Alyssa Tan

S10173741E
2T04 (1)

Task 2 - Art Experience

Age Group: Kindergarten 2

Concept Colour, Texture

(Elements):

Topic: Animals

Rationale: I decided to let the children experiment with cotton bud painting as I
thought it would be interesting to show them that there is more than
one use to a cotton bud. To add on, the children recently went to
the zoo as part of their Wondrous Mind curriculum. This will help
integrate their learning and build on what they are learning or
already know.

Objectives: Children will be able to:

1. Use cotton bud and tempera paint to create different forms of
colours (red and blue to create purple, blue and yellow to
create green) and shapes
2. Paint a picture using cotton bud and tempera paint

Environment The children will be seated on the floor with the teacher in the
Setup: Kindergarten 2 classroom. During the tune-in activity, the teacher
will hold up a picture of different animals they saw at the zoo.
Materials such as the cotton bud, tempera paint, paper, palette and
water will be placed on the children’s table which will be covered
with newspaper. Once the tune-in activity is done and children are
 ready to paint, they will go to to their respective tables to carry out
the main activity. There will be 8 children in total and 2 tables. 4
children will be seated at each table to better facilitate sharing of
materials. A damp cloth will be provided to wipe the tables during
cleanup.

Procedures: Tune In (10 minutes):

1. The teacher will bring cotton buds, paint, and pictures of the
animals and place them in a black box.
2. The teacher will gather the children in a circle and ask them
questions as she reveals the items to introduce the main
idea. Questions would be: “What are the similarities between
a cotton bud and a paint brush?”, “What body coverings do
these animals have?”.
3. Discuss on the techniques that can be used to paint using a
cotton bud. For example, instead of dotting, they could swirl
it.
4. Teacher to show sample art pieces which embody pointillism
and Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night to show how swirls
can be used.
5. Round up the discussion by telling the children that there are
many kinds of print and strokes you can make with the cotton
bud.
6. Send children back to the table to start painting the animals.

Main Activity (30 minutes):

1. The teacher will assign children to their respective tables
lined with newspaper. Tables will have cotton buds and a
 palette of primary colours.
2. Children will be given a white piece of A4 paper each, which
they will use to draw an animal of their choice from a broad
category given by the teacher. For example, their favourite
land animal.
3. The teacher will facilitate the mixing of colours and allow
children to explore the different colour combinations.
4. In the process of painting, the teacher can ask children to
describe what they are doing as well as prompt them by
asking thought-provoking questions such as “how do we
make the colour lighter or darker?”.
5. The teacher should place the pictures of the different animals
on the table, should the children need it for reference.
6. The teacher could also teach them the element of texture by
asking them “what is the difference if i dot instead of using it
like a normal paint brush?” “will the texture be rougher or
smoother?”.

Closure (10 minutes):

1. Get the children to clean up the area once they have
completed their artwork.
2. Leave paintings on the table to dry.
3. Get children to gather back in a circle.
4. Ask children questions to help them recall and reflect on
things that they have learnt through today’s painting.
Example of questions would be: “What are the different
animals we painted today?”, “What other things can we use
to paint besides a paint brush and cotton bud?”, “What does
texture mean?”
5. Recap on concepts (elements) learnt.
Documentation of Lesson

(The centre assigned does not allow for photo documentation)

Tune In: ● Gather children and introduce items to them

● Discuss on the techniques
● Show sample art pieces of pointillism
● Allow children to start painting

Main Activity: ● Children will be given a piece of paper to start painting

● Replicate animals from the pictures provided
 ● Teacher to ask questions to facilitate the process

Closure: ● Clean up the table (throw away cotton bud, wash paint
brushes and palette)
● Leave paintings on the table to dry
● Gather children back and round up lesson by asking questions
and revisiting the techniques used

