At CDS, Kindergarten students spend a lot of time studying different countries and cultures around the world.  To accompany their study of Europe and castles, in art class we created these fun stained glass collages.  We looked at pictures of a bunch of different stained glass in Europe.  Most were in cathedrals and churches and others in castles. We talked about how the sunlight coming through the window is what makes it look so colorful and how stained glass windows were often used to tell stories.

Students began this project by using watered down glue to collage colored tissue paper squares to a piece of wax paper.  Students spent 2 1/2 class periods doing this.  Some students used all of the colors available, while others used only two or three colors.    This was a messy process and it was neat watching the different techniques that different students used.
 I taught them to use their paintbrush to put glue on just a small area of the wax paper, apply tissue paper, then brush more glue overtop of the tissue paper.  Some students did so and applied the tissue paper totally random while others created patterns with the pieces.

For the next part of the project, students cut out a black frame with construction paper.
** I hit a very small bump with teaching this project when I realized that not only would it be quite difficult for the students to successfully glue the construction paper onto their finished tissue paper collages, but that the glue stick glue didn't stick very well.  So, as any teacher would, I decided to have the students do all of the cutting, but I ended up glueing all of the construction paper cut outs down myself.  I still used glue sticks, but I realized that once glued down, they needed to be weighted, so I stacked books on top until they were fully dry.**

We also spent one day practicing folding paper into 4's and cutting out shapes from the sides and corners.  We practiced making 'snowflakes' as well.  After practicing, I gave students the black construction paper and had them cut out a symmetrical, fun design.  To be honest, students got a bit frazzled because the construction paper was hard to cut through but once they finished and opened up their 'snowflake,' they were full of joy!

I ended up having to glue all of these pieces on too which was fine.  

The end result of this project is beautiful.  Especially when hung in a window so that the sun can shine through.

​I will definitely teach this project again next year but I have to figure out a few things to make it go a bit more smooth.

This Kindergarten project focused on shapes and colors.  
The students began by tracing a circle to represent the sun.  On the outside of the circle, the student did a tissue paper collage with cool colors-purple, blue and green.  On the inside, they used warm colors-yellow, red, and orange.
After collaging, student used markers to draw a mouth, eyes, and nose to make fun sun face.  The students used triangle pieces of paper to create rays for their sun.  This project took three 45 minute class periods and they turned out adorable.  

The first grade students started their year out by learning about warm and cool colors.  We used words such as lava and sunshine to associate with warm colors and words such as iceberg and ocean to associate with cool colors.  

Students also discussed the importance of hands.  According to the first graders, hands are important because...
"They are used to eat yummy food"
"You can give people hugs with your hands"
"Hands are used for making art"
"You write letters and books with hands"
"You give people presents with your hands"
......and on and on



To begin this project, the students started with a piece of card stock and learned how to use watered-down glue to collage tissue paper.  

After collaging one half of the paper with warm colored tissue paper,  the students did the other half with cool colors.  Each took one class period.

After these had dried, the first graders traced their own hand, on each side of the collage and then cut them out.  It was a great practice for them to cut such intense, jagged lines from the tracing of fingers.  I found that the first class struggled with the cutting, so for the next class, I printed out a squiggly line drawing for them to practice on before cutting out their hand.  That seemed to help.

After the hands were cut, they used a thin black paint to write their names on the hands.

Once both classes had finished, I cut out large black circles of paper and mounted the hands in a radial design, reaching out into the world.

The artwork now proudly hangs in the office of the school Principal!

The Forth grade students at ECCS are studying the local landscape this trimester.  I created a lesson plan that integrates that learning.  The students will create tissue paper collages of North Carolina Mountainscapes.  I begin teaching this lesson next Tuesday, and will post images of the student's work once they begin the project!


Overview:
4th Grade
3-4 days
The students will use tissue paper to collage North Carolina Mountain landscapes.

NC Essential Standards:
4.V.1.1 Use appropriate art vocabulary to compare artists’ styles.
4.V.1.2 Apply personal choices while creating art.
4.V.1.4 Understand how the Elements of Art are used to develop a composition.
4.V.2.2 Use ideas and imagery from North Carolina as sources for creating art.
4.CX.1.3 Classify NC artists in terms of styles, genre, and/or movements.

Materials:
Construction paper, tissue paper, glue, paintbrush, water, scissors

Art Vocabulary:

• foreground, background
  
• color, space, value
  
• collage
  
• landscape 
  

Interdisciplinary Concepts:
Geography, North Carolina Mountainscapes