With mild temperatures and clear skies, we couldn't help but take something outside...
Friday it was art.
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Art al fresco
With mild temperatures and clear skies, we couldn't help but take something outside...
Friday it was art.
Art Projects for Studying China
While learning about Chinese New Year, we stumbled upon a display of art work by local schools. Each display reflected an aspect of Chinese culture. The pictures below highlight the work and ideas.
Obviously, these are not our ideas, but we were inspired by them, and hoped you would be as well.
Here are the projects my kindergartner has done so far...
We have plans to work on the dragon this week or next. I happen to like the bowl of oranges, but he doesn't seem as keen on it as the fire breathing dragon...
Obviously, these are not our ideas, but we were inspired by them, and hoped you would be as well.
{Snake drawings with various patterns and textures -
2013 is the Year of the Snake}
{Cherry Trees drawn with black markers and pink flowers applied
with finger tips pressed in pink ink or paint}
{Dragons made from construction paper; head, tail, and legs cut out,
bodies formed by hand shapes}
{Bowls of oranges using construction paper shapes}
{Lanterns made from construction paper and pipe cleaners}
Here are the projects my kindergartner has done so far...
{I drew the snake outline, and he added the patterns and tongue.}
{I drew the lines of the tree and he added the blossoms.}
{I prepared the paper with spaced lines for him to cut.
He decorated the outside, cut on the lines, and stapled it together.}
We have plans to work on the dragon this week or next. I happen to like the bowl of oranges, but he doesn't seem as keen on it as the fire breathing dragon...
Learning and Creating with Balloons
It started with my mom's gift of twistable balloons.
There were directions on how to make numerous animals and flowers.
Unfortunately, the balloons must have been old or seconds.
They wouldn't twist and turn as they were suppose to.
More times than not, the balloon burst.
While the older children kept attempting the different animals,
our youngest opted to make a coiled snake.
Then, they all decided to pull out the various balloons we have in the house,
which included water balloons and regular balloons.
Water balloons filled with air became an instant fascination.
They created flowers and learned about static,
which got me thinking:
What else could we learn and create with balloons?
I was reminded me of last month's solar system display where we used various balloon sizes to represent the different planets {an idea from Exploring Creation with Astronomy}.
Then, I remembered last year's scented balloon activity.
I thought about books we have read in the past.
Fun Books we have read about Balloons
- Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade, by Melissa Sweet
- The Big Balloon Race, by Eleanor Coerr
All of this spurred me onward to find more lessons, demonstrations, and activities which used balloons, and can potentially be incorporated into future lessons.
Some of these ideas are listed below.
On Line Ideas for Learning with Balloons
On Line Ideas for Creating with Balloons
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Artist Study - Claude Monet
Recently, we took a few days to learn more about Claude Monet. To create interest, we began with a hands on project from The Usborne Art Treasury, by Rosie Dickins. The children listened as I read the short biographical piece and looked intently at the picture Water Lilies - Morning. They liked learning the tidbit about Monet painting while sitting in a boat. Then, they followed the outlined steps to create "Layered Lilies" out of tissue paper. The pictures below show their effort and results.
Afterwards, each of the older children read a library book and presented an oral report about Claude Monet. Our youngest listened as I read aloud two picture books about Monet.
Years ago, I had been to an exhibit of Monet's later works. Since I still have the book from it, the children were able to view multiple paintings. Another book from our own shelves offered a chronological viewing of many of his works.
Finally, to end our unit on Monet, we watched Linnea in Monet's Garden via Netflix.
Resources:
The Magical Garden of Claude Monet, by Laurence Anholt
A Blue Butterfly: A Story About Claude Monet, by Bijou Le Tord
Claude Monet, by Catherine Nichols
What Makes a Monet a Monet? by Richard Muhlberger
Artists Profiles for Kids: Claude Monet, by Jim Whiting
Who Was Claude Monet? by Ann Waldron
Are you looking for ONE book about Claude Monet that includes biographical information, art appreciation, hands on projects, and art terms? Then might I suggest:
Famous Artists: Claude Monet, by Anthony Mason
Art Appreciation for Young Students
We were at the library {shocking I know!} and during a search for a book on knitting, I found three new-to-us art appreciation books for younger students. All three are by the same author, Bob Raczka, and personally, I recommend all three!
Three great art appreciation books:
Art Is... by Bob Raczka begins each thought with the title and tells readers what art is. Each attribute is accompanied by a well known piece of art. The author does not limit his selections to famous paintings and sculptures. He includes fabric tapestries, buildings and even lamps. For instance, when he says it is "enlightening," the picture displays a beautiful table lamp by Tiffany.
No One Saw: Ordinary Things Through the Eyes of an Artist, by Bob Raczka capitalizes on the idea that we each individually see and experience the world uniquely. Thus, our art work, and the art work of famous artists reflects what we see and experience. The text is arranged to have a rhythmic flow with quite a few rhymes of artists' last names as well. This book predominately pictures paintings.
