Still life drawings and paintings

We were talking about fruits and vegetables in class so I decided to have them do still life drawings. This little art project actually helped with quite a bit of teaching. That day they learned what an artist is, that there are different kinds of art, and what still life is. The best way I was able to describe a still life was to move around and ask if I was still. They said "No!" Then I froze and asked if I was still and they shouted Yes! So I explained that Still Life drawings are when we draw things that are frozen in front of us. I put a bowl of toy food in the middle of the table and gave them colored pencils. The paper I gave them had a big circle drawn in the middle. I explained to them that that was their bowl and they needed to draw the fruit inside. We did the exact same thing with water colors later that week. When I asked them later in the week what a still life was, most of them were able to explain it to me.

Below is a some of their drawings that I hung up. Backed up in green are some quotes of them telling me what they drew.

My favorite: "I drew an apple and rain."

Lining up

Anyone who teaches young kids knows that getting them to line up is one of the largest challenges of the day unless they have a specific spot to stand/sit on.

I have two kids who always put themselves in back and while we are walking they will dance around each other trying to be the last person in line. It is beyond annoying.

I started putting pictures on the floor for them to stand on when we line up and I change them every two weeks as our unit changes. I have two pictures here.

The first is from our space unit. The pictures start at the sun and then the planets stretch out in the correct order. We were able to use this for more than lining up. We used it as a visual representation when we talked about why we can't live on other planets (too close or too far from the sun). We also used it for a game where they rolled dice and did a "planet hop."

The second picture is our animal unit. The only learning I was able to do with this was to talk about which animal was which. However, the "line leader" picture is a picture of my puppy. So whenever they are being really good they get to go sit on Lily. They know she is my puppy and they have all been working really hard to get to sit on Lily. It's very cute.

Star Light Star Bright

So I admit this is not the most creative idea, but it turned out to be really cute so I'm sharing it anyway.

I read them the poem "Star Light Star Bright" during our space unit. Then we had a quick discussion about wishes.

I had yellow pieces of paper that I had traced stars onto. They cut out the stars which is GREAT for the fine motor skills. It also keeps them busy, and because they get so into it they stay quiet and focussed. It's incredible.

While they were cutting out their stars, I went around asking them what their wish was. If they were confused I brought up disney movies like Cinderella (fairy god mother) or Aladdin (magic lamp) so that they would understand what I meant by a wish.

There were some pretty cute wishes. "I wish the sun would come out" was my favorite. My second favorite was "I wish I could go to A-Po-De-Po." Which meant Home Depot.

Some other good ones were: "I wish I had pizza," "I wish I had a building," "I wish I could go to the stars," "I wish I had a star," "I wish I could go to the candy store."

When we were all done, I hung up their stars. Some weren't cut out very well but I think that makes it even cuter. I also typed up their wishes and put their quote next to their star. I printed the poem and put it in the middle of everything also.

Next time I do this I might let them decorate their stars with glitter. However, it's a rare day that I want to clean up glitter after ten 3yr olds :)

Here's a picture. I blurred out the names even though it's hard to read anything at all. After I took this picture, I added pictures of the kids cutting their stars out. It was really really cute.

summer camp display

okay, this one took about a week to truly finish but it is an enormous collaboration of activities and topics we discussed in class. At the time, my boss and I were working together so she came up with all the activities below. I merely put it all together for a display.

We are in the middle of summer so we were discussing summer activities. Each day I did one of the following activities:

1) Make Beach Balls
I gave them each a small paper plate on which I had drawn lines like a beach ball. They were able to color, glue materials I had around the classroom, etc.

2) Beach Umbrellas
I had cut out the design of the top part of an umbrella. They drew, glue, etc. I added popsicle sticks to make the pole.

3) Boats
I literally gave them a half circle to decorate in the same way as above. This time we discussed the type of boat they were making. Some of the kids understood what I was asking (i.e. some have a family boat) and said they were making a motor boat, or a sale boat, etc. Some didn't understand but still had fun.

For each of the activities we discussed what they were and how they were related to a beach. Many of the children shared stories about their experiences with the items at the beach.

In the meantime, I taped up the water, sand, and sky to the wall. I also added the border. The border included little people who they decorated with bathing suits and colored their own skin and hair. The faces are pics of their own faces. At the time we took the pictures, they were wearing paper sunglasses so it was really silly and they loved it. The blurred areas are pics of them playing for water day. For the protection of the children's privacy I will always blur out their pictures.

When all of the activities were done, they sat down in front of the display. I held up one of their art projects and asked where it would go. The whole making of the display was interactive and super cute.

When it was all done, it looked like this

PB&J construction paper sandwiches!

Peanut Butter Jelly Display and Activity for our Food Unit 

We made "PB&J Sandwiches" from construction paper.

My prep included: making bread, jelly, and peanut butter. I cut out square pieces of yellow paper (bread), squiggly shaped red and purple paper (strawberry and grape jelly) and brown squiggly shapes (peanut butter).

I discussed with the kids what each thing represented. When I passed it out, I asked if they wanted strawberry or grape jelly. I also gave them one peanut butter. Then I gave them glue sticks. They did the rest! Some left bread off, or put things inside out. It was very cute to see how each one of them pictures a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Finally, I took pictures of them pretending to eat their sandwiches.

Afterward I hung up this display with pictures of them making it.

*I have blurred out the names that are on their sandwiches and the faces in their pictures so that no child can be identified*