draw what you see

drawing a pencil with a pencil...have YOU tried that???

"drawing
is like
taking
a line
for
a
walk..." (klee).


Art is how you feel, what you touch, what touches you.

colors, lines, shapes.

eyes, hands.

you.
you are the art.








We offered the idea of Still Life art with our 4s and 5s. This process is something that works well after a length of time in your classroom (months even) where children have had extended choice time with art materials, exploring, inventing, using Stuff, using Stuff again and again, discovering a sense of being an artist.

The idea of Still Life can be really fun for children. We talked about how art is YOUR CHOICE and WHAT YOU SEE. We talked about how in Still Life artists often try to represent what something really looks like, exactly, yet  - ironically - the art work always depends on YOU, The Artist, and how YOU see something.

We talked about

• details
• looking again and again
• color
• shape
• curves and line
• size and spatial sense
• going slow so your eye and your hand can work like a team !

In our First Work the children chose anything in the classroom for their Still Life drawing. This is a wonderful way of engaging children because - no surprise - they will be more connected to their work when they have choice and ownership. The choices of items themselves were a delight to see - who would have known that someone wanted to try to draw a cell phone? a dinosaur skeleton? blocks stacked just so? or a pair of Fiskar scissors?

**[my apologies for the less-than-fabulous photos as these are photos of photos...I think they still offer a strong sense of the quality of the children's efforts].

The second experience with Still Life was outside among our big trees and flowering hills of our school yard. The children used clipboards, chose whatever they wanted to draw, sat where they chose to sit to observe their "still life" and dove into their work.

Outside with clipboards...trees, flowers, drawing close-up and drawing far away...

The third experience with Still Life was with a classic vase of flowers. These were challenging and beautiful! We presented the group with the same item - the vase of flowers -  yet their different perspectives allowed each art work to be as though they had their own vase.

"Drawing is like taking a line for a walk..."(and who doesn't enjoy a lovely walk?)

Go. Take a walk with your children:
Draw what you see.

this is me: self portraits

child's details: nose and lips shapes, teeth, eyebrows, skin and hair blended colors, one barrette.

Oh. Self portraits.
Many schools require students to do self portraits a few times during the school year to place into their portfolio as evidence of small motor, facial details, hand-eye coordination, perspective, spatial sense. While this is wonderful on a certain level, it is more so a requirement (and often assessed or graded) and not so much an extended exploration.

Many other schools offer the idea of portraits to children from another lens.
Teachers might offer portrait making for students as a way for them to see themselves from another angle, reflected in a mirror, to try to SEE one's self and then represent it on paper. It is an art process and also quite a personal process as there is absolutely no right way to represent one's self - one's face.

It is a treasure to offer the experience to children and for them to engage with the materials, the mirror and their own face for the length of time they choose to do so.

pencil and mirror ready: look up, then draw, then look up again, then draw...

this boy had such fun with his portrait: his hair that day was quite fantastic and he made sure to capture it!

the nose is one of the most challenges shapes to draw. this child used a triangle shape then used circles for eyes.

Ways to introduce the exploration of self portrait:

• MEETING: before getting to the art tables, handle the mirrors to explore what we SEE.
• INTRO NEW LANGUAGE: long/short hair, dark/light hair, dark/light skin, eye shape and color and eyelashes, nose shape (this is a big challenge and usually an interesting discussion !), mouth and lip shape (also an interesting discussion), ears (do you see yours?), etc.
• INTRO how to DRAW WHAT YOU SEE by GOING SLOW so YOUR HAND and YOUR EYE can work together.
• IF you do not have mirrors, you can offer a color photograph of the child's face.
• Younger children (2-3), the representation might be a large shape or lines for the head, and some lines or markings inside the shape or around for possibly eyes or a nose. Hair is sometimes fascinating for younger children to try to draw as it is often lines that can curl or curve or go on & on.
• Working with 4s and 5s and older, the representation will likely have a few more concrete shapes and images that are in close proximity to where they truly are on their face. 
• THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY to tackle self portraits. It can depend on your children, their prior experience using art mediums and their interest or ability to stay engaged.
• YOU MIGHT CHOOSE crayons, pastels, chalk, charcoal, pen, watercolor...depends on the children and your available art mediums.
• YOU MIGHT CHOOSE to have a table available for portraits for days and days, not just as a small group experience on a specific day.

These 5-year-olds were part of an art class where we voted on different things to try each week.







 







Their portraits took a few visits for their sketch details and then the watercolor layer.

The completed portraits were so stunning.
The children's personalities were evident in each one.

This is me.





This is me.




THIS IS 
ME.

hungry caterpillar felt story

I was inspired by NurtureStore's The Very Hungry Caterpillar activities and wanted to offer one more to help celebrate the work of the incredible Eric Carle.

[ *I should note that this post is unusual in that it presents "my work" that I created to add to the children's hands-on choices in the classroom. There is always - always - room to adjust the example for children to be the inventors of these characters or others, in felt or paper, as puppets, on sticks, whatever works for your child or children :) ]

You can write the story on a long cardstock or use index cards...or memorize it :)

When I first began teaching many years ago, I started making games and activities that could extend math or literacy related experiences for preschool age children.

I decided one day to make a FELT STORY of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I fondly remember spending a few nights with Colored Felt, Scissors, Hole Punch, TVHC Book, and Glue. The result was quite impressive, colorful and ready to be used by young hands!

Tip: If you have never made a felt story before, they are fun and easy! You can literally make the key characters and objects from a story using all felt OR you can use colored paper or the computer to then attach a bit of felt or velcro on the back and that should work just fine on a flannel board. Or, attach a bit of magnet to use on a magnet board! (and, the floor works just fine with less than four children!)

"by the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a leaf..."

"...the sun...and out popped the little caterpillar..."

"Monday...the very hungry caterpillar at through one apple...still hungry"

"Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday...2,3,4,5...still hungry"

"Saturday...uh,oh...tummy ache"

"Sunday one leaf...then so big...then cocoon...then WAIT...then Voila! A Beautiful Butterfly!"

Obviously, I didn't write the full story in the photo boxes, yet  - of course - you should uplift the integrity of the story by doing so when you share with children!

I have found that children take wonderful care of felt pieces and stories when you organize them in a way that sends that message = perhaps a basket, a shoebox or even a zip-bag with a label. Certainly things happen over time - like our dear butterfly has had her antennae snipped a bit - but overall children want to care for and re-create the story! They especially love the "junk food", the strawberries, the very full caterpillar...and The Butterfly!

Cheers to Eric Carle and all his dearly loved books!