Project: Underground Garden

Summary

1. Paint the roots of a vegetable garden. Look at pictures of vegetables with their greens up top. Sure, we know what a potato looks like, but what do they look like when they are still in the garden?
2. Draw a horizon line with a brown crayon.
3. Draw vegetable roots below line with crayon.
4. Draw vegetable leaves above line with crayon.
5. With watercolor, paint in the vegetables, the greens, the earth, and the sky.

Age Level

Project should be easily accomplished by ages 4 and up with help from a grown-up.

Approximate Time

Project should be accomplished in 30 minutes or less.

Materials Needed

• White paper (watercolor paper works best)
• Crayons
• Watercolors

Educational Aspects

• Learn about root systems, the food we eat, and manipulating paint.

Objectives/Outcomes

• Children learn to see the foods they eat in a different way. Children will see how food grows and learn that root veggies have green tops.

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Project: Kandinsky Trees

Summary

1. Observe examples of Wassily Kandinsky’s artwork in color reproductions, especially his circle paintings.
2. Cut out a tree shape from black or dark colored construction paper.
3. Paste this tree to a white or light colored background.
4. Use watercolors, markers, colored pencils, etc. to fill the background space with some kind of pattern (e.g. swirls, polka dots, etc.).
5. Cut out circles of various colors and sizes and paste these smaller on top of larger and then to the branches of the tree.
6. Embellish the “leaves” with watercolor or glitter if they choose.

Age Level

Project should be easily accomplished by ages 4 and up with help from a grown-up.

Approximate Time

Project should be accomplished in 30 minutes or less.

Materials Needed

• White cardstock
• Various colors construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue sticks
• Watercolors
• Paintbrushes
• Markers, colored pencils
• Glitter glue

Educational Aspects

• Participants will learn a brief overview of the life and work of Kandinsky.
• Encourages participants to take risks in creating art.
• Teaches abstraction of a common object.

Objectives/Outcomes

• Teaches working in a sequence of steps.
• Teaches appreciation of artwork that is not “realistic” (i.e., realistic does not always mean good)
• Teaches proper handling of tools and materials.