Noise Makers

I wanted my class to think about different purposes of art. Some art can actually be used for a purpose other than strictly being visual. We discussed other types of art such as music, dance and theater. Using paper plates, the class made "noise makers" with a painted pattern for decoration. First they painted the back-side of a paper plate. I told them to consider how the plate was going to be folded while they were adding their patterns. After the paint was dry, I folded them in half and stapled the edge to close it up. I left a small opening so that they could add the dried beans and macaroni to create the noise. After they had filled the shaker, I stapled it closed and punched two holes in the bottom. The girls added yarn of their choice as a final decoration.

Template Patterns

Using templates are fun for all ages and are useful when teaching patterning, repetition and other design skills. They are also very beneficial in improving fine motor skills in young children. For this project, I laid out a large amount of templates and allowed the students to choose and share what they wanted. They first used a pencil to trace shapes. I encouraged them to think about symmetry, overlapping and color when they designed their artwork. The students used markers to color the designs in.

Painted Patterns

First graders loved making patterns and shapes with a variety of tools. I put out cut up boxes, bottle caps, clothes pins, and corks and allowed them to dip the objects in paint to create patterns. Each one turned out differently. We discussed many art terms including pattern, repetition, space, texture and color.

Texture Burgers

Kindergarten had a great time making these texture burgers. First we discussed what a texture is, and they felt some textures, from scratchy, to soft, to bumpy. I had printouts of the hamburger buns all ready for them to cut out, and several items on the counter that they could use to fill the burger with texture fixings.

After gluing the top and bottom buns to the top and bottom of a piece of black paper, each child was given a small container in which they could fill a variety of textures. Some items included pipe cleaners, beans, foam pieces, string, foil and buttons. These items were glued between the buns to make the textures.

Collagraph

My first grade class viewed several works of art that focused on cityscapes. We also talked about printmaking and looked at several different ways to make prints. I had some rubber stamps and some foam stamps as well as a linoleum block. I gave them a large pile of scrap construction paper and some corrugated paper for texture. They cut and glued paper in the shapes of buildings. We used Elmer's glue because glue sticks are not permanent enough and tend to come off when ink is applied.

When the girls had completed their city-scape collages, we allowed them to dry. I did not add a varnish to each plate, but if you have time, adding a layer of waterbased varnish to the surface will make for a more rich print, as the ink will not soak into the paper. Next class I inked one collage to show them how they would be printed. They loved seeing how the image was flipped after it was printed. They also liked seeing what happened to the textured area.