Unlikely Pairs: Fun with Famous Works of Art, by Bob Raczka is one unique book! My youngest son and I enjoyed the quirky and quite unlikely pairing of famous paintings. Most combinations presented a humorous take on the connection between the two art works. Whether it be a continuation of the pictures or a similar subject, the end result was a different, but creative way to connect art work from different time periods and styles.
An Afternoon of Autumn Art and Activities
One afternoon, after the books were put away, we spent time completing a few fall fun activities.
A few days before, we had picked up pumpkins, and this day we pulled out the paints, glitter, and assorted craft supplies to create...
and attempt a Georgia O'Keeffe inspired flower.
Then, while our pumpkins dried, we pulled on sneakers and piled into the van to travel to a nearby park for a creek walk.
We were there to walk rocks and collect fallen leaves for another autumn art project. However, while we were there, we couldn't help notice a few interesting textures.
Most of the leaves were just starting to change color, but we found a few we could gather.
Taking home these leaves, we laid them on the patio, placed a clean white sheet of paper over them, and pounded away with a hammer. The pigments from the leaves were supposed to transfer to the paper. Unlike the magazine article I had cut out and kept, it wasn't completely successful for us. In fact, this was our best transfer.
Honestly, I was disappointed, but the children enjoyed the process and liked that it at least worked slightly.
A dinner of pumpkin pancakes, maple syrup, baked apples, bacon, and apple cider, and a camp fire rounded out our autumn fun for the day.
Today, I am sharing a few more ideas for incorporating pumpkin painting into your homeschool studies.
Artist Study - Georges Seurat
Georges Seurat, a French artist, is probably most famously known for painting with pointillism {dots of paint}. Though he only lived for 31 years, from 1859-1891, Seurat painted memorable pictures which influenced many artists.
We began our lesson with a reading of The Life and Work of Georges Seurat, by Paul Flux. Presenting a brief overview of his life, this picture biography hits the highlights and offers interesting tid bits about his life and art work.
After the reading, the children tried pointillism. I had printed this coloring page from Making Art Fun, and the children used markers to color the page. As an added bonus, I used this opportunity to review primary and secondary colors. Each child had three markers: blue, red, and yellow. They used these primary colors to create the secondary colors of orange, purple, and green. Pointillism is a technique which uses dots of color to create 'true' colors in a painting. By using dots of red and yellow side by side in an area, the children were able to create an area of orange.
Then we viewed A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (painted 1884-86) because we have a rather large print of this hanging in our utility room. {Doesn't everyone decorate their utility rooms with beautiful art prints? Maybe that's just us. Personally, I wanted something pretty to look at when doing the laundry.} The children are pretty familiar with the painting since they help fold the wash. Even so, we completed a picture study of it.
We finished our lesson on Seurat with our own attempts at pointillism with paint. First the children outlined a subject. Then, picked paint colors. They used cotton swabs {many} to fill in their paintings with dots of paint. Afterward, the children declared pointillism to be 'difficult,' but expressed a new admiration for Seurat's use of it and the results he achieved. {Folding laundry may have just gotten a bit more enjoyable for them as well.}
For review, a few days later, I gave each of the older children a printed copy of Making Art Fun's artist biography and their word search. It was a great way to reinforce what they had learned earlier in the week about Georges Seurat.
We began our lesson with a reading of The Life and Work of Georges Seurat, by Paul Flux. Presenting a brief overview of his life, this picture biography hits the highlights and offers interesting tid bits about his life and art work.
After the reading, the children tried pointillism. I had printed this coloring page from Making Art Fun, and the children used markers to color the page. As an added bonus, I used this opportunity to review primary and secondary colors. Each child had three markers: blue, red, and yellow. They used these primary colors to create the secondary colors of orange, purple, and green. Pointillism is a technique which uses dots of color to create 'true' colors in a painting. By using dots of red and yellow side by side in an area, the children were able to create an area of orange.
Then we viewed A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (painted 1884-86) because we have a rather large print of this hanging in our utility room. {Doesn't everyone decorate their utility rooms with beautiful art prints? Maybe that's just us. Personally, I wanted something pretty to look at when doing the laundry.} The children are pretty familiar with the painting since they help fold the wash. Even so, we completed a picture study of it.
We finished our lesson on Seurat with our own attempts at pointillism with paint. First the children outlined a subject. Then, picked paint colors. They used cotton swabs {many} to fill in their paintings with dots of paint. Afterward, the children declared pointillism to be 'difficult,' but expressed a new admiration for Seurat's use of it and the results he achieved. {Folding laundry may have just gotten a bit more enjoyable for them as well.}
For review, a few days later, I gave each of the older children a printed copy of Making Art Fun's artist biography and their word search. It was a great way to reinforce what they had learned earlier in the week about Georges Seurat.
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