You may have noticed some interesting creatures coming home lately. Many of the kids have been collage crazy. 🙂 Last year I always wanted to get to the place where the children had the basic art skills down and were able to choose materials to create with freely. This year it is happening. In the art room, there have been numerous cats, people, birds, and other creatures emerging from paper, scissors, and glue. In a desire to build on this we worked on a silly creature/monster project. Looks like I’m already looking forward to Halloween. 🙂

Process Art

First, the children painted cardboard boxes, which I then cut into a variety of shapes. (There was an oversight in the choice of the box from Costco. I thought the purple would be pretty. Oops. Lesson learned! That won’t happen again.)

Then the kids combined the pieces with eyes, mouths, etc…It is amazing to see how they put the materials together and created these creatures. They love them and then want to bring them to life through play. 

We will also be exploring the change of season in the art room. We will bring nature inside with leaf painting and leaf rubbings with watercolor. Although many children are creating products please understand this is not our purpose. We are interested in the process. Our chalk paint-making lesson a couple of weeks ago really exemplified this. The most satisfying part of this exploration was seeing how the chalk first changed to dust, then when mixed with water became different thicknesses, and finally how the color looked on paper. 

Here are a few things you can say when engaging with your child about their art:

  • What can you tell me about your picture? (instead of What is it?)
  • What materials did you use?
  • How did you get the idea for this picture?
  • What do you like about your picture?
  • Why did you…

Housekeeping

  • Thank you for being on time for school. Our door closes at 8:30 a.m. and we begin individual and group lessons. I love being able to have a nice greeting/ check-in with all of the students before we start our work.
  • Reminder to pack a spoon, fork, and napkin for your child’s lunch
  • Moving into our projects with leaves, we would love the kids to bring in leaves they collect on a nature walk or in their yard. Think big leaves that would be good to paint, and leaves that aren’t too crunchy to make rubbings with. 

Song Sharing

Brown Squirrel

Brown Squirrel, Brown Squirrel

Shake your bushy tail.

Brown Squirrel, Brown Squirrel

Shake your bushy tail.

Crinkle up your little nose.

Crack a nut between your toes.

Brown Squirrel, Brown Squirrel

Shake your bushy tail.