Every now and then I steal from get inspired by the amazing Cassie Stephens! I love doing her Kinder Line Unit for all the reasons that she describes. It really is a great fit for kindergarten art at the beginning of the school year. I completely relate to her when she mentions that developing a kinder project is “not my forte” (which is hard to believe for Ms. Stephens, once you become familiar with her blog). I’ve got to admit that I find kindergarten most challenging, and I’m always looking for ways to grow in this area. They are the sweetest age group and their minds are like little sponges…but sometimes I feel like I'm herding cats 😽 🎨 😸
So I’m really glad that I discovered this unit for kindergarten art. And I’ve adapted it to make it a tailored fit for my kinders and my school. Firstly, I added a kinesthetic line activity. My littlest artists learn five different kinds of lines: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, wavy, and zig zag. They make lines with their bodies to identify each type. They look for lines in many examples of artwork. They also look for lines in real life – they usually find a lot on their own clothes! In addition to identifying the lines out loud, they use their bodies to signal each vocab word as they say it aloud.
Developmentally, children tend to enter kindergarten as kinesthetic and tactile learners; moving as they learn is beneficial to them. This activity has a whole other benefit for my classroom: self-regulation. The kinder annex is very far from my room and the transition to art can be rough on my ever-energetic, sometimes-restless, little learners. We discuss line in a multi-project unit over the course of 2-3 weeks, so we begin each class with the kinesthetic line activity as a “warm-up.” It gives them a great way to settle into the art room after that walk. I pair the warm-up with different examples of art each time (3D or 2D work in all sorts of genres) and they hunt for lines and do the movements. While the warm-up may be repetitive, they spend most of class time on a different art activity each time (applying an increased knowledge of lines, and building on other elements of art e.g. space in between lines, line patterns, how lines meet to make a shape, etc).
My second adaptation involves connecting the unit to a yearly campus event. The PTA usually incorporates kindergarten into our school’s Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, and the timing lines up with this unit. My first year, we looked at the lines on Mexican Baile Folklórico costumes, and we cover TEKs for pattern, color, shape, and mixed media to design costumes. Starting with the line paintings, we add tissue paper skirts, rectangle sleeves, and belts (“skinny” rectangles plus dried bean “studs” attached with tacky glue). For exploring cultural connections, I found a helpful video that features a Folklórico costume designer, who talks about the tradition specific to Mexico, and how she approaches her work to honor its legacy.
Last year, kinders created wearable Line Ponchos. I have found many art projects like these, via blogs, that teach about the Mexican serape. While serapes present a cultural connection to Mexico, I wanted to be careful not to foster stereotypes in my curriculum. Too often I have seen kids draw a cartoon with a poncho and sombrero in order to portray a “Mexican person.” For my unit, I showed photos of ponchos from Paracas and Quechua culture, to present the tradition in the Andean regions of Chile and Peru. We looked at photos of snowcapped Andes mountains. I brought in a poncho to class; the students touched it and talked about how it felt warm and heavy. We made the connection between clothes and climate, and then moved on to look at designs on ponchos from different places (including but beyond the serape). I used a variety of images of poncho and place, trying my best to keep it simple. “Simple” is key for kinder curricula, and it’s always a challenge for me since I lean towards nuance!
For their Hispanic Heritage performance, kindergarten still wore sombreros (as you can see in the photos below) but I think it helps that they looked at the serape tradition among other ponchos. My students got a glimpse into how ponchos relate to different places, cultures, and history.
