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.

{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 About Chinese New Year

 

This past Saturday, our family visited the art museum for a Chinese New Year learning experience.

There was a Dragon Dance,

 

 

 

a Yo-Yo Demonstration,

 

 

 

a Dough Figurine Making Station,

 

 

and Calligraphy Demonstrations.

 

 

There was also plenty of snake themed art projects, which the children could make.

{It is the Year of the Snake.}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did I mention it was free?
What an amazing learning experience!

Travel the World - North America

This year, my Kindergartner is learning about the world, one continent at a time.  On this journey around the world, our first stop was North America, mainly because we live here! 

Spine Books:
National Geographic Beginner's World Atlas  (pp. 16-25)
The Usborne Book of Peoples of the World  (pp. 10-23)
The Usborne World of Animals  (pp. 44-53)

Read Alouds and Activities ~

Geography:
Galloping the Globe, by Loree Pettit and Dari Mullins (maps and flags - pp. 123,130,136,144,156) 
One Nation: America by the Numbers, by Devin Scillian
Canada ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Canada, by Brenda Haugen
M is for Mexico, by Flor de Maria Cordero
Hands of the Maya: Villagers at Work and Play, by Rachel Crandell
Guatemala ABCs: A Book about the People and Places of Guatemala, by Marcie Aboff

{Galloping the Globe, page 130}

History and Biographies:
Buffalo Bill, by Ingri &Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
The Buffalo are Back, by Jean Craighead George
Hill of Fire, by Thomas P. Lewis

Science:
Flute's Journey: The Life of a Wood Thrush, by Lynne Cherry

Art:
Geography Through Art, by Sharon Jeffus & Jamie Aramini

• Native American Hide Paintings (pp. 126-127)
• Quick Sketch: Moose (p. 117) - a bit too difficult for my Kindergartner, substituted with Easy to Read! Easy to Draw! Animals version of how to draw a moose

 

• Maple Leaf Rubbings (p. 116) - added to make it a full blown science page with bark rubbing and information (this idea found in Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids, by Gail Gibbons

 

• Papel Picado (p. 121)

 

 

 

• God's Eye (p. 122)

 

Discovering Canada, by Dianna J. Sullivan (p. 36-27) dog sled scene

 

Papercrafts Around the World, by Phylis Fiarotta and Noel Fiarotta, (p. 17) Curlicue Birds - Mexico

Literature and Fun Stories:
Bluebonnet Girl, by Michael Lind - a Comanche legend about bluebonnets told in lyrical text
Mike Fink: A Tall Tale, retold by Steven Kellogg - an American tall tale
Holy Mole! by Caroline McAlister - a Mexican folk tale
The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book, by Bob Harman (pp. 16-17)

Bible and Missionaries:
Missionary Stories with the Millers (pp. 5-9)

Extras:
The United States of America Puzzle, by Melissa and Doug

Next Stop: South America

Travel the World

This school year, our kindergartner will be learning about the world, one continent at a time.

We are using these three books as spines for this year long world study:

1. National Geographic Beginner's World Atlas
2. The Usborne Book of Peoples of the World
3. The Usborne World of Animals (out of print, a more recent version can be found here)

Other resources, which we will use from time to time, include:

• Geography Through Art, by Sharon Jeffus & Jamie Aramini
• Missionary Stories with the Millers, by Mildred A. Martin
• Galloping the Globe, by Loree Pettit and Dari Mullins
• Children Just Like Me, by Barnabas & Anabel Kindersley
• The Usborne Book of Houses and Homes, by Carol Bowyer
• The Usborne Book of Peoples of the World, by Roma Trundle
• Around the World Coloring Book, by Winky Adam
• Holidays Around the World Coloring Book, by Joan O'Brien
• Christmas Aound the World Coloring Book, by Joan O'Brien
• The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book, by Bob Hartman

A couple more resources I found at our local library:

• Around the World in 80 Tales, by Saviour Pirotta
• Geography Crafts for Kids, by Joe Rhatigan & Heather Smith

Along the journey, we're adding plenty of other books specific to the continent or country we are studying, too.

Through it all, our kindergartner is creating a notebook which records our travels while noting his learning.

The very first page in his notebook he completed during the first few days of school.  We wanted him to know Who owned the earth.  He traced the words and added a bunch of stickers to decorate. {The cover of his notebook has a passage from Acts 17.}

Before we selected a continent to study, we introduced him to the world as a whole, and then taught him about globes and maps.  To help him better understand the difference between a map and a globe, I tried this little orange peel idea I have used with each of our children.  {Not sure where I first heard about this idea, but am ever grateful as I have used it many times to explain maps and globes.}

Our first stop: North America.