Art at Idlehurst!
Kindergarten
My belief is that art education during early childhood should be exploratory and play-based. Because of this, Kindergarteners will get broad experiences with various materials throughout the year. Kindergarten artists are going to start out the beginning of the year learning about line and form. They will discover how one material (paper) can take many shapes and create different meanings. Then, we will start to explore the seasons using art. In the fall, students will collaborate with each other to draw pumpkins. We will create the colors we see in fall, then use those colors to create animals that we might find in New Hampshire. Using what they already discovered about color, we will then read the book Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh and make some mischievous painting mice of our own. Later in the year, Kindergarten artists will learn about texture by making texture plates that will be used for rubbings. Then, they will explore expressions, create the changing colors of spring, and make paintings based on the book Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. Stay tuned for photographs of these amazing artworks!
1st Grade
Like Kindergarten, first grade will start the year by learning about line. However, we will be discovering movement in line by drawing to music. Then, first grade artists will use their introduction of line to create abstract art inspired by artist Wassily Kandinsky. After this, they will create landscapes that represent the season we are in. They will learn about the concepts of foreground, middle ground, and background to make their art work more dynamic. Next, first graders will create art based on the way that some New Hampshire-based animals change in the winter. This will be an exploration of observed color that we see around us. Later, we will talk about the concept of community and how we can express that through art. Each child will make their own landscape that represents things that are important to them in their community. This work will be inspired by contemporary artist Karla Gerard. First grade artists will get exposure to a variety of art media! Photographs of these art works will be posted here soon.
2nd Grade
Second graders are going to spend much of the year learning about the elements of art and how they are the basis for all artwork.