Responding to Art-Writing station freebie!

I've been using this since I've started teaching, oh... 12-13 years ago.  It's so easy to use, and it teaches SO much!  Looking closely, thinking deeply.  WRITING!  And working on that fine motor skills that our littles seem to lack more and more of each year coming into first.

The past few years, I have been using it as something special, instead of having out all the time.  We have a fantastic day of "arts" at our school, so I use it around that time to create a fab bulletin board.

What is it?!  Responding To Art.  Show students a picture or many pictures.  They choose one and recreate it.  Then they write about it.  It can be about what they see in the picture to how it makes them feel.  Check out a few examples:

If you'd like to give it a try, it's pretty low maintenance.  You can easily find artwork online to print, however, I like to find postcards to use.  They are more durable, but they can be a little harder to find than printing something off the computer.  As a station, I would keep 1-2 pictures out for the week or 2 and students can choose to work on it during that time, if they wish.  (I have a ton of other options that are out too, so they don't all flock to that all the time.. just in the beginning)  Click {HERE} to grab a copy of the recording sheet!

*If you use it as a lesson, I took about 30-45 minutes for the drawing and writing portion.  I used pictures that I found from a book that I got at a discount book store called Baby Einstein ABC's of Art

Snowmen!

Last week was an odd week.  Our kiddlets were getting tested.  DIBELed and the DDS (Diagnostic Decoding Survey---anyone out there do that??)  I was out half a day to do the DDS, while others pull my firsties for the DIBELS.

So, I decided that we needed a little imagination and creativity last week.  Do you know, I asked my kids what imagination was, and only a handful raised their hands?!!?!?!?!  I was in some serious shock.  Yeah, yeah.  I know everything out there doesn't allow for that imagination that we had growing up.  I remember loving my little cardboard box that I made into a playhouse, and then something else, etc...  It did give me a wake up call for my own children at home.  I need to do more pretending with them.  Even at 6-7 years old!  Creativity is a key to problem solving!  (IMO anyway---I don't have research or classes behind that theory, but do know that some problems need some creative solutions!  Without a little imagination, there's no creativity!)

So, we responded all week with imagination and creativity to the Snowmen at Night series books.  Boy did they have a blast!  They wrote what they thought their snowman does at night.  They created a job for their snowman and wrote a few "facts" about that job for the snowman (like he's a snow doctor and he makes sure that all the snowmen have nice white snow, etc..) and they wrote about what they would do with their snowman during the different seasons!  PRECIOUS!  I loved each and every response.  The only thing that would have made the week better was to actually have snow outside!  But we were having a little "heat wave" of mid 40s-50s, so there was no snow in sight... but some rain.  This week we're heading to the 20s... but, no snow in sight either.  I mean, if it is going to be freezing.... there needs to be snow!  (BUT NO SNOW DAYS!!!  I love me some summer!!!)

The word we did came from my packet:

The last day of our snowman things, we painted with "snow paint."  Have y'all seen those on pinterest?!  Well, I decided to try it out---without trying it out first!  ha!  I just mixed 1/2 and 1/2 of shaving cream and glue, plopped some down on construction paper.  Gave them a popcicle stick (for those who didn't want to touch it), put out scraps of felt, construction paper and googly eyes and let them have at it!  I just LOVED the giggles we had.  One little girl told me that it was even more fun than Kindergarten!  HA!  These little creations are still drying in my room.  Hopefully they will dry when I return on Tuesday to hang up in the hallway with their writing.  Fingers are crossed that I had enough glue to keep that shaving cream from disappearing!  I hear that the glue keeps it from evaporating.  Time will tell! :)

The was the best MESSIEST "paint" project ever.  Shaving cream does wonders on desks----so when they were done and I moved their masterpieces to dry-----the kids got wet paper towels and wiped down their desks!  (Of course, some had extremely clean desks while others---who are "neat" at their creations, only got a little cleaner)  lol  some probably even had even cleaner hair that evening or morning, whenever they washed their hair!  ;)

What's up for this week:  Martin Luther King, Jr. and the food groups!   (Both were just finished this weekend and put up in my store.  You can click on the pictures to read more about it!)