Cut-and-Glue Owls! (K)

So for my second lesson with my kinders I decided to continue looking at shape and color - but this time with cutting and glueing as well! I also incorporate 3 books into this lesson as well (as sources of inspiration for my little kiddos).

On the first day we begin by reading "Birds" by Kevin Henkes. We read the book and then look at all the beautiful images. There is one image of like 4 birds sitting on branches with a blue background. We focus on this one and talk about why the artist put blue behind the birds - oh yeah.. it's the sky in the background! :)

Using blue liquid watercolors, we paint our 9"x9" white papers!

On the second day we come in and read the book "Wow! Said the Owl" by Tim Hopgood and talk about the rainbow that was made when it was raining but still sunny outside - which segues to a brief talk about the color wheel. Then we go back to our tables and pull out our now blue 9"x9" papers. Using a smaller square stencil, students trace around the outside of the square to create a frame on our papers. Once the frame is drawn, students are instructed to color outside of the square with any colors they'd like (although naturally I get a lot of rainbows drawn). :)

On day three we begin by learning a rhyme to help students focus during instructive transitions. It goes like this:

"Whoo! Whoo! What do I do? Listen for directions and learn something new!"

This is a rhyme I made up for my kinders during my student teaching as the school I was at had owls as their mascot - but I find it appropriate for this lesson.

Once we learn the rhyme, we start talking about the shapes and colors they see on my teachers sample. We decide that a we need to start by adding a brown oval to our papers inside the square in the middle. I give students a piece of brown paper with an oval already drawn on it and they cut it out (depending on your kinders developmental level - you can have them draw it themselves). For glueing, I've used both glue sticks and liquid glue with different groups - both work fine - it's just a matter of what you want to use with your kids. I find that glue sticks help to control the mess a bit more.. but my kids often destroyyyyyyy my glue sticks and we go through them super fast. When we use liquid glue.. it's a bit messier (but I do teach my kids that "a dot is a lot!" Next we add the red oval which they cut out and talk about where it needs to be glued down (in the middle, but closer to the bottom). Then we need a blue triangle for the head feathers... but wait!! All Ms. Gram has is blue squares!! Oh no!! Wait a second -- check this out! I show students that they can hold their blue squares in one hand with the corners pointing up and down (like a diamond) and start their scissors at the bottom corner and cut "up, up, up," all the way to the opposite corner. Voila! Now we have two blue squares (one ends up in the scrap bucket). The kids are AMAZED by this -- which is why it becomes my favorite part of the lesson to teach. I love seeing their faces light up with amazement! :)

Next we add a yellow beak by using the same cutting technique.

Afterwards we look at our owls to see what we're still missing. The eyes and the wings!

To create the eyes I give each student a rectangle piece of white paper and we fold it in half hamburger-style to create a "little book." Then we draw a circle on the "cover" of our book and while keeping the book closed, cut out our circles. Because the paper is folded - we really end up cutting out two identical circles. Another AMAZING moment for my kinders. :)

We use the same cutting technique for the wings, except this time with a blue rectangle folded in half... and instead of a circle, we draw a freeform shape! *Some of my kinders remember this word from our first lesson - others need to be reminded that:

"A made-up shape is a freeform shape!" (said with rhythm)

While not all my kinders end up making a wing shape, I encourage any shape they want to use for their wings - after all, it's their art! This also helps to relieve the anxiety some of the kids get from having to draw and cut out their own shapes.
The next day we begin by reading "The Little White Owl" by Tracey Corderoy and talk about how the owls were all different and had lots of decorative patterns and colors. Students are given crayons and asked to add whatever additional detail or pattern they want to their owls to make them unique and special!

The kids to an amazing job with this project and all the owls end up looking adorable. I LOVEEEEE it! :)