We have also had a great week studying about Jan Brett and reading several of her books.  We found out the Jan Brett loved to draw pictures when she was a child, and always knew that she wanted to draw pictures for children’s books when she grew up.  She also loves animals and nature, which are in almost all of her books.  Lastly, we learned the she uses boarders and side panels in her illustrations to give more details or clues about the story.  Have your child discuss some of these facts with you. 

After reading The Mitten, we had a great time pretending we were the animals in the story and tried to “fit” into a “mitten”.  We had several laughs.  We have also been making our own mittens this week.  We had to cut them out, decorate, and lace them.  On Friday, the children will get copies of the animals from the story to go in their mittens.  Have them retell you the story using their mitten and props!!  We also spent some time this week graphing our mittens!!  It was hard to find real gloves/mittens in backpacks this week, since we have had 60 degree weather!

As readers and writers, we have learned that the Author writes the words of a story, the Illustrator draws the pictures, and the Publisher puts the book together, so we can enjoy it!!  We also discussed the parts of a story this week.  There is always a title, a beginning, a middle, and an ending.  When you are reading with your child, have them tell you the parts of the book.  This helps with their comprehension! 

The Pre-K class is doing an excellent job with their sight words!!  They LOVE to find sight words in our message and poems we read.  Practice finding sight words in things you’re reading at home together!  The following is a list of the words we have introduced so far:  a, and, can, do, go, he, I, is, like, me, my, no, said, see, she, the, to, we, you.  Happy reading!!

Take a look at the pictures below.  If you are interested in visiting Brazee Street Studios for a class CLICK HERE to visit their website.  They offer adult classes, as well as classes for little Art Tots.  It truly is a blast for all ages.

Dale Chihuly, who was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941, has become an internationally celebrated personality in contemporary art and design whose prominence in the field of contemporary studio glass is unmatched. He is a generous and charismatic individual with a forceful personality, who ceaselessly promotes himself and his material, glass, to audiences around the world.  From the beginning of his involvement with glass in the 1960s, Dale Chihuly has championed the use of blown glass as a vehicle for sculpture, focusing on the vessel in his explorations of color and form. Setting aside complex techniques in favor of letting the hot glass naturally find its own shape, he has produced work that is characterized by its large, gravity-influenced forms and minimal tooling as much as by its striking palette of colors.  (If you have visited the Indianapolis Children’s Museum you will now recognize the Chihuly chandelier that stretches 5 floors in the middle of the spiral stairwell.  A magnificent sight!)

Take a look at the work of Dale Chihuly below.  You can also click here to visit the official website for Dale Chihuly and discover the unstoppable influence Chihuly has had on the world of art and glass.

Our Art Tots learned about Dale Chihuly and his wonderful eye for color and form.  We discussed the beauty of glass and how it allows for the light to shine through emphasizing the intensity and relationship of the colors used.  Pre-K and Preschool Art Tots took it a step further by discussing the properties of glass and how it can be used to create art.  We learned how Chihuly would heat the glass to very high temperatures until it was so hot that it would glow red.  Then, just like hot cheese on pizza, he stretches the glass out.  From there he creates long snake like shapes or blows it up like a big hot balloon.  Chihuly also liked to let the glass form itself, after giving it a general shape, so that it looks wavy or organic.

With this thought in mind, Art Tots created this month’s art project as Dale Chihuly inspired suncatchers and organic shaped bowls.  Our Pre-K and Preschool Art Tots used plastic cups as a glass substitute and added their own blend on colors through lines and shapes.  We then used our school’s oven as a substitute kiln to melt our “bowls” into organic shapes.  Take a look below for the final results.  What talented artist’s we have!!!

Our Toddler and Early 3s Art Tots focused on the colors changing and combining in the light.  We used colored glue and lids for each Art Tot to make their piece to the final chandelier.  Take a look below for the individual example but stay tuned to the art show for the unveiling of the final chandelier.

Don’t forget that I am holding on to our Art Tots work from in class Art Enrichment to display in our fabulous Art Show in March.  Mark your calendars for this unforgettable event.

Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly

Pre-K Sculpture inspired by Dale Chihuly

Preschool Sculpture inspired by Dale Chihuly

Toddler & Early 3 Chandelier Pieces inspired by Dale Chihuly

Don’t forget you can follow us on Facebook at Creative Tots Preschool Mason.

