Town of van Snow

This is a project I did with 5th graders as part of an outreach program. Our inspiration was van Gogh. The art kits we handed out included oil pastels and that is what we used to create these post-impressionist renderings.

To get the kids started we talked a bit about van Gogh and his style. We looked at Starry Night and the movement created in the sky. I had each child sketch a horizon line, tree, and path leading to a vanishing point. We sketched movement in the sky and included the crescent moon. From here I encouraged the kids to add whatever winter items they wanted. Some added igloos, snowmen, gingerbread houses and more. I tried to get the kids to use short dashes to fill their pages and to use the white of their paper for snow. They turned out fantastic! I loved the imagination of these incredible kids!







You will need:
-Drawing paper
-Pencil
-Oil Pastels
-van Gogh reference material: Starry Night

Here are some of the great works made!

Go van Gogh

Happy Birthday Vincent van Gogh! You crazy Dutch post-impressionist! You were a pioneer for the modern art movement and you had no idea how your works of art would be enjoyed for so many years to come!

Although van Gogh was known for his use of vibrant colors, in this toddler class I decided to go pastel for Easter bunny fun. These works are in celebration of van Gogh, not representational of his work. It was a lot of fun for the kids.

We talked a little about van Gogh and read a fun book, Trucks Go. This book is filled with fun sound effects that all the kids enjoyed.
We discussed our museum manners and were off to visit the galleries. Back in the classroom we used things that "go" to cover our paper!

First we used brayers. This just doesn't get old. Kids love rolling paint! Then I had a bucket of cars, trucks and more to roll through paint and on to our paper. Find some wheels with different track marks. That means more fun.



Pick some different colors and let loose!

Wouldn't these be fun cut out as easter eggs? yes!



You will need:
-paper. Heavier is best for the little ones as they will roll through thin paper.
-tape to make the paper stay put for the rolling frenzy
-paint whatever colors you have
-things that "GO!"

Here are some of our works. Start your engines! VROOM!