GTMS Life > Blog October 7, 2024

It All Starts With a Dot

September in the art room was full of colors, music, and plenty of dots! We kicked off the year by celebrating Dot Day, and learning all about Wassily Kandinsky. The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, The story of a little girl who feels like she can’t draw. Her art teacher helps her to develop a […]

September in the art room was full of colors, music, and plenty of dots! We kicked off the year by celebrating Dot Day, and learning all about Wassily Kandinsky.

The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, The story of a little girl who feels like she can’t draw. Her art teacher helps her to develop a sense of art confidence by simply asking her to make a mark. Vashti draws a dot, and another dot, and another, and another!  When her teacher displays Vashti’s work, she discovers her creativity and learns to think of what else she might be able to draw too if she is only willing to give it a try. By celebrating International Dot Day, children are encouraged to tap into their creative side to express it in any way they choose. The purpose is to support and inspire children to try something new, or tackle something they’re having difficulties with. Students were given free reign with all sorts of materials, such as watercolor paints, oil pastels, salad spinners, and even bubbles! Dot Day is a wonderful way to start the year off with confidence, color and creativity!

After learning all about the famous Kandinsky, the kindergartners were excited to get started on their project. We discussed what exactly abstract art is, and they listened to some Mozart to help inspire their pieces, just like Kandinsky. They each were given a piece of clear contact paper and plenty of colorful tissue paper shapes. Once they were happy with their composition, another piece of contact paper was placed on top to seal it all together. Finally, the students cut their pieces into a large circle and their first artwork of the year was complete! 

In addition to learning about Kandinsky himself, The Lower Elementary class explored color theory. First, we discussed the difference between primary and secondary colors, what the warm and cool colors are, and how to group analogous colors. Then, they drew concentric circles with glue on black paper. They chose four different color schemes to represent in their work, and used chalk pastels to color in their circles, and they were done! They each now have their own version of Kandinsky’s famous Concentric Circles!

Check back next month to see what we’re up to in October!

Read more
February 6, 2025

Sign up for Spring 2025 Conferences and Observations

Read More
February 6, 2025

SAVE THE DATE!

Read More
February 6, 2025

The Shared Shelf Workshop and Chapter Chat Review

Read More
February 6, 2025

Montessori & Me Pelvic Health Info Session

Read More
February 5, 2025

Space and Color in January (Art with Ms. Diana)

Read More