Art Activity: An Interesting Face

Our inspiration for this art activity was the art work of Pablo Picasso.

Example 1

Example 2

We gave the children glue, paper, and facial features cut from magazines (eyes, noses, mouths, hair, etc...).  We asked the children if they could create an interesting face like one they would see in a Pablo Picasso painting.

Story Book for October 24, 2008

Our story book for October 24th was I Spy Colors in Art by Lucy Micklethwait.  Children use this book to play an I Spy game while exploring fine art.  This book is perfect for preschool aged children.

Field Trip: The Farm

This past week we took a field trip to a local farm.  The children got to go on a hayride pulled by a tractor.  They got to see peacocks, mules, horses, chickens, and donkeys.  We also got to have a picnic lunch and take home pumpkins from the farm.  

Art Activity: Ceiling Painting

Our inspiration for this art activity was the Sistine Chapel, which was painted by Michelangelo from 1508-1512.  We gave the children tempra paints of various colors and let them paint several extra ceiling tiles that we had.  After the paint was dry we installed the painted tiles on the ceiling of our classroom.  

That's right people.  We painted our ceiling.  I think you would have a hard time finding any other preschool classroom with a kid painted ceiling.

Story Book for October 22, 2008

Our story book for October 22d was Art Is... by Bob Raczka.  This book introduces over 2 dozen famous artworks from different time periods and mediums through photography.  This book uses simple text and great photography to allow children to compare and contrast these famous pieces of art and to broaden their definition of art.

Woodworking Activity: Class Sculpture

For our woodworking activity this past week we made a class sculpture.  The children used a hammer to nail various items to a piece of wood.  After all the children were finished hammering, the teachers spray painted the entire sculpture blue.  We now have a unique piece of artwork hanging in our classroom.

Art Activity: Starry Night Scratch Art

Our inspiration for this art activity came from a famous piece of artwork by Vincent Van Gogh entitled The Starry Night.   We gave the children scratch art paper and asked them to draw a night time picture.  The children used wooden sticks to scratch their drawings on their paper.  Each scratch on the paper revealed a rainbow of colors to the children.

Story Book for October 21, 2008

Our story book for October 21st was Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle.  This is another great book by Eric Carle depicting a boy who draws a series of items to make one large picture.

Science Activity: Color Mixing

One of our science activities this past week was color mixing.  We mixed tempra paint with water to make yellow, blue and red water.  We let the children pick 2 of the colors to mix.  The children added a scoop of each of the 2 colors they picked and mixed them together.  The results were the children learned how to make the secondary colors of purple, orange and green.

Special Visitor: Pottery Instructor

We had a special visitor come to our school on Monday.  A parent of one of our children brought in a pottery wheel to show the children how to turn clay into a ceramic bowl.  She demonstrated how to use the spinning wheel.  The children got to feel the wet clay while it was spinning on the wheel.  The visitor also showed the children all the special tools that are used when spinning pottery.  The next day the children we able to use colored glaze to paint their ceramic bowls.

Art Activity: Hanging Sculpture

We made a hanging sculpture for art today.  We have the children pipe cleaners, beads, buttons and other interesting materials.  The children created their part of the sculpture by lacing beads onto the pipe cleaners, or by twisting their pipe cleaners into interesting forms.  When all the children were finished we combined their creations into one large hanging sculpture.

Story Book for October 20th, 2008

Our story book for October 20th was 3-D ABC:  A Sculptural Alphabet by Bob Raczka.  This is an alphabet book that features many types of amazing sculptures.

Art Activity: Splatter Painting

This art activity was inspire by the art work of Jackson Pollack.  We showed the children an example of a Jackson Pollack splatter painting and let them do their own splatter painting art. We hung up an old sheet on the playground and then let the children decorate it in any way they wanted.  The children splattered, and splashed paint all over the sheet.  It was very messy, but now we have a great piece of art work hanging in our classroom.

