Shape Boxes

This is another project by the lovely Cassie Stephens. It is similar to our line sculptures so my kinders were already pretty good at this.

We started off the project by talking about how lines create shapes. I love it when I ask that question and I get a chorus of "They have to hold their hands!" We reviewed what a sculpture was and what the difference between 2D and 3D was.

Before the lesson began, I made boxes out of black strips of paper. That way students didn't have to use up a bunch of art time trying to make one themselves. I reminded the students of how we turned our paper lines into shapes by gluing their hands together. Then if we pinched our paper circle "OUCH!" it created different shapes depending on how many times we pinched it. I also showed them how to make more complex shapes like stars and hearts. Students set to work and I was once again blown away by how well they did.

The other day, I had a kindergarten teacher come in and tell me that she had a funny story for me. She had begun to teach shapes in her class and when she asked the class what they could tell her about the shape they were looking at, a student raised their hand and said "It holds its hand!" She thought this was kind of a weird thing to say but carried on to the next shape. She once again asked what the students could tell her about the shape and a student once again said "It holds its hand!" She finally realized that this was something that they had been learning about in art class. I love hearing about how my students are applying the knowledge they learn in art class to other aspects of their life!