Kindergarten

Rainbow Paintings

Self-Portraits with Markers

Vases with Handprint Flowers

Printmaking on Colorful Collages

Rainbow Mural

Purple Pictures Inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon

We read the book "Harold and the Purple Crayon," and had fun discovering Harold's power to create a world of his own! The students discussed their favorite thing Harold drew (sailboat, moon, forest, pathway, city, windows, bed) and then created their own purple pictures using construction paper, foam shapes, and sparkles.

Initial Paintings on Tiles

Turtles

Monet-Inspired Bridges

We read the book "The Magical Garden of Claude Monet" by Laurence Anholt and learned about Monet and his paintings of water lilies under the bridge. I did a directed drawing of a bridge on the board as the students drew their own on their paper. I gave them each a Q-tip and metallic gold paint, and they dabbed their paint onto their bridge. They mixed blues, purples, and magenta to paint the water, and a green and yellow to paint their plants/trees in the background. The students added lily pads from construction paper and made flowers from tissue paper to put in their water.

Cow Drawings

Corduroy Paintings

We read the book “Corduroy,” paying close attention to Corduroy’s outfit and the texture of his fur in the book. Each Kindergartner traced around a template of overalls onto construction paper, then drew basic shapes to create a large portrait of Corduroy. They used brown paint to paint the fur and then we talked about texture. They learned how to create the look of fur by using a toothpick to streak through the wet paint, adding a fuzzy texture to his fur. They also used a toothpick to create lines in the overalls, giving the texture of corduroy. They glued a button onto his strap and cut out eyes and a nose from construction paper.

As a follow up activity, we read "A Pocket for Corduroy" and the students cut out a pocket shape from wrapping paper scraps to glue onto Corduroy.

Christmas Nativity

The students did a lovely job painting a background with various shades of blue for their Christmas nativities!

Candy Cane Ornaments

The Kindergarten students practiced making patterns as they created a beautiful beaded candy cane ornament to bring home for Christmas!

Underwater Fish Paintings

We read the story "Pout Pout Fish and the Big Big Dark" which inspired the Kindergarteners as they painted an underwater scene. They used watercolors to paint a background first, then painted fish on a separate paper. They used green paper for seaweed and even glued some seashells onto the sand. Great work!

Apple Prints

Who doesn't like using food to make art?? The Kindergarten class used apples and sponge rollers to create these beautiful apple print paintings!

Paper Owl Collages

The students created these great owl collages! They sketched their owl on the paper, tore up brown paper and glued it onto the body, then painted the eyes on an egg carton. Some students chose to add feathers and color in a moon and stars for the background.

Silly Halloween Pumpkins

Kindergarten got into the Halloween spirit with their silly pumpkins! They assembled their pumpkins with construction paper and added some personality to their pumpkins with their eyes and mouth. Great job!

Little Monsters!

We read “The Day a Monster Came to School,” a short story about a monster who goes to school and misbehaves until he gets help from the teacher and students. We discussed what kind of rules he breaks in the story and talk about why it is important to have rules at school. This story does not come from a picture book so the students were asked to imagine how they thought the monster looked. They used the story as inspiration to create their own monster. They drew it using basic shapes, added color with paint, then glued on pom poms, feathers, antennas, etc.

God Gives Us the Gift of Forgiveness

At the beginning of each school year, the students' first art project is a piece relating to the school's theme. This year our theme is "God Gives Us Many Gifts." The kindergarteners created self portraits from paper and depicted the gift of forgiveness in their pictures by using a picture of shaking hands.

These projects will be hung around the school as a border and will remain all year to remind us of the many gifts we are blessed with.

ARTWORK BELOW THIS POINT IS FROM THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR.

Butterflies

After the students observed the transformation of their caterpillars to butterflies in their classroom, they created beautiful butterflies! They traced a butterfly template onto a paper, cut it out, and painted them using sponge stampers. They learned how to curl a pipe cleaner around their pencil to make curly antennas!

Animal Puppets

I showed the students how to fold a piece of construction paper to make a puppet. They could make any animal of their choice. They used paper scraps to cut and paste eyes, a nose, mouth, teeth, a tounge, stripes, etc.

Tissue Paper Flowers

The students made flowers from tissue paper and pipe cleaners to give to their moms at the annual "Spring Sing" performance in the gym.

Mother's Day Handprint Poem

Kindergarten made a beautiful Mother's Day picture with their handprint for their mothers. They use string to stitch a border around the paper and sequins to decorate around the poem.

Mosaic Turtles

The students created turtles from construction paper and turned the shell into a mosaic of beautifully colored squares. They used stamps and paint to create a border around their picture.

