Go to an Art Museum!

Head on down to your local art museum and experience the culture! If you don’t have an art museum close by try exploring your local library or even… the local church!

Picasso

Supplies:
Paper
Scissors
Glue
Old Magazines

Directions:
Cut out eyes, noses, mouths, hair, ears and chins from different magazine pictures. Once all of the pictures have been cut out have draw an oval on your child’s piece of paper and have them glue on different facial features. One eye can be up while the other is down and so forth. Let your child be creative!

Jackson Pollock

What You Need:

• Heavy Paper or Primed Canvas if you have it
• A roll of butcher paper (optional)
• Paint
• Brushes
• Water
• A warm day
• Painting smocks or garbage bags with arm and head holes cut out
• A garden hose or bucket of water to make clean up easier
• Old towels

What You Do:

It is important to note that this lesson is best attempted outside.

1. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) was an American Abstract Expressionist painter. Study the works of Jackson Pollock and discuss his technique. He would literally drip paint on his canvases in order to create his paintings.

2. You and your tiny artists should wear a paint smock or a garbage bag with arm and head holes cut out of it.

3. All involved should remove their shoes and socks (this can get messy).

4. Roll out a section of butcher paper on the ground outside. The butcher paper is to "catch" any spills and drips.

5. Place various colors of paint in small containers (yogurt or margarine containers are great). Put these containers on a newspaper covered picnic table or other high surface if possible. This will prevent any accidents involving you or your tiny artists stepping in the paint.

6. Before beginning, walk your tiny artists through some relaxation and deep breathing exercises. Explain that you are preparing to focus on the creative task at hand. Make your kiddos aware that this is not the time for reckless play and that they should drip and sploosh their paint carefully.

7. Place sheet of paper (or canvas) on the butcher paper. (One sheet per child or one per group of 2 children) For teachers of younger students, you will probably want no more than 4-6 students working at a time.

8. Using paintbrushes, your tiny artists should stand directly above their paper (several feet apart from one another) and drip paint onto the paper below. They should be encouraged to use as many colors as they choose.

9. Remember, there is a method to this style of painting. Colors should be chosen carefully and paint should be applied to the paper as drippy lines.

10. Because this is an "action painting" your tiny artists should have the opportunity to move around as they paint.

11. Once the paper is covered with paint, it is time to wash up. This is where a hose comes in handy.

12. Dry and display the work on a clothesline or a chain link fence. Talk about the work.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo is among the most well-known artists to ever walk the earth. An Italian renaissance hero, he has captured the world's imagination for centuries. Use the following activities to educate children on the life and artwork of Michelangelo "The Divine."

Supplies:
Paper
Tape
Pencils or Crayons

Step 1
Recognize the Work

Familiarize your child with Michelangelo's work. View images of the most famous: la Pieta, David and the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.

Step 2
Discuss the Details

Discuss Michelangelo's work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Some facts to consider:

* Michelangelo preferred sculpture and considered painting to be an inferior form of art, yet his Sistine Chapel frescoes are some of the most recognized paintings in history.

* The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel took over four years to complete, and Michelangelo spent most of that time either standing on scaffolding, contorting himself into strange positions or lying on his back working on painting the images above him.

* The frescoes that Michelangelo painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel cover about 5,000 square feet of space.

Step 3
Make it Memorable with Upside-Down Art

Simulate the feeling that Michelangelo must have had when painting the Sistine Chapel by taping some paper on the bottom of a desk or table and having your child get underneath the table to paint or draw on the paper. For added authenticity, make the drawings depictions of biblical stories like Michelangelo's paintings were.

Week 33: Painting and Artists

*Suggested Reading*
Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg
Dreaming Pictures: Paul Klee (Adventures in Art) by Paul Klee
Visiting Vincent Van Gogh (Adventures in Art) by Caroline Breunesse
Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch by Nancy Willard
Jacob Lawrence (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists) by Mike Venezia


Items needed this week:

• Heavy Paper or Primed Canvas if you have it
• A roll of butcher paper (optional)
• Paint
• Brushes
• Water
• A warm day
• Painting smocks or garbage bags with arm and head holes cut out
• A garden hose or bucket of water to make clean up easier
• Old towels
• Paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Old Magazines
• Tape
• Pencils or Crayons

Flash Cards

Supplies:
Card Stalk (3x5 pieces)
Black Marker
Crayons

Directions:
Write each letter of the alphabet on each piece of card stalk. Let your child decorate each letter. When they are finished they will have a personalized, complete set of alphabet flashcards!

Bean Letters

Supplies:

• paper bags (or just paper)
• white glue
• pantry supplies for gluing (beans, rice, nuts…)

Directions:

1. Write the shape of a letter or your child’s name with glue on the brown paper bag.



2. Stick pantry supplies along the shape of the letters.


And ta da!

Alphabet Treasure Hunt

This is a fun game that can be played with one or more children. It's a great way for kids who are just learning to read to make connections between letters, words and actual objects around the house.

You will need

• small circular stickers
• pen
• piece of paper

Directions

1. Write out the letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper or card. You might want to consider laminating your alphabet sheet so that you can use it again. Also write the letters of the alphabet on a sheet of small stickers.



2. While your child is not looking, walk around your house (or a specific room in your house) and place the letter stickers on objects that start with the same letter. For example, place the letter B on a book.



3. Invite your child back into the room, hand them their laminated alphabet sheet and have them try to locate all the letters of the alphabet.

ABC Paper Chain

Supplies:
Construction Paper
Scissor
Glue Stick
Old Magazines
Marker


Directions:
Cut construction paper into 1-1/2" strips. Write each letter of the alphabet on each strip of paper. Find pictures in old magazines to represent the letters of the alphabet. Cut out. Glue to the link. Staple or glue 26 strips into a paper chain in alphabetical order.

Week 32: Writing and Letters

*Suggested Reading*
Albert's Alphabet by Leslie Tryon
Alphabet Soup by Kate Banks
Farm Alphabet by Jane Miller
26 Letters and 99 Cents by Tana Hoban
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert


Items needed this week:
Card Stalk (3x5 pieces)
Black Marker
Crayons
Paper bags (or just paper)
White glue
Pantry supplies for gluing (beans, rice, nuts…)
Small circular stickers
Pen
Piece of paper
Construction Paper
Scissors
Glue Stick
Old Magazines
Marker

Snack Suggestions: ABC Cereal or Noodles!