The Butterflies have been learning about community this summer and their classmates’ neighborhoods. We decided to work on a collaborative project and created our own Butterfly city. Model magic has been a favorite material of this class, and we used other mixed media with the material to build homes places they visited in their neighborhood such as bakeries, firehouses, grocery stores or parks. Each student has also really enjoyed taking “selfies” this year, and we added a picture of each student in their building. The Ladybugs have been learning about food and different types of restaurants this summer, while exploring different types of clay. One day, of the students in the class asked: “What’s a food truck? Is that a restaurant?” We had a discussion about food trucks; many students had eaten from food trucks throughout the city. The class was asked if they wanted to create their own food truck to “sell” their sculptures? We voted and the food truck idea won by a landslide. Every Ladybug worked together to paint and design the truck.
Sprinkler splash pads!
By the Bumblebees and Ducklings This summer the preschoolers have been exploring water as part of their classroom curriculum. From trips to local sprinkler parks to a trip to the Children’s Museum water exhibition, to learning about color mixing and measurement in Science, the Bumblebees and Ducklings have been learning about water in many shapes and forms. In Art, the classes have explored clay and how our hands can change the shape and form of clay. Clay is made from water mixed with dirt, sand, rocks, and other minerals. We’ve also learned what happens when we mix clay with water. Once the students explored how to roll, flatten and squeeze the clay, we added new materials to the clay and learned how to change the texture of the material. After looking at pictures of different types of sprinklers and splash pads, each student was given a plastic tube and squares and other found objects with the clay. The children talked about making our own sprinklers and their experiences with them over the summer. They used pencils to poke holes, paint to add color, and mosaics and bottle caps to add dimension to their splash pads! The preschoolers have been working for 2 weeks on large-scale self-portraits. First, students had their bodies traced on large, brown paper. They used materials such as paint, oil sticks, paint markers, stickers, and rollers to show their features and clothing. The Dimorphodons are learning all types of photographic techniques. We took a walk around the block and captured the excitement of the neighborhood. The students then used a special solar-printing technique called Lumi Ink-o-Dye. By carefully adding a light-sensitive liquid to their t-shirts and layering an inverted image of their selected photograph on top, students were not only able to print their favorite photos...but now they can wear them!
The Parrots have been practicing different printmaking techniques in Art. Recently, we learned a new type of monoprinting technique printing on a gelatin plate. Students created mixed-media techniques by seeing what happened when they rolled ink onto the plate and pressed different objects and materials onto the plate. What will you be when you grow up? What will you look like? What type of job will you have? Where will you be living? These questions were presented to the students as a prompt to begin these futuristic self-portraits. Can you guess who they are? The students in the Butterflies class have been learning about color mixing. We worked at easels and made paintings. The students then went to an empty easel and decided to make an orange painting all together! We added one little orange square to the center of the artwork and called it "Collage."
The Ladybugs have been learning about animals in Art and are currently working on large-scale puppet sculptures, featuring an enormous head made out of papier-mâché! Here are some photos of the group working with the papier-mâché. The Starlings have been studying Art from Ancient Egypt. Recently we looked at artwork that depicted everyday life in Ancient Egypt. One artwork we spent a lot of time looking at was a stone relief carving of a kitchen. The Starlings drew inspiration from this piece and created a collage of a their own kitchens and something that they enjoying doing in there...eating a snack, helping a family member cook dinner, cleaning up after a meal, etc. The Butterflies enjoy experimenting with many different types of drawing, painting, and mixed media materials. Here are some of the great things they've been up to!
The Puffins are learning about animals and their habitats. We spent a few days learning about the shapes and colors of animals and how animals help humans with different tasks. The Puffins made paintings of their favorite animals. The Sea Hawks have been learning about people and relationships within the communities. The class worked collaboratively to create a large-scale ‘neighborhood’ mural, which targeted everyone's goals of flexibility and cooperation with peers. The Sea Hawks were very proud of their work!
The Bumblebees have been learning about circles! We learned about vinyl records and listened to music while we drew with oil sticks and then added more circular sculptural elements.
The two oldest classes have been working in clay for several weeks. Our final challenge was to create a standing figure, as part of our "Art in Motion" series.The Puffins are learning about the ways in which artists represent places. Many of the Puffins were very interested in restaurants and shared their own personal experiences at different types of restaurants. We made marker drawings which showed all of the different types of things you might find in a restaurant: the tables, chairs, food, people, restaurant grade, etc. Students then used dot stickers to create lights or food items or heads of people. We then used Washi tape to create patterns for the floors, tablecloths, or walls.
The Dragons and Dimorphodons are studying shoe design in Art. We spent a few classes doing observational drawings of our own shoes. Students were then asked to think about creating a "story" for their shoe...where would this shoe travel to? And created a "place" in the background for the shoe explore. |
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May 2018
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