Desert Shadows Montessori Toddlers: 2009

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

International Day of Peace

It is DSM's tradition each year to celebrate Peace Day instead of Halloween. The children all dress up in costumes representing children from around the world. We hold a peace march to parade in our costumes, read peaceful books, listen to cultural music, create artworks representing different countries, and hold a multicultural potluck lunch.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Starry, Starry Night

The month of October we've focused a lot on the artist Van Gogh. We read the book In The Garden With Van Gogh.The children were especially inspired by his Starry Night paintings. We decided to create our own Night Sky Paintings. We discussed light and dark colors. Some children wanted a light blue sky, while others chose dark. Ofcourse we added a little silver metallic paint to the blue watercolors to give a little extra "twinkle" to the skies. Each child also chose to glue a full or crescent moon to their masterpieces, which was cut from yellow water colored paintings they had previously done. Some silver star stickers added a little texture, and was a great fine motor challenge for them. After the paintings were dry, I brushed each one with a little modge podge to give them a more finished look. Now they decorate our classroom wall.Each painting turned out so beautiful, and yet so unique.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Pumpkin Painting

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Inspired by Matisse

During the month of September we created some works of art based on Henri Matisse's artistic style. First we read the book A Magical Day With Matisse. Each child was given a black sheet of construction paper. The children drew with oil pastels. Then the children practiced glueing Matisse inspired shapes of their choice onto their artwork. To give the art a more finished look we brushed on a layer of modge podge on top. It was neat for the children to work on a piece of art that took several days, and different elements to complete.