ROBOTS (Part 2!)

This morning we painted our robots with glorious metallic paints! The kids had a warm bronze and a cool silver to choose from. Most of the kids tried at least a little bit of each color. I encouraged the kids to paint carefully and to be sure to paint ALL of the cardboard so that their robots would look like they were really made of metal.

 When all the robots were painted we lay them out to dry and took a little time to color. The kids brought home their coloring today, so you can take a look!

When the robots were dry, we pulled them back out again and added details. We had a selection of sparkles, color squares (the kids made these at the beginning of the year for a different project), pipe cleaners, Q-tips, paper clips, pennies, feathers and an assortment of beads. Here are the completed works! Enjoy!

A special congratulations to Ashley who was absent last week and managed to build her robot, paint it and add details in a single morning!

ROBOTS! (Part 1)

Today we began one of my favorite projects -- BUILD YOUR OWN ROBOT.

Robots are the coolest! Not surprisingly, the kids have ample cultural knowledge on both what robots look like and what their uses are. So when we asked the question, "if I could design my own robot, what would it be like?" the answers were many!

We began with a large piece of black construction paper and some pre-cut pieces of cardboard. The kids used the cardboard to construct their robots one shape at a time, beginning with the largest pieces (body, head and limbs) and then moving to details. Over the course of a busy class we saw robots begin to emerge that had: wheels, buttons, hats, bracelets, crowns, belts, lightning bolts, along with limbs, faces and bodies of many different sizes and shapes.

Here is a sneak peek at the process. There won't be any pictures of individual work today - you'll see those when the kids are done!

Because this project is so intuitive and hands on, and because the kids are free to pick, change and arrange shapes as they please, they are constantly making new discoveries. "Hey, this triangle doesn't have to be a hat, it could be an ear!" Rectangles turn into hair. Triangles attached around the sides of a double thick square make a muli dimensional diamond controller (whoa!). The kids made so many new discoveries and were inspired by one another.

This gave us a chance to talk about how artists often borrow ideas from one another. To make work that inspires someone else is a compliment and should be received as such. Instead of feeling protective of ones work, we can feel generous and happy knowing that someone else admires what we have made.

The robots look amazing. Next week we will be painting them with silver (or gold, or bronze!), turning them into powerful, metallic masterpieces.

My Winter Home

This week we finished up a secret (shhh!) present for Donuts for Dads Day.
Dads, you’ll see your present in a couple of weeks!

Then we began a project entitled “My Winter Home”. The kids chose between purple, blue and black paper. Then we drew our houses on the page with white oil pastel. The kids spent time remembering and imagining all the important details of their homes. Let’s talk about doors, windows, roofs, doorknobs, walkways, shutters, chimneys, everything! We added a ground line in the back and then our houses were sitting pretty, ready for color.

Then the kids colored their houses as they pleased with oil pastels. We didn’t limit ourselves to the “real” colors of our house but instead chose colors that gave us the feeling of being home. I noted lots of bright warm colors. :) Sky and earth also received colors at the children’s discretion. As a final touch we added snow with Q-tips and white paint in anticipation of the snow we expect to see this afternoon.

 

These little houses are so sweet. The kids worked hard on them and I think their effort really shows. It’s also easy to see the love they have in their hearts for the places they call home.

If you'd like to see a few "work in progress" photos, scroll down!