For art month, we’re learning all about the famous artists and their unique painting styles. They will serve as inspirations for our art activities. Now when I say inspiration, it means that we WON’T copy exactly what the artist did but probably learn something from it.
Yesterday, I posted about our Sistine Table painting which was inspired by Michelangelo. You can check that out HERE. Well today, it’s Van Gogh’s turn to shine!
It’s amazing how a little storytelling can really help kids remember certain information. Take Van Gogh, I told the kids how Van Gogh was ridiculed and mocked when he was still alive. No one seemed to appreciate his art until after he passed. I then tried rephrasing it even more and asked the kids if it was nice to say other people’s art is ugly. They of course answered that it wasn’t nice and our lesson continued.
Before showing them the art work, I first let them listen to the song Vincent by Don Mclean while flashing the image of the starry night painting. I asked them what they saw and they surprisingly answered , “the stars and the moon” even if there wasn’t really a star shape on the painting. These kids know how to appreciate good art!
What you will need:
- 2 colors of paint for each child
- Black Paper
- Colored Paper
What you will do:
Step 1: Hand the kids some black paper and have them cut it into at least 3 (This will be used for the buildings)
We drew lines for the kids to follow ‘coz cutting is still something new for our little toddlers
Step 2: Hand them some thin and long colored paper to cut into squares. We gave 2 colors per child. (This will be used for the windows)
We already cut it lengthwise so they could just snip it to make the squares. For older kids though, you can have them cut the entire square themselves
Step 3: Glue the small squares/windows to the black rectangles/ buildings
Step 4: Put these all aside first and have the kids paint swirls on their blank sheet of paper
We let each child choose 2 complimenting colors
Step 5: Afterward, stick the buildings on the paper