Hello Treehouse Families!
Since the last update our young artists have been very busy! The Evergreen and Forest artists have been working on a portrait unit. They enjoyed using creative colors and a variety of strategies to draw their faces. Some friends even decided they’d like to draw each other and/or their families!
After the portrait unit we dove into learning how to draw bodies. We discussed the shapes of bodies and how arms, legs, necks, and fingers have thickness. So they decided we needed to draw two lines, a top and a bottom line or a right and left side, for each of these body parts. We explored different ways to portray the body, for example, as Batman, Darth Vader, princess-like, Elsa and Anna, monstrous, many-eyed, many-armed, silly-faced, running, waving, etc.
Most recently, our young inventors have been using their imaginations to create out-of-this-world 3D paper constructions. We discussed making tabs as means of creating strong connections and how to press evenly and firmly on a connection for at least ten seconds to ensure a strong bond. We discussed how designers and inventors sometimes make small constructions of ideas, and then think about how they can make them better. Then they make more, and more, and more constructions!
The preschoolers are very excited for the Annual Treehouse Art Show coming up in April. I hope you can take a moment to find and discuss your child’s artwork with them. All of our young artists use a lot of effort, craftsmanship, and imagination creating their artwork.
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In Kindergarten, after our shape study and mosaic unit, we have been working very hard creating our Self-Portrait with Mountain Landscape Backgrounds. For the landscape section, we discussed foreground, middleground, and background. Does a tree look big even when it’s far away? How do the mountains look as we get closer and closer to them? How about when we get farther away from them? Each child drew their interpretation of the mountain landscape and added their own flair!
The painting of the landscape was an opportunity to learn about hues. You may have heard a bit about this from your child! The students picked this technique of mixing hues super fast – like fish in water! The class discussed how the mountains seemed to fade away as they got farther away. We decided to paint them in this fashion; blue hues getting lighter and lighter as objects receded farther in the distance.
We also discussed the meaning of self-portrait, portrait, landscape, abstract artwork, and still life artworks. We will continue our discussions of these types of artwork; they like the challenge of these discussions, and they are always excited to see new and different artworks and discuss their origin.
The self-portrait section of this unit was eye-opening. This year I decided to have the students do observational drawings of their faces. We discussed how we can draw what we see, what shapes do you see in your face? Does your face have bumps here and there? What shapes do you see in your nose, eyes, lips? They looked into their own mirrors and each student got the opportunity to convey themselves in an original way. They even decided to put hats, braids, flowing hair, patterned shirts or coats. Very exciting!
The students learned how to make skin color out of the primary colors plus white! They seemed like scientists discovering a new phenomenon! Their craftsmanship was off the charts! They took their time, used tiny paint brushes to paint details, and used their imagination to interpret their faces!
After they cut out their self-portraits we had a Professional Artist Classroom Critique. We discussed beginnings of inquiry sentences they could use, and how we should be respectful of each artwork and the feelings of each artist. Children could use the inquiry question beginnings written on the dry erase board or come up with their own inquiry question to comment on artworks presented. Each child got to stand up in front of the class and received questions and comments about their work.
The Kindergarten seems very excited for the upcoming Annual Spring Performance and Art Show. I hope you all can come and enjoy your children’s hard work! They will have so much to tell you about each piece!