Japanese Carp Kites for Children's Day

Happy Children's Day! Or rather, happy four days after Children's Day. If you ask me, EVERY day feels like Children's Day, but that's probably just the result of being surrounded by 300 of them most every day, including the weekends, when they somehow find me at yard sales, the grocery store, out to dinner, and without fail, any time I'm makeup-free and crossing my fingers that I won't see anyone I know.

Regardless, I love the little boogers, and May 5th is their day--at least in Japan, where Children's Day is celebrated with the flying of colorful carp kites!

According to legend, the carp fish had the ability to transform into a dragon when it had swum against the current, climbing up dangerous waterfalls. The carp serves as a reminder of bravery and strength and serves as a symbol for the children of Japan.

My first graders make a version of these 'kites' each year. This year, it was my student teacher's job to get these kids' kites a-flyin' in celebration of this special day. There are many ways to make these, but here's what we did.

Kiddos started with a 12" square sheet of fadeless colored paper of their choice. Using a homemade ruler, a 4" strip was traced, followed by 2" strips:

Then, starting at the bottom and working upwards, one line at a time was covered with glue, which kiddos painted on with a paintbrush:

Working quickly to keep the glue wet, tissue paper scales were added; some kiddos chose a pattern of colors, while others went a random route:

Some were meticulous. Some, not so much.

Oh, sweet 6-year-olds. You and your ways.

Once all the scales were on, eyes were drawn. The eyes are my favorite part! I find that they tend to reflect the personalities of the artist who made 'em.

On the second day, kids finished up by adding "lips" (12" strips of paper) glued behind the eyes, as well as crepe paper tails:

To FINish (HA!), fish bodies were rolled and stapled closed, and string was added to the top for hanging. Their beautiful teacher may have helped with this part.

My toe thumbs are lookin' goooood in those shots. Humina humina.

So Happy Children's Day! Actually, Tuesday was National Teacher Appreciation Day, so out of the way, kids--happy belated TEACHERS' day! I hope you feel appreciated every day, teacher friends! :-)

(Jump Rope for) Heart Collages

Happy Valentine's Day, friends! Oh wait, that was last week. Looks like I've fallen behind. Or I'm intentionally extending the looooove. You decide.

This is one of the only times I've ever done a project that was somewhat related to a holiday. Ukrainian Pysanky around Easter, check. Chinese Dragons at Chinese New Year, yup. And now some hearts at V-day... but they have so much meaning, I promise!

This was not an intentional Valentine's Day tie-in at all, actually. When I saw this project on Draw the Line At, I immediately changed my plans for that day's first grade art class so we could do this! It's a great and inclusive project that covers geometric shapes (which we were slated to study), collage, overlapping, symmetry, cutting, and more. And it's a great tie-in for those of you whose schools participate in the Jump Rope for Heart program like my schools do!

For details, check out Jen's post, and/or this post. I followed along with these ladies' instructions, though I used 9 x 9" poster board for the base (making the square paper 4.5 x 4.5") and Mod Podge as the adhesive.

Here are my first graders in action, and a few results!

 

I did not have stencils/tracers for the kids to use; some students needed help drawing a half-heart before cutting, while others dove in and experimented till success. I'm so glad I had the kids make their own heart shapes, as it brings individuality to each project.

I ended the lesson with a few slides of Jim Dine's work, to show the kids that a simple shape can be transformed into a beautiful work of art.

This is one of my favorite new projects. All 100-plus projects turned out beautifully, and that is really something!

2nd grade fish

Years ago, I began doing a project with my second graders that involved drawing and painting fish. One year, we added seashells and pipe cleaner seaweed, and wiggle eyes for a 3D effect. This year, after seeing this project at There's a Dragon in my Art Room (can you tell that I love this blog?), I decided to have the kiddos cut out the fish and work with perspective a little bit.

We started with a drawing period. I wouldn't call it directed drawing, though I did suggest an egg or oval shape for the body, followed by a few key pieces: a mouth, a fin, gills, an eye or eyes (depending on the perspective, which we discussed).

Students added patterns--first with pencil, then with construction paper crayons.

After the fish were cut, out came the watercolors! My youngsters love watercolor resist.

To add some flair and to FINish (har har) the fish, tissue paper was added for fins and tails.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

They're colorful and playful and really brighten up the hallways. While they aren't seasonal or holiday themed, at this time of year, I'm all about bright projects for cold, dull, wintery halls... and quickie projects to keep the kids learnin'.

Also, I enjoy projects that give me an excuse to re-visit my childhood.,,