OCTOBER is SHAPE Month!

Happy Harvest!

Speaking of the Harvest, don’t forget that we will have a Harvest Vegetable Carving Celebration on October 31st! Bring in your carved creations for  display in the lobby.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the fall and that you haven’t been feeling too soggy! October begins our study of shape. The Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Frameworks standard 2.4 states that, “For shape and form, [students will] explore the use of shapes and forms in 2D and 3D works .”  In order to meet this goal, we will be studying and creating a   variety of works that focus on this concept.

Kindergarten will be learning that a shape is a closed line, or “When a line bends, a shape begins.” The children will practice their fine motor skills through cutting and gluing of various simple shapes. Exploration of new media will also be involved. Don’t forget to ask them to sing you the shape song!

The work of Wassily Kandinsky will be studied by the first graders, as they create circle patterns through the use of warm and cool colors. Symmetry will also be introduced through the concept of crayon rubbing. Lastly, if time allows, children will make a shape puppet.

A contemporary of Kandinsky, Jasper Johns, will be examined by the second grade. Students will create crayon resist paintings. They will also be introduced to the concept of organic shapes, or irregular shapes that are found in the environment.

Paul Klee, another artist working in the time period of Kandinsky and Johns, will inspire students in the third grade to   create haunted houses out of geometric shapes.

Fourth grade will continue their study of depicting a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface through observational drawings. Students will draw solid shapes using charcoal, another new media for students. They will also be introduced to the concept of positive and negative space.

This is a concept also being studied in further depth by the fifth graders through the use of scratch art. Fifth grade will also have an art history component to their study, as they complete a group project in the style of artist Chuck Close. 

Lastly, I want to issue a huge thank you to the parent volunteers who have brightened my classroom with their presence over the last couple of weeks! It has been wonderful to have so much involvement. I also want to give a shout out to Leslie Lee, who has picked up and sent off the completed Square 1 Art. Order forms will be arriving in no time!

Thank you so much for letting me teach  and spend time with your children! They are just the best!