Pumpkin Fiesta!!

Check out these adorable nigh time pumpkins that my kindergarteners are finishing up. We worked on some observational drawing using my foam pumpkins as models and then "brushed" up on our color mixing by using only primary colors to paint the leaves and pumpkins. On day two we cut out and glued down the grass, pumpkins and leaves. Using oil pastels the moon and stars were added and the highlight (we called it pumpkin sparkle too) to show how the moon reflected off the pumpkins. I can't help but think that the Great Pumpkin will rise right behind one of these beauties!! Thanks to the Deep Space Sparkle, the blog that gave me the idea. These will look amazing at the November Art Show!!

 

This one is in a really windy patch!

El Dia de los Muertos Workshop

A day out of school for a workshop sounds like a lot of work, but not when you are spending the day at Cheekwood and it happens to be the Friday before fall break!! I attended an excelente workshop on Dia de los Muertos, the Hispanic cultural celebration known as Day of the Dead, with my Spanish teacher. I had a ton of ideas when I left! Maybe these pictures will inspire you as well!

 Classroom sized Tapetes (sand paintings using transparencies, gel glue and colored sand)

For this, they offered a template to lay under the transparency, but I drew my own calaca (skeleton) having fun (bottom)!!

Barrilete (paper kites from Guatemala) 

These are great for teaching radial symmetry!

 I discovered it is better (and less work) to leave the center in the paper plate because it didn't matter to me if they actually flew like a kite.

 Combine Papel Picado (cut paper-snowflake style) into your kite design!

 And of course the Sugar Skulls. 

I have done paper and  sugar cookie "sugar skulls" with my kindergarten students, but have never been brave enough to use actual sugar ones. These ones are tiny, think have the size of your computer mouse.

The imagery for this fiesta is fun and whimsical! I hope it inspires you to create a unit that explores this interesting culture phenomenon. 

Don't let the name scare you!!