Drawing...PEOPLE!

Yes, it was hard.  But, we can do hard things has kind of been a teammate's motto for her class & I like it.

I like a challenge. 

So we dug in on today & drew our first people.  We talked about all sorts of shapes, bones, & measurements - that make up a well proportioned human drawing (ex. square for pelvis, oval/egg for skull).

Wendy {the creator of Project 64} has facilitated 2 trainings in my school & she says, "People are hard.  The hardest to draw!"  She also says, "The more you do it, the better you get."

So we did it & I have to say I AM IMPRESSED!  Here's mine (#dontjudge):

Not sure if it's just my class, but they are *IN LOVE* with speech bubbles.  So, this week week our basketball player asked a little girl, "Let's play basketball?"  Her response, "YES!"  They were also excited for question & exclamation marks. 

Now for my Kindergarten friends' drawings:

I mean, *PRESH*!  Aren't these just the best things going?!?!?!

So excited for how their fine motor has improved & their attention to detail...ooh, and their ability to track from the document camera.  They still love getting new crayons, not quite done passing out all 64, but we're over 1/2 way there.

Not to mention they are becoming such great storytellers!  We discussed this as pg. 1 & then they said the problem would be where to tie the little girl's balloon.  Then they said that they thought the girl would win the game - HA - that would be a great story, for sure!

Keep drawing writing,

Introducing the 64 Crayons

My Kinders love getting their 4 weekly crayons.  It's a BIG deal!  They always ask me their names & then we make "color tornadoes," referencing their names over and over.

They all giggle when I ask them to get out macaroni and cheese - because they know it's my favorite!  Do you notice the children using & LOVING the 64 Crayola crayon color names?  That is the #1 question & it's so fun to see their excitement - it's contagious!

The second question I get after introducing the color names is, "Where does it go?"  So we discuss their thoughts - is it in the yellow, green, orange, purple, etc. family?  My Kinders enjoy sorting & it shows up as such an overarching theme in all content areas, so we practice and reinforce it weekly in our drawing lessons, by sorting the crayons.

Wendy recently gave me some new warm-up papers that show various pencil shading techniques and has space for coloring & handwriting.  The color pages align with how Wendy introduces the 64 crayons each week too!  I am going to staple these warm-up pages together and make color books - and the students will take them home, once all 64 crayons have been introduced.

In case you are interested in the warm-up pages they're a free PDF download below:

64 Color Range smaller.pdf


Hope this helps you introduce and engage with your students as you use the 64 Crayola crayons.

Happy Drawing & Writing,

Kindergarten Drawing/Writing Center

So, we are well into The Connection Project in my Kindergarten classroom - just finished "The Everything" lesson.

In my district, here in CO, we get a 2 week Fall Break - I know, it's a HUGE blessing!  Since the Kinders just finished hearing/drawing about the dragon's vegetable garden & the dog spotting the flower, I thought when they come back from break it would be a good time to introduce our writing center.

Wendy provided us with 24+ student book boxes, a 3 section paper holder, & a crayon/writing station - shown here:

The students can use the crayons & supplies to make their own books - which will tell their own stories.  As we draw more and more, the students can create more and more books!  I can tell you from my limited experience last year (starting the project in Jan.), the writing center & book publishing was the most sought after center in my room.  The students couldn't wait to draw, label, and write pages in their books - about bunnies, ice cream, dragons, fire trucks...

It was quite amazing!

Happy Drawing & Writing,

Greetings From TX!

Wendy had the opportunity to implement Project Curiosity in Texas, in late August.  Just look at the writing that came from these 2nd Graders:

It still surprises me (and it shouldn't) just how much the children will write when they create such detailed images.  I also love the dialogue!

Happy Drawing & Writing,