Monster Painting Activity

In this lesson, Kindergarten students learn about primary and secondary colors. To begin, the teacher fills a cookie sheet with shaving cream and adds a fair amount of two different primary colors of paint on top of that. Students swirl the two colors together to form a secondary color, but still being able to see both primary colors as well. After that, students take their 12x16 piece of white paper and place it on top of the shaving cream and gently press downwards. Then, students lift the paper off the shaving cream and scrap off the excess shaving cream with a ruler. 

The next step is to set it aside to dry. After the paper has dried, students cut a monster of their choice out of the design they created on the paper. Students then use other paper such as construction paper to cut out eyes and a mouth for their monster. To finish the monster activity, students are required to give their monster a name and also use 3 adjectives to describe their monster. I named my monster "Eye". 

Extension activity: Students could use this activity in English class! They could write a poem or even a short story about their monster. 

Printmaking

I got the opportunity to teach students about printmaking! First, students learn about the history and 4 main types of printmaking. Then, students learn about Andy Warhol and will see pictures of a few of his works. Students are then instructed to brainstorm different symbols/ideas that they will use on their prints. These symbols should represent what is important to them. A few examples include: a cross, heart, sun, people, fish, pencil, basketball, football, etc.

Students then begin to sketch their symbols onto a Styrofoam plate using a #2 pencil. They need to use enough pressure when sketching onto their plate so that the print shows up. After the sketching is complete, students will paint over their sketch using a roller. Once painted, students flip their plate over and press it onto a 9x11 piece of construction paper. They also use a clean roller to help press down on their print. Once rolled, students lift the plate up and the design they sketched should appear on the piece of construction paper. Students then wash off their Styrofoam plate with water and repeat the painting process using a different color than before. Both prints should be on the same piece of construction paper. After the prints are finished, students are required to describe at least 3 of their symbols on a notecard. The notecard is then glued to the same piece of construction paper.

My printmaking symbols represented the following:

·         Flower = love for summer

·         Pencil = love for teaching

·         People = love for my family

·         Basketball = love for sports

·         Fish = love for fishing

Extension activities: For social studies, students could create a print displaying our state flag. For science, students could create a print showing the different parts of a plant. 

Below is a picture of how all the prints were displayed on a bulletin board: 

Personal Mandala

In this lesson, students learn about what a mandala is and its history/culture. A mandala is a sacred space, often a circle, which reveals some inner truth about you or the world around you. Students also learn about elements of art that are included in mandalas, such as balance, line, shape, and repetition. For this project, students create their own mandala using meaningful symbols that represent their own lives.

To begin, students learn about radial symmetry and create a design on a quarter section of their circular paper. The students are required to use at least 3 symbols that represent their lives. After that, students need to tape that down to their desk. Now, the students need to take their final mandala, lay it on top of the template, and trace the design on it. Once a quarter section is finished, the students need to rotate their mandala a quarter turn and trace the same design. They repeat this process until the full circle mandala is complete. Students can now color their mandala. On a notecard, students need to explain each symbol they used on their mandala. To finish the project, students glue their mandala and notecard to a 9x11 piece of construction paper. Remember: student name on the project! 

On my mandala the symbols represent the following:

·         Cross = strong faith

·         Pencil = love for teaching!

·         Flower = love for summer

·         Shoe = enjoy running/working out

·         6 infinity signs = 6 members of my family

Extension activities: Students can use this project to practice finding symmetry in math. Students can also use this as an introductory tool when they first begin school and are trying to get to know each other.