Home • A Splash of Arts! – Arts Integrated Workshops • OECTA Kindergarten Symposium

OECTA Kindergarten Symposium

Introduction/Arts Loot Bag
Story – "The Dot" & Story Bit
Slide Show – "A Splash of Arts!"

Demonstration: Colouring mixing with food colouring, clear cups and water

Station 1 – Plasticene Relief Sculpture

Use plasticene to make a winter scene with a snowman. Follow the basic steps in making the snowman. Roll 3 balls – 1 large, 1 medium and 1 small. Then gently press down each ball onto the cardboard slightly pinching down the edges. After creating a snowman, add features using items provided to decorate it (e.g. sequins, sticks, glitter, etc.). Glue the finished artwork in a deep picture frame or shadow box.

Writing Links: Write about the snowman's character (family, age, likes/dislikes, hobbies etc.) or write a poem using a template/frame.

Drama/Music Links: Without talking, pretend to build a snowman, recite or act out a Winter poem or sing a song about Winter/Snowmen

Literature Links: The Biggest Snowman Ever, Snowy Day, Snowballs, Sadie's Snowman, Le bonhomme d'Helene or any other winter picture book

Station 2 – Cut & Paste Finger Paint Paper Collage

* This activity can also be done using tissue paper squares and white glue & water

Using finger paint and finger paint paper, create designs to cover the entire sheet of paper. Vary the types of lines (e.g. straight, curvy, zig zag etc.) and the direction of lines (e.g. diagonal, horizontal and vertical). Let dry. Using scissors, cut geometric or free form shapes to create animals, plants, scenery etc. You may have to pre-trace shapes on the paper or have pre-cut shapes for students to use to create their design. Glue design onto a 12"x18" sheet of paper (construction, manila, cartridge or bristol board). Have the students write a short passage using a story frame or create a class pattern book based on an Eric Carle book. You can also create a counting book.

Writing Links: Write a story using a template/frame, write a poem, or write non-fiction facts about an animal.

Drama/Music Links: Act out the animal they created (how it would move, sound, socialize etc.), sing animal songs

Literature Links: Eric Carle Books such as The Mixed Up Chameleon, Have You Seen My Cat?, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, From Head to Toe etc.

Station 3 – Wax Resist Underwater Scene

Press firmly using crayons or oil pastels and create an underwater scene including fish (rainbow fish), jellyfish, starfish, crabs, sharks, dolphins, an octopus etc. Use a sponge brush and diluted blue tempera paint and cover picture with a wash. Remember to stroke in the same direction. Wipe off excess paint with a paper towel. Add green crepe paper/streamer twists for seaweed and glitter and sequins to decorate the fish. You can also glue play sand and small shells to the bottom of the picture to resemble the bottom of the ocean.

Writing Links: Write a story using a template/frame, write a poem, or write non-fiction facts about an underwater creature.

Drama/Music Links: Act out what it would be like to live in the sea/ocean), sing animal songs,

Literature Links: Rainbow Fish, Commotion in the Ocean etc.

Station 4 – Iron & Sandpaper Wax Transfer – "Special Me"

Press firmly using wax crayons to draw a self portrait on the gritty side of a piece of sandpaper. Flip it over and fuse it onto a piece of fabric using a hot iron. The more shear the fabric, the more the image looks like pointillism.

Try this on t-shirts, table cloths, table runners, fabric squares etc.

Writing Links: Write an "All About Me" story using a template/frame, write an acrostic poem, write a letter/note/card to one of your friends

Drama/Music Links: Act out a story from a picture book, recite a poem or sing a song about "friendships",

Literature Links: Celebrating Who We Are, What I Like About Me, Hooray For Me, Don't Laugh at Me, etc.

Station 5 – Coffee Filter Colour Mixing

Place a coffee filter onto a paper plate. Drip the Primary Colours of food colouring (red, yellow, blue) onto the edges of a coffee filter. Watch as the colours drip to the middle and mix together to create new colours – Secondary Colours.

