Self Portraits

This is me!

In anticipation of the MMS kindergarten graduation celebration, our class worked on self portraits this week. As you may recall, the children made watercolor self portraits in the beginning of the year. This was a chance for them to revisit the idea of creating a portrait of themselves as well as to show off the skills they have learned this year.

Although this project had many steps and requirds both focus and patience, the children did really well with it.

We began with black construction paper. Using light-colored pencils, we outlined our faces, necks, shoulders and all of our features. We paused for questions, help and direction to be sure that we really had the basics of our faces down before moving on the the next phase.

After this the kids traced over their colored pencil lines with black oil pastel. Then they used a rainbow of oil pastels to color their faces, hair, eyes and backgrounds just the way they liked.

These portraits are beautiful! Quite expressive both in style and substance. I hope that the kids are proud of what they accomplished in these pieces. I know that I am!

Welcome to my Dream House!

Today (even though I promised colorful bubbles last week), we spent the whole class building our dream houses out of construction paper. In the beginning of class I did a short, simple demonstration to show the basic idea of using shapes to construct a house. (Using a square for the shape of the building, a triangle roof, rectangle door, square windows and rectangle chimney. )

The kids were then given large pieces of black construction paper and a wide selection of fluorescent, patterned and ordinary construction paper. They cut and pasted all class long. Take a look at these works in progress!

 It didn't take long for some very interesting and creative developments to take place.

Without any prompting or suggestions, houses appeared that were both asymmetrical...

 and symmetrical!

Some children worked individually -- and some teamed up!

 Scroll down and see if you can spot your child's house.

The work is not labeled with names this week.

As a special "hide and seek" challenge for parents,your child has included his/her initials somewhere on the house.

 When you do find your child's house, be sure to ask about the special features that your child chose to include.

Coming soon... Colorful Bubbles and

a BIG Mother's Day Surprise!

Today the kids worked on the first stage of a two part art project that will be a refresher on color relationships.

Although you can't tell yet, by the end of next class, these black and white circles will be filled with glorious color. For today we just focused on cleanly printing the outlines of the bubbles using black acrylic (washable!) paint and Styrofoam cups and mini paper drinking cups.

For the rest of the class we worked on a surprise art project. Spoiler alert: We are already thinking about Mother's Day! Although I can't tell you what the kids made, I can tell you that they were incredibly focused and careful in their work. My feeling in class was that the love and care that they took in their creations really reflects the love they share with you!

Kindergarten moms can look forward to seeing this surprise project (and taking it home) at your MMS Mother's Day tea!

ROAR! Lions have arrived!

April came in like a lion this morning with an early morning snow storm....

Perfect for today's kindergarten class! Today practiced drawing lions!

This lesson was meant to illustrate how we can draw anything, as long as we break it up into the simple lines and shapes that we already know.

Following step by step instructions, we constructed our lions using circles, lines, triangles, and letter shapes. Beginning with a circle for the head.. and ending with a rounded "L" for the tail, the lions came to life. The kids then added their own details, like the style of the mane and the details of the background. After that they colored their lions and backgrounds using colored pencils.

These stunning scenes are now displayed in the main hall at MMS, come on in and see them!

Cherry Blossoms!

Cherry trees bloomed today in MMS!

In anticipation of the first day of spring, the kindergartners painted cherry trees in bloom! It was a wonderful project  with amazing results but it was messy. Parents, I apologize if your child came home looking like a cherry tree! They were wearing their aprons -- but they managed to get messy anyway.

For those of you who pick up at school, these pieces will be on display beginning tomorrow (Wednesday) in the main hall. For everyone else, scroll through and see the final pieces at the end of this post.

Our project began with the kids mixing their own light blue paint and using large paintbrushes to paint their whole paper blue. This blue was the sky and background for the piece. Using the large brushes give the kids a chance to paint fast and increase their hand strength and control.

Next we mixed browns and used squares of cardboard to dip and print the branches and trunks of the trees. This is the part of the project where the style of the artist and the character of their tree really starts to shine through.

Finally, no summertime cherry tree is complete without cherry blossoms. The kids mixed their own pinks, making sure that the color was just right for them, then added the blossoms using a bottle cap as a printing tool.

It was also a pleasure to hear the children complimenting each others work. Making art can feel risky sometimes. We might think: "Is it good enough?", "Is it right?"  But in a classroom full of thoughtful friends, everyone can feel safe, supported and appreciated.

Scroll through these beautiful pieces below. I'm happy to say that these trees are just as varied and unique as the children who made them. Beautiful work kids!

 

Van Gogh's Waterlilies -- In Watercolor!

Welcome spring!

To celebrate this beautiful weather, today the kinder class made landscapes based on Vincent Van Gogh's classic waterlily paintings. We began today's class with a quick introduction to Vincent Van Gogh as an artist. We viewed a wide selection of his paintings. We quickly noticed that his favorite subject was nature -- and his favorite colors blue and yellow!

Waterlilies by Vincent Van Gogh

With this in mind we began work on our own pieces.

First we prepared our watercolor paper by adding waterproof electrical tape to the pages in the shape of the bridge. The children added the rails in tape as well and then began their paintings. Here are photos capturing the works in progress. The children were free to make whatever color and design choice they chose as long as they made sure to paint the whole page with color.

After the paintings were full of color and the kids felt they were complete, we laid them out to dry and took some time to work on sketchbooks and free drawings. Then, when the paintings were dry, we peeled off the electrical tape to reveal the bridges! These are GORGEOUS. Stop by school and take a look!