Week of 2/20/2022 - Kolam with 2nd and 3rd grade

2nd and 3rd grade students created Kolams this week! It has been fascinating to see how they notice the different aspects of the example I show them when I have them respond to the Kolam photos. The video of Kolam making from my friend Pavithra in India has been a huge hit! Students have been clapping at the end of the video because they think the process of making dots, joining them with lines to create shapes is amazing and Pavithra is an expert at this!

 2nd grade worked with 3 rows of 3 dots while 3rd grade worked with 4 rows of 4 dots. Kolam making is mathematical incorporating shapes, symmetry and a variety of lines. We all started with the same Kolam and I gave students several opportunities to pick lines, shapes and colors they could add to make theirs unique.

 Shown below are some 2nd grade responses to Kolams via a quick write.

           

  

My plan this year is to put together 6 separate Kolams - one for each grade level for our "Celebration of Art" in May!

 

 

Week of 2/13/2022 - Textures

This week was all about textures! I had kinder students work on a collaborative artwork to hang in the hallway outside their classrooms. I have 6 kinder classes in all and this lesson took quite a bit of planning.

The tables in my classroom are color coded - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. I set up a plastic bin at each table with 1/4 sheets of card stock in different shades and tints. Michaels has these for all the 6 colors! I also had metallic markers and yarn. After showing students objects and having them come up with words for how they would feel if touched, I introduced the word 'texture' to them. Each student created a sandy, rough, furry and bumpy texture on separate pieces of paper after cutting them into organic shapes. They then glued them on to an open spot on the black board. We worked on this over the course of this week and it was great to see how each class added shapes to create the below collaborative artwork. I can't wait to display these next week.

                                                          

1st graders worked on creating textures with clay. I have 6 1st grade classes and grouped 2 classes to work on one project. The first 2 worked on clay fish, the next 2 on a mug and last 2 on birthday cakes all using the pinch technique and using slipping and scoring to join clay pieces together. They used tools to add textures to complete their works. 

 

 

 

Week of 2/6/22 - Kolams with kinder and 1st grade

 It was great to have kinders and 1st grade this week - I started Kolam lessons with both grades.

Kolam (pronounced (KOHL.UHM) is an ancient art form that originated in India 5,000 years ago. Kolam, which means “beauty”, is a floor drawing made from white rice flour, and is used for ornamental or ceremonial design during traditional Indian festivities. The drawing consists of dots and lines that together form a meaningful design which symbolize happiness and prosperity.

The 1st grade students remembered this lesson and the Kolam installation from last year when they were in Kindergarten!

 I started class with a "hook" of a photo of people from India working on a Kolam and had students respond to what they see - it was interesting to see how they notice that people are dressed differently so this is from a different part of the world, they are painting with white paint on the ground and that the designs have several lines and shapes!

 

Kinders created dots on a 10" square white paper plate and connected them with lines to create a Kolam while 1st graders received the same plate with 2x2 dots already created on them. They had the option to connect the dots in different ways using different lines to create shapes. Both grades filled their Kolams with lines and then added color. The visual supports I created have been useful for students to look at different ideas of lines they can use and I often noticed students patiently looking at them and deciding what lines to use.

 Kinders added a red border to their Kolams while 1st graders added an orange border. I can't wait to  display these awesome Kolams during our Celebration of art event on May 11th this year!

 

 

Week of 1/30/22 - Weaving and Embroidery

 4th and 5th graders came back for another week of rotation with me!

4th grade created embroidery using running stitches on burlap. I shared several examples of the embroidery I created when I was studying textile design during my Master's program in India!

Students learned how to:-
use an embroidery hoop,
threading a needle,
tape the end to the burlap,
trace outline of objects and
go up and down with the needle to create stitches!

They filled in their shape with oil pastes and Sharpie markers. Several students commented on how the pastels worked well on the burlap!

 Once done they came back another day where they each glued their fabric onto a poster board, framed their work using tin foil and used a popsicle stick to attach to their work and tie yarn to hang it.

 

 

                                           

 5th grade worked on weaving like the 4th grade from last week. I differentiated the lesson by having them work on additional warp yarns and giving them the option to add extra weft when done. Students explored using yarns of different colors, thickness and lengths to create their work. It was a joy to watch students help each other and repeatedly tell me the weaving process is calming!