Story Book for October 17th, 2008

Our story book for October 17th was Art by Patrick McDonnell.  This is a story of a boy named Art who tries his hand at all types of art.  He draws squiggles and wiggles, zigs and zags, and splatters with paint.  

Art Activity: The Scream

The art activity was inspired by a famous work of art called The Scream by Edvard Munch.  After showing the children this piece of artwork we gave them a photo of themselves imitating The Scream, some colored chalk and card stock paper.  The children used the colored chalk to draw the scenery for their art.  After the scenery was completed the children glued their photo to their paper to complete their creation.

Science Activity: Mixing Colors with Shaving Cream

For one of our science activities this week we used shaving cream and powdered paint to mix colors.  We asked the children to pick 2 colors of paint and asked them to predict what would happen when they mixed their 2 colors together in shaving cream.   The children could select between red, blue, and yellow paint.  The children used their hands to mix up the shaving cream and paint to make a new color.  Children that didn't want to use their hands were given spoons instead. 

Cooking Activity: Stained Glass Window Cookies

We made Stained Glass Window Cookies for our cooking activity this week.  First the children smashed up pieces of colorful hard candy.  Next the children rolled out cookie dough and used a large circle cookie cutter to cut out their cookie.  Next they used a smaller circle cookie cutter to make a hole in the center of their cookie.  Finally the kids placed the broken pieces of hard candy in the center of their cookie.  After cooking the kids got a soft cookie with a hard candy center.

Discovery Table for "Great Works of Art"

For out "Great Works of Art" unit we decided to put shaving cream in the discovery table.  Each day we add different colors of powdered tempra paint to the table so that the kids can practice mixing colors.

Story Book for October 16th, 2008

Our story book for October 16th was More Than Meet the Eye:  Seeing Art With All Five Senses by Bob Raczka.  The author of this book invites children to open their eyes to paintings, but also to experience art imaginatively with their mouths, ear, eyes, and fingertips.

Science Activity: Light Brite

For our science activity today, we let the children use the Light Brite to make colorful designs out of dots of colored light.  A simple, fun activity that encourages color recognition skills.

Math Activity: Dominos

We did a very simple math activity, today, that anyone can do at home.  We played a game of dominos.  The children touch counted the dots on the dominos and matched them with dominos that had the same number of dots.  Of course, we have the extra fun of playing with super sized dominos at our school.

Art Activity: Dots Like Seurat

Our art activity today was based on the art of Georges Seurat.   Seurat was best known for his technique of using small dots or strokes of contrasting color to create subtle changes in form.   We showed the children one of the Seurat's works of art and explained to them how he created his paintings just from using small dots.  We then gave the children Q-tips, paper, and a palette of paint.  We asked the children to create a picture just from colored dots.

Story Book for October 15 2008

Our story book for October 15th was The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.  This is that story of a little girl who believes that she has no artistic talent, but with the help of a teacher discovers that she is indeed a talented artist.

Art Activity: Icarus

Our art activity today was inspired by the famous artist Henri Matisse's Icarus.  After showing the children a photo of this famous piece of artwork, we gave the children scissors, glue sticks, scrap construction paper, and some pre-cut people shapes.  The children cut out their own shapes to glue around their pre-cut people shapes to make their own version of the Icarus.

Story Book for October 13, 2008

We read 2 short books for story time today.  The book that we read in the morning was Matisse Dance For  Joy by Susan Goldman Rubin.  The book combines the art work of the famous artist Henri Matisse with simple text that appeals to preschoolers.

The book that we read in the afternoon was Oooh Matisse! by Mil Nielpold.  This book shows close-ups of some of Matisse's most famous works and encourages children to look at art more closely.

Field Trip: The Speed Art Museum

We took a field trip today to the Speed Art Museum.  The children got to play in the interactive Art Sparks section of the museum before touring the rest of the museum to view paintings, sculptures and other great works of art.