and crumbled pieces of paper to create fluffy clouds!

We created giant sunflowers! Students followed along during a guided drawing and created sunflowers using markers and crayons.

Artists then added background details--some students added bugs and others added themselves standing next to their giant sunflower!

Students learned about how bugs can help flowers and plants grow. We read Up, Down, and Around Garden and noticed what plants grew up in the sky and what plants grew under the dirt. Students created pictures showing plants above and below the ground.

Artists created fireflies and thought about how bugs are awake at different times of day. Then, we read Flashlight by Lizi Boyd and created pencil and crayon drawings inspired by the illustrations in the story.

This week was all about bugs! Artists practiced drawing ladybugs and bees.

Some students created their own bugs by arranging pieces of paper. We thought carefully about what shapes, colors, and lines were needed to draw the bugs.

This week we discussed how artists can use shapes, lines, and colors to make artwork that stands out or blends in. We looked at example drawings and decided if they stood out or blended in and why.

Then, we read the Mix Up Chameleon and noticed how the chameleon stood out and blended in in the story.

Artists then created their own mixed up chameleon! When artists finished, many began drawing their own hidden chameleons.

Artists thought about their favorite things to do in Winter--some students like to build snowmen, some like to stay inside nice and warm, some like to notice the trees with no leaves.

Then we looked at example snow globes and noticed what was inside of them. Students then imagined that they lived inside a snow globe and reflected on what they would want inside the snow globe with them.

Other Pre-K students created tissue paper hearts by pinching and tearing and crumbling up the paper to create texture.

Artists reflected on how people can keep warm in Winter. We learned that some artists design and create clothing using shapes and colors to make them special.

We began creating snow outfits by adding details like zippers, buttons, and pockets and by adding colors and shapes to make the paper clothing unique.

Lastly, artists created a picture of them wearing the complete snow outfit!

Artists learned about how certain animals hibernate to keep warm in Winter.

Artists looked for what shapes they needed to complete the collages.

Then they created artwork that showed a bear keeping warm in its den and we made collaged sleepy bear faces.

Artists learned about winter trees and how their branches make different types of lines and shapes. We discussed how trees have trunks and branches and then created our own winter tree collages.

Artists glued brown rectangles to create trees and then drew on top to add details.

Lastly, artists glued tissue paper snow in the background.

Artists created snowmen in a tissue paper collage! We discussed what shapes are needed to make snowmen and extra details we should add.

Then, students practiced pinching and tearing the paper into small pieces and then crumpling and uncrumpling to make it look more like snow.

We talked about rectangles in art class this week. Inspired by the Winter season, artists used rectangles as the base for their snowflakes.

Then they collaged additional shapes on top of the rectangles and added dots for detail!

Artists continued creating art with triangles and made triangle collages. Students moved triangles to create trees and then added dots, lines, and more details with marker.

Artists made art using triangles this week. First, we looked carefully for hidden triangles in pictures. Then artists rearranged cut triangle shapes to make pictures or arranged them to create lines.

Then artists used triangles to create a collage owl

This week we learned that when a line goes back to where it started it makes a shape and more specifically it can make squares. We went on a scavenger hunt for squares and then read Perfect Square. Artists created collages with paper pieces that match what happens in the story.

Artists worked with paper that was torn, pierced, shattered, and cut into ribbons.

Artists practiced combining dots and lines.

We learned about how artists draw constellations by starting with dots and using lines to connect them to create a picture.

Artists drew a night sky full of constellations and then drew themselves and friends and family below on the grass looking up at the stars.

Artists practiced their observation skills and created paper leaves inspired by the dots and lines they noticed on real Fall leaves.

We learned about the artist Andy Goldsworthy and students arranged their paper leaves to make a picture just like how Andy Goldsworthy creates art by moving real leaves around.

We continued being inspired by the Fall season and made art all about leaves this week.

We learned about how artists look closely and take time to notice details. Artists used magnifying glasses to look carefully at autumn leaves and drew what they noticed.

Then, we read Leafman and created some collage artwork using real leaves.

Artists continued collaging and created acorns and fall trees after practicing pinching and tearing strips of paper.

We read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf and looked at how the illustrator of the story, Lois Ehlert, used collage to make the pictures that went with the book.

We reviewed different types of lines and students tried to find them in their collages.

We began collaging in the art room! Students learned what a collage is and practiced pinching and tearing strips of paper to create collage pumpkins.

Earlier in the week, students practiced using lines to draw a pumpkin patch. We thought of crazy lines to use for the vines on our pumpkins.

We read Lines that Wiggle and then discussed different types of lines and practiced ways artists can describe them.

Artists created line lions by creating a crazy lion mane with as many different lines as they could think of!

Artists practiced using markers and having proper grip by tracing over lines they had drawn for timed intervals.

Then, artists practiced using crayons to color in the spaces created carefully with a variety of colors and dots.

Artists this week participated in Square 1 Art.

We continued to practice making dots by creating dot masterpieces.

We reviewed the artwork of Yayoi Kusama and discussed the importance of filling the whole page with color and marks.

Artists combined markers and crayons to create their artwork.

We read Lots of Dots!

We looked at how artists can put dots together in different ways to create pictures.

Students moved dots around on their page to create a flower. They then could add details to the page using their own dots!

Later in the week, we also read Kitten's First Full Moon. In the story, Kitten mistakes a white dot (the moon) with a different white dot (a bowl of milk). Students were given a paper with a dot and were challenged to pretend to be Kitten and to figure out what Kitten might think the dot could be. For example, students turned the dot into rocketships, faces, and balloons.