Writing Links: Write a story using a template/frame, write a poem, or write non-fiction facts about a butterfly, turkeys or flowers.

Drama/Music Links: Act out the animal they created (how it would move, sound, socialize etc.), sing animal/Spring songs, act out the life cycle of a butterfly.

Literature Links:

Make a butterfly = The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Make a turkey = Any Thanksgiving stories
Make a flower = Any Spring story, Mother's Day gift, Plants
Use coffee filter that now looks like tie dye to make clothes for paper children.

Station 6 – Leaf Rubbing & Rip Art Tree

Put leaves or leaf rubbing plates under white cartridge or manila paper and rub over the top of them with the sides of peeled wax crayons. Use fall colours. Overlap some of the leaves to see the colours blend. Attach wiggly eyes to the one leaf you want to be named "Alfie". Use brown construction/crepe/tissue paper to rip pieces to create a skeleton tree. You may need to provide your students with an outline of a few different tree templates.

Writing Links: Write about your favourite part of a story, write a story using a template/frame, write a poem, or write non-fiction facts about leaves or trees.

Drama/Music Links: Act out Alfie's winter adventure, sing Fall songs, sing "The Green Grass Grows All Around", etc.

Literature Links: Alfie's Long Winter, The Giving Tree, The Name of the Tree etc.

Station 7 – Pointillism

Use acrylic/tempera paint and chunky flat round-tipped brushes to paint dots to cover the surface of a shape. Provide your children with shape templates for them to fill in with the dots. You can do the picture on a paper plate or doilie to have an instant frame. This can also be done with large conical tipped markers. It is a little less messy. Bingo dabbers also work but they create puddles after you dab them. If the dots smudge it ruins the pointillism effect. Note that you don't want to make the templates too big because this activity is time consuming and your children may not have the patience to do a large one.

Writing Links: Write a story using a template/frame, write a poem, or write non-fiction facts about an animal.

Drama/Music Links: Act out the animal they created (how it would move, sound, socialize etc.), sing animal songs

Literature Links: Eric Carle Books such as The Mixed Up Chameleon,

Station 8 – Scratch Board Designs

Cover rainbow paper with Grafima paste or black tempera mixed with liquid dish soap. Let dry and then use a wooden scratch tool and scratch out a design based on a theme (e.g. Halloween, apple, harvest, pumpkin, Valentine's Day, sun, moon, stars, names etc.)

Sample scratch tools: commercial stylus, toothpicks, combs, ends of paintbrush etc.

Writing Links: Write a story using a frame or write a poem about the design.

Drama/Music Links: Act out what they made and have the rest of the class guess what it is, sing songs that relate to the artwork (e.g. Halloween song), recite a poem based on their artwork (e.g. poem about the earth, Valentine's Day)

Literature Links: Any book related to the theme of the artwork.

Station 9 – Acrylic Paint on Foil

Use acrylic paint and a variety of paint brushes to paint a winter scene on aluminum foil. Add glitter, sequins, salt, cotton balls (for snow) and other materials to create an interesting scene.

You can also create a rip art snowman and then paint the rest of the scene with acrylic paint.

Writing Links: Write about the snowman's character (family, age, likes/dislikes, hobbies etc.) or write a poem using a template/frame.

Drama/Music Links: Without talking, pretend to build a snowman using all the steps involved, recite or act out a Winter poem, sing a song about Snowmen.

Literature Links: The Biggest Snowman Ever, Snowy Day, Snowballs, Sadie's Snowman, Le bonhomme d'Helene or any other winter picture book

Station 10 – Paper Masks and Paper Bag Puppets

Animal Mask: Use the paper mask templates and animal paper to create an animal mask to use for Drama activities.

Paper Bag Puppets: Glue a snowman onto the front of a paper bag. Then put a song or poem on the reverse. Have children practice their song or poem at home and at school.