Let’s get caught up…Shall we?  :)  Last month’s in class Art Enrichment took us on a journey exploring the artwork of Alberto Giamcometti.

Alberto Giacometti (October 1901  – January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.  Giacometti was born in Borgonovo, now part of the Swiss municipality of Stampa, near the Italian border.  Giacometti was a key player in the Surrealist art movement, but his work resists easy categorization. Some describe it as formalist, others argue it is expressionist. Even after his excommunication from the Surrealist group, while the intention of his sculpting was usually imitation, the end products were an expression of his emotional response to the subject. He attempted to create renditions of his models the way he saw them, and the way he thought they ought to be seen. He once said that he was sculpting not the human figure but “the shadow that is cast.”

Take a look at the work of Alberto Giacometti below.  You can also click here to view some more artwork by Alberto Giacometti.

Our Art Tots discovered all about Giacometti’s work.  We discussed how Giacometti would study his models and how they moved as they walked, stood and interacted around his studio.  He became very interested in the way the human body would balance itself as it acted out these tasks.  Too much weight shifted to one side forced the body to naturally shift weight the opposite direction to stay upright.  Our Art Tots got to try a few poses out on their own to see how the body moved to balance itself.  Our Art Tots discovered what “sculpture” meant.  A sculpture is an artwork that could be seen by all sides or “in the round”.  Some artists just put so much into their work that they just didn’t want anyone to miss it from any angle.  :)  We also discussed how Giacometti would create his metal sculptures by looking at this model or person posing for him and create what he saw…  now this also meant that he might see it differently than another artist or person in the room.

In his drawings and painting, Giacometti had the same theory or idea.  He worked quickly with lots of squiggly lines so he won’t miss any movement.  He believed that, mistake or not, every line should remain in the artwork as a growing history of how it came to be.

With this thought in mind, Art Tots created this month’s art projects.  Pre-K and Preschool Art Tots explored Giacometti’s sculptures as they used pipe cleaners for their armature or skeleton and aluminum foil as their sketchy metal surface.  Preschool’s modeled their sculptures from Giacometti’s dog and the Pre-K tried their hand at his human sculptures.  Our Early 3 and Toddler classes concentrated on Giacometti’s sketchy drawings and color palette.  Toddlers moved their hand around the paper capturing the movement with squiggles of gray and black.  Our Early 3s showed wonderful fine motor control as they used the templates to squiggle in their head and eyes.

Take a look below for examples of each age group’s wonderful projects!!

Don’t forget that I am holding on to our Art Tots work from in class Art Enrichment to display in our fabulous Art Show in March.  Mark your calendars for this unforgettable event.

Alberto Giacometti

Alberto Giacometti

Alberto Giacometti

Alberto Giacometti

Pre-K Sculpture inspired by Alberto Giacometti

Pre-K Sculpture inspired by Alberto Giacometti

Preschool Sculpture inspired by Alberto Giacometti

Early 3s Drawing inspired by Alberto Giacometti

Toddler Drawing inspired by Alberto Giacometti

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook!  Creative Tots Preschool Mason

We introduced two new sight words this week:  he and she.  The students have been working hard in their reading groups and getting back into the groove of things.  We have had lots of good discussion on Winter, snowflakes, and blizzards.  (We may even see some snow tonight.) 

We had fun graphing our favorite hot chocolate topping and then enjoying hot chocolate with our snack!  Yummy!

We have been working on holding our scissors correctly when we cut (thumbs towards the ceiling and pointing away from our bodies).  Have the kids practice cutting with scissors at home.  This is a great fine motor skill activity that helps to build strength in those growing hands!

We also have been working on dividing things into equal parts and distinguishing parts that are equal or not equal.  Have your Pre-K student divide shapes or snacks into equal parts. 

The Pre-K students love to work on art projects.  Check out our Name Snowpals in the hallway and our Snowy Day pictures in the classroom.  To make your own snowy day pictures at home, you can mix equal portions of white shaving cream and white glue together.  After it dries, it becomes puffy!  Have fun on those snowy days!!  

We also had fun with Ms. Jaime in art this week!  Ask your Pre-K student if they remember this month’s artist (Dale Chihuly)and what he made.  Your children made a Chihuly piece themselves!  We can hardly wait until the Art Show to share our creations with our families!!