Paul Klee's "Castle and the Sun" Collages

We looked at painter Paul Klee's artwork and his use of colors and shapes. The Kindergartners used his painting "The Castle and the Sun" to inspire their own collages of a castle or a city.

Hand Print Flowers

The Kindergartners created a painting of a vase with flowers made from their hand prints. They chose a template of a vase to trace around and then drew a center for their flower. They dipped their hands into paint and rotated their hand prints 4-5 times around the center. The students used lines and patterns to create a fun design on their vase.

Easter Chicks

These Easter chicks are ready to hatch! The students used construction paper to create their egg and chick, and crayons to add a beautiful background!

Velveteen Rabbits

We read the classic story of "The Velveteen Rabbit" and imagined what it would be like if our stuffed animals came to life! The students sketched a picture of the Velveteen Rabbit and used crayons and oil pastels to create a background.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2nd), we read "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back!" and the students drew a portrait of the Cat in the Hat.

Family Portraits

We read a story called "The Relatives Came" by Rylant and shared stories of our own family coming to visit. Each student created a portrait of their family and any other relatives they wished to include.

Fish Paintings

The students used basic shapes (circles, triangles, diamonds, hearts, etc.) to draw their own fish. They colored them with crayons and painted their background.

Monet-Inspired Japanese Bridges

We read the book "The Magical Garden of Claude Monet" by Laurence Anholt and learned about Monet and his paintings of water lilies under the bridge. I did a directed drawing of a bridge on the board as the students drew their own on their paper. I gave them each a Q-tip and metallic gold paint, and they dabbed their paint onto their bridge. The next step was the water. I had them mix two shades of blue to paint their water, and a green and yellow to paint their plants/flowers.

Rainbow Gardens

Kindergarten learned the order of the colors in the rainbow and used oil pastels to create a rainbow and garden. They used tempera paint to create a wash, and painted it over their entire picture. Then they designed two butterflies, cut them out, and glued them onto their picture. Beautiful job, Kindergarten! Your rainbows sure brightened my day!

Apple Prints

Who doesn't like using food to make art? The Kindergartners thought I accidentally left my snack on the table when they saw apples next to the paint! I had the students use foam sponge rollers (each one had a different design -- zig zags, checkers, curvy lines) to create a border around their manila paper with red, yellow, or green tempera paint. This required them to have control of their hand so they could keep their border straight and close to each edge of the paper. Next, they pick up half of an apple and decided what color they wanted their apple to be. They dipped it in paint and stamped their apple in the center of their paper. They used small paintbrushes to paint a stem, leaf, and seeds.

Cow Drawings

We talked about cows and I showed the students how to draw a cow using simple shapes. They added color to their picture with crayons and then painted cow spots on a white paper for the background. Great job, Kindergarten!

Painted Ceramic Tiles

I got a hold of some ceramic tiles and the students had fun using sponges, stamps and gems to design their own tile with their first initial in it. They painted their initial with a paintbrush and bright, neon paints!

Kindergarten Penguins

The students created winter penguins from construction paper. They cut out arms, a body, beak, and eyes, then added colored circles for ear muffs. After gluing their penguins to paper, they chose a pipe cleaner for me to hot glue above the penguin's head to connect two circles like earmuffs. They finished their project with a snowy background, painted with a Q-tip!

Beaded Candy Cane Ornaments

The Kindergarten had fun creating a red/white pattern with beads on a pipecleaner to create a candy cane ornament. We attached "The Legend of the Candy Cane" with a ribbon.

The Legend of the Candy Cane:
A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that symbolized the true meaning of Christmas. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus. Hard candy to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus. It also represented the staff of the "Good Shepherd". The candymaker then included red stripes. He used three small stripes and a large red stripe to represent the suffering Christ endured at the end of his life.

The candy became known as a Candy Cane.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Corduroy the Bear Paintings

We read the book “Corduroy,” paying close attention to Corduroy’s outfit and the texture of his fur in the book. Each Kindergartner traced around a template of overalls onto construction paper, then drew basic shapes to create a large portrait of Corduroy. They used brown paint to paint the fur and then we talked about texture. I showed them a way to create the look of fur by using a toothpick to streak through the wet paint, adding a fuzzy texture to his fur. After painting his overalls, they glued a button onto his strap and cut out eyes and a nose from construction paper.

As a follow up, we read "A Pocket for Corduroy" and the students cut out a pocket shape from wrapping paper scraps to glue onto Corduroy.

Pumpkin Collages

Kindergarten had fun making a pumpkin collage just in time for our favorite holiday here at school! They painted their pumpkins with watercolors on white paper, then cut them out and glued them to a black background. They had a blast adding silly faces by cutting shapes from construction paper. Their goofy pumpkins are sure to make you smile!