Talking about Form with Kinders

Talking about Form with the younger classes is always a challenge because I requires some vocab that they usually aren't familiar with yet. It's a tough concept to wrap your mind around. In kindergarten last week we look at a reproduction of the Mona Lisa and a clay vase. First we established that they were both pieces of art. Then we searched together for the differences between the two pieces. Let me tell you, those super observant kinders found lots of differences!

 

 

After we talked about the differences, I suggested that there was one HUGE difference that we had not talked about yet. I turned the Mona Lisa over and asked them if there was any art work on the back on the paper. Since it was blank white, they said no of course. We talked about how if it was hanging up and you walked around it, there would only be art to look at in the front, none in the back. Then we talked about the vase. We discussed how if you walked around it, or even looked inside of it (!) that you could still see art. 
I asked the students what type of art they usually made in art class. And of course the answer was flat, one-sided artwork. Then I shared with them that art that you can walk around and has art on all sides is called 3-D Form and that they were going to make a project with Form today!
Now I'm sure you've all seen a variation of this project somewhere on the internet. I originally found it on Pinterest, but I've seen it on other blogs. We created paper sculptures. The kids were given a white piece of tag board and five strips of colored paper (which they chose) and each table had a tape dispenser. I showed them a couple basic folding techniques and how to use the tape dispensers correctly and then basically let them go to town. They had a glorious time and really got creative with their sculptures. What's more important is I'm pretty sure most of them understood the difference between flat artwork and artwork with Form. This was a one day project and I let them take their pieces home that day. I'm sure the classroom teachers appreciated the presence of artwork that couldn't be smushed when it was packing up time!