Writing Links: Write about the animal's/snowman's character or a story about the animal/snowman.

Drama/Music Links: Use the animal masks, create sounds and move like that animal. Act out Noah's Ark.

Literature Links: Any book on animals/snowmen. There are several!

Looking at Pictures – Art Appreciation

Using a piece of chart paper, affix an art image from a professional resource kit or a calendar to the top of a piece of chart paper.

Ask the children to describe what they see in the art work. Record their ideas using the sentence frame below or make your own.

Example:

Looking at Art

*** Art work image ***

Example:

I see mountains.
I see small trees.
I see clouds.
I see a large tree at the bottom of the picture.

I see ___________________________________________.

Meet the Artists – Art Appreciation

Using a piece of chart paper, affix a picture of an artist and one of his/her art works (if possible) to the top of a piece of chart paper.

Read a story, facts sheet or watch a video about the artist and refer to some of his/her famous works. Record 4-5 interesting facts about the artist on the chart paper.

Example:

Meet "Vincent Van Gogh"

*** Picture of Van Gogh

*** Sample of Van Gogh's art works ***

Example:

Vincent Van Gogh was not a happy man.

Vincent Van Gogh painted using an impasto technique.

Vincent Van Gogh was a poor man.

Vincent Van Gogh's paintings are now very popular.

Drama Plays for Young Children

The Three Little Pigs

Characters:

Wolf – head with mask, front claws, back claws & tail => 3 children
Pigs – head holds the mask and child with tail => 2 children
Narrators – If you have readers, use 2-3 children and have them read together. If not, ask an older grade to do the narration.

Use a wood block for the knocking sound
Use a triangle for when the wolf had the idea to go down the chimney
Use a tambourine when the pigs are running to the next house

Use blue plastic table cloths as back drops for your set
Tape down a mural paper path and add paper bag rocks
Use paper plates to make masks and fasten to a paint stick
Use fabric to make up the wolf's body while hiding the children who are the front and back claws and tail

Noah's Ark

Characters:

Animals - Have pairs of children make animal masks and/or animal paws
Noah & Jesus – Use brown fabric and use as a throw for both costumes
Dove – Use a lace doilie table runner or white fabric and use as a throw for the dove costume

Use rainbow colours of ribbon taped to paint sticks to create rainbow sticks and wave in the air at the end of the play when God promised to never flood the earth again - "God sent a rainbow".
Make an Ark with strips of brown mural paper taped onto a boat structure (use chart stands, walls, gym mats or a bulletin board on wheels)

Other Ideas:

Dramatize any Nursery Rhyme
The Nativity Story
A Parable
Dramatize a picture book (e.g. The Mitten, Alfie's Long Winter, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Balloon Tree, etc.)

Station 1 - Plasticene Relief Sculpture

Use plasticene to make a winter scene with a snowman. Follow the basic steps to making the snowman. Roll 3 balls – 1 large, 1 medium and 1 small. Then gently press down each ball onto the cardboard pinching down the edges slightly. After creating a snowman, add 3-D features using the items provided to decorate it (e.g. sequins, sticks, glitter, etc.). Put the finished artwork in the picture frame.

Literature Link: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Literature Link: The Grouchy Ladybug, Books about Insects

Nativity Scene

Another idea is to use plasticene to create a Nativity Scene. Use glitter and other found materials to decorate your scene (e.g. toothpicks, sequins, glitter, raffia, gems etc.). Also, use found objects to create texture.

Literature Resources for Plasticene Picture Books:

Barbara Reid Books
Eugenie Fernandes Books

Links to the Ontario curriculum

Sample Curriculum Links:

Math: Identify and describe two- and three-dimensional shapes, demonstrates an understanding of number and counting
Art: Explore a variety of tools, materials, and processes to create visual art forms in new ways.
Language: Write simple messages using a pictures
Media Literacy: Communicate their ideas verbally and non-verbally about a variety of media materials.