A sample of the children’s artwork on pointillism

Lesson Evaluation
During one of my field practicum sessions, I was tasked to conduct lessons for
the kindergarten two class that i was attached to, one of them being art. Throughout the
lesson, the children responded enthusiastically to the questions asked. They were
excited to do the artwork as they get to explore many different materials. They learned
about how animals and their different body coverings and also learned how to paint an
animal of their choice.
A change that was made on the spot was that since there was not enough
pictures of the animals to go around, I decided to tear the particular animal the child
wanted to replicate, instead of giving the child the whole piece of paper. Another change
was that some children suggested that they would like to bring their art piece home
when they were asked where they would like to have it displayed. Thus, we decided to
display the art pieces in class for a week before bringing it home. The children
responded positively as they expressed excitement to show their art pieces to their
parents afterwards.
Focussing on the learning areas of aesthetic and creative expression and motor
skills development for this lesson, my objectives were met as the children were able to
paint a picture using cotton bud and tempera paint. They were able to create different
forms of colours and shapes. The children could also use the cotton bud effectively to
replicate the animals they saw on the paper.
The children’s behaviour was more effectively managed this time round with the
help of a musical instrument. I used a drum to get their attention. Some of the children
were distracted by the drum and some asked irrelevant questions. I tried to manage
their behaviour by placing the drum out of their sight, and as for the irrelevant questions,
i told them that i will get back to them later. The children were very focused when doing
their art work. When a few children called me at the same time, I told them to wait until I
was done attending to the child I was currently with. Most children were able to wait
patiently.
One of the effective strategy used in supporting children’s learning was asking
open-ended questions. This stimulates the children’s thinking when they analyse their
thought process to answer the question, compared to a close-ended question, where no
elaboration is required. Critical thinking is an important mental process linked to
mindfulness, which is crucial to certain aspects of development like cognitive and
emotional regulation (Santrock, 2014). Transitions were also carried out smoothly as I
let the children know how much time they have until we move on to the next part of the
activity and also alerted them by letting them know that the activity is about to end in 5
minutes. This gives children time to prepare themselves and finish up before transiting.
Throughout the lesson, some things went well, such as how the children enjoyed
the art activity and have a better idea of mixing of colours. However, there were some
things that needed improvement such as the lack of cotton bud for each child. I could
have also grouped children who wanted to draw the same animals at one table, making
it easier to share the paper which had the animals printed on it. There was also a small
whiteboard which prevented me from being able to overlook both tables at a time.

Reflection

Description of items from
(a) to (d)
Your feelings about what
happened and the related
reasons
● Your thinking about
what happened and
the related reasons.
● How would you do it
differently and why?
Similar to Friedrich
Froebel, the father of
kindergarten, I feel it is
important we expose
children to art, and allow
them to make their own.
This encourages holistic
development. More
specifically, I feel that
when it comes to young
children and art, we should
let them “just do it”. There
should not be a standard
format to follow, or an ideal but I believe mess is part
way their art piece should
look like. They should be
able to explore freely within
the boundaries the teacher
has set, and be allowed to
make mess.
I chose painting as the key
technique the children use.
I decided to let the children
experiment with cotton bud
painting and the idea of
doing this was to show
children that there is more
than one use to a cotton
bud. It was a new method
of painting to many of the
children, and that was what
i was going for. I wanted to
integrate it with their
I felt glad that I managed to I would not have given
put into practice what I them the paper with the
believe in. The children animals on them but
were given the freedom to instead, get them to draw
choose the animal, even if their own animals without
it was not one on the paper any reference. This would
I had prepared. I was also have helped developed
not fussy about whether their creativity and
they used pointillism in imagination as they are not
their whole art work. Some given anything to replicate
of them did swirls that is and therefore, have to start
fine. The mixing of colours from scratch.
made things slightly messy
of art.
I felt thankful that the I could introduce new
children were able to relate animals to them, not only
to the theme of animals the ones they saw at the
and body coverings. They zoo. This would have
were able to identify all the helped extend their
animals and their body learning and go beyond.
coverings correctly. I
reckon that they were very
engaged as this was of
their interest.