Materials:

Art Print: “ Young Artists,” by Carol Sideman. Crystal Productions

Whiteboard and dry erase marker, 

Water cups and water blocks, paintbrush for each child.  Paper towel, 24 inches folded in half with newspaper padding inserted in the fold. 

Into the Lesson:

Kindergarteners sit quietly on the carpet close to me and the art print we will scan. “Young Artists,”  by Carol Sideman. American, female Artist 1925. We talk about “What we see, what we think, what we wonder.” Visual Thinking Strategies, 

I say, “Look, I am going to draw a straight line." I draw it using a whiteboard and dry erase marker. I ask, “What does it look like?” Then we stand to be the straight line. I ask, “What does it feel like?” I state, “We are balancing between earth and sky. We are a brushstroke. The picture would not be complete without each of us.”We then practice drawing the line in the air. Then I share, “I am going to draw a curved line. I can bend and curve the line to go however I will it." We then bend it with our bodies and practice drawing.

We listen to “Bamboo Water Fountain” 

What do you hear? Water? “Yes and that is what we will use to create our lines.” I demonstrate using the brush with water onto our canvas. We repeat elongated lines that flow from the top of the page down, and then the bottom of the page up. I stress how this lesson should sound quiet and calm, and feel quiet and calm. We turn the paper over to draw with our paintbrush curved lines on the back.

Through the Lesson:

Children sit in groups of two or four. Share a cup of water stationed in woodblock. Their canvas is a folded paper towel with a newspaper between the fold. It dries almost immediately. It is used instead of a Buddha board, or magic paper. I supervise how they elongate their brush strokes.

 Beyond the Lesson:

We regather back in front of the picture and answer 3 questions. How were we like the artists in the picture? What lines did you create? What else might you create with?

If time…. Who else creates lines? A spider! I share a story through song, “Spider’s Web.” I use a silver string to lift it up into a vertical line. We use our hands to interpret the song creating straight and curved lines