Station 2 - Cut & Paste Finger Paint Paper Collage

Using finger paint and finger paint paper, create designs to cover the entire sheet of paper. Vary the types of lines (e.g. straight, curvy, zig zag etc.) and the direction of lines (e.g. diagonal, horizontal and vertical). Let dry. Use scissors to cut geometric shapes to create animals, plants, scenery etc. You may have to pre-trace shapes on the paper for students to cut or have pre-cut shapes for students to use to create their design. Glue design onto a 12”x18” sheet of paper (construction, manila, cartridge or bristol board). Have the students write a short passage using a story frame or create a class pattern book based on an Eric Carle book. You can also create a counting book.

Green serpent

My Flower Garden

There are ____ tulips in my flower garden.

Station 3 - Wax Resist Underwater Scene

The wax resists technique also works well with a Halloween theme. Use black diluted tempera for a night scene.

Halloween Silhouette and Wax Resist Halloween Story

Example of an underwater scene
(Note that this one is done with plasticene but the idea is like the activity described)

Example of a wax resist and silhouette of an underwater scene

Station 4 - Iron & Sandpaper Wax Transfer - "Special Me"

Try this on t-shirts, table cloths, table runners, fabric squares etc.

Religion Banners

Religion Banner

Station 5 - Coffee Filter Colour Mixing

Place a coffee filter onto a paper plate. Drip food colouring (Primary Colours – red, yellow, blue) onto the edges of a coffee filter. Watch as the colours drip to the middle and mix together to create new colours – Secondary Colours.

Literature Links:

Make a butterfly = The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Make a turkey = Any Thanksgiving stories
Make a flower = Any Spring story, Mother's Day gift, Plants
Use coffee filter that now looks like tie dye to make clothes for paper children.

Example of a coffee filter turkey

Station 6 - Leaf Rubbing & Rip Art Tree

Put leaves or leaf rubbing plates under white cartridge or manila paper and rub over the top of them with the sides of peeled wax crayons. Use fall colours. Overlap some of the leaves to see the colours blend. Attach wiggly eyes to the one leaf you want to be named “Alfie”. Use brown construction/crepe/tissue paper to rip pieces to create a skeleton tree. You may need to provide your students with an outline of a few different tree templates.

Leaf Rubbing Sample

Ungalli Tree, Balloon Tree, Fun Foam Mosaics

Newspaper Skeleton Tree

Station 7 - Pointillism

Examples

Pointillism example

Station 8 - Scratch Board Designs

Sample scratch tools: commercial stylus, toothpicks, combs, ends of paintbrush etc.

Scratchboard Squirrel and Texture Design

Halloween Scratch Board Monsters and Underwater Scene

Halloween Scratch Board Monsters

Underwater Scene

Station 9 - Acrylic Paint on Foil

Use acrylic paint and a variety of paint brushes to paint a winter scene on aluminum foil. Add glitter, sequins, salt, cotton balls (for snow) and other materials to create an interesting scene.

You can also create a rip art snowman and then paint the rest of the scene with acrylic paint.

Examples

Snowman

Station 10 - Paper Masks and Paper Bag Puppets

Animal Mask: Use the paper mask templates and animal paper to create an animal mask to use for Drama activities.

Paper Bag Puppets: Glue a snowman onto the front of a paper bag. Then put a song or poem on the reverse. Have children practice their song or poem at home and at school.

Snowman

Writing Links: Write about the animal's/snowman's character or a story about the animal/snowman.

Drama/Music Links: Use the animal masks, create sounds and move like that animal. Act out Noah's Ark.

Literature Links: Any book on animals/snowmen. There are several!

Rip Art Winter Scene, Sand Art, Scratch Monster, Coffee Filter Turkey

The Three Billy Goats Gruff Classroom Scene

The Three Little Pigs Classroom Set Up

Fun Foam Mosaic Pictures

Plaster Mesh Masks