Visual and Performing Arts Activities for Transitional

Kindergarten

Professor Kim Morin, CSUFJennifer Coull, FCOE

TK BootcampApril, 2012

First Steps... Establish Guidelines

Create a “Safe Environment”Introduce three rules (taken from The New Games Book, 1976, Main Street Press)

 1. Play hard.  (It’s no fun unless you invest some enthusiasm.)

 2.  Play fair.  (Structure encourages creativity.)

  3. Nobody hurt.  (Physically or emotionally)

Dance and Theatre – Body Awareness

Gestures and facial expressionsSpatial relationships with others

•Axial and locomotor movement•Pantomime- action without words

•Extended gestures

VOCABULARY - What is Pantomime?

Pantomime - Acting without words through facial expression, gesture, and movement.    Taken from VAPA Standards

Theatre Glossary– Vocabulary for Kindergarten

Warm-up to Introduce Pantomime

Concentration Bubble"Sitting at your desk or on the floor, imagine that there is a box in front of you. When you work with objects inside the box, you need to CONCENTRATE or FOCUS so you only see what is inside your own box. Try to see it, feel the surface - what is the texture? Pick it up. How heavy is it? What does it smell like? 

 Reminders:You cannot see anyone else. Focus on what is inside your own box.Try to believe that you actually see the object within the box.Actors work for many years on the skill of CONCENTRATION.     

Prepare for Movement in the Classroom Group Dynamics

• FIND YOUR GROUP – Little People Puppets– Small groups – find your color and make a line– Larger Groups – Find your Number and make a circle

• COVER THE SPACE– Group scatters around the so everyone is spaced evenly,

no one can touch anyone else or any walls or furniture.

Practice going from one to the other!

VOCABULARY – What is Axial Movement?

AXIAL MOVEMENT. Movement anchored to one spot by a body part. Movement is organized around the axis of the body and is not designed for travel from one location to another. Also known as nonlocomotor movement. Examples include stretching, bending, turning in place, gesturing.   

Taken from VAPA Standards Dance Glossary–

Space Bubble

1. Players stand in "self space" either by their desks or around the room. 2. Have players create an imaginary bubble around themselves.  The bubble extends all around them as far as their arms can reach. 3. Have students define their  bubbles  by stretching their arms as far as they can all around their bodies, without moving their feet. Stretch as high, low. and to the sides.4. Explain that the "bubble" is like a space suit. You can see out a little - but just enough to keep from running into anything. However. you cannot talk to anyone and if you touch someone else, your bubble will pop. 5. Players will stay in one spot and explore AXIAL movements. 

VOCABULARY – What is Locomotor Movement?

LOCOMOTOR. Movement progressing through space from one spot to another. Basic locomotor movements include walking, running, galloping, jumping, hopping, skipping, sliding, leaping.   Super Song: The Loco-Motion by Little Eva

Taken from VAPA Standards Dance Glossary–

Space Bubble - Slow Motion Walk

1. Begin doing movements in slow motion.  Ask students to mirror your movements as you lead them through some simple stretches, again without moving their feet.   Use your own modeling and verbal cues to create a fairly uniform sense of “slow motion”.  

2. Now, have participants explore LOCOMOTOR movement by moving around the room in slow motion, making sure that their bubbles do not touch.

    

Walk About

Students "walk about" the classroom in their space bubbles. 

Try walking in different environments. They can be real environments-pine needles in a forest; cool water in a brook; hot sand on a beach; deep snow drifts

Or imaginary-Spaghetti, jello, plate of pancakes

Establish Freeze 1. Explain that when you say “Freeze”, all participants

should stop moving and hold their current position.  Ask them to freeze all parts of their bodies, including their eyes and faces.

2. Ask students to gradually increase their speed until they are walking at a normal pace.  You could give examples if needed.

3. FREEZE. Practice Freezing on a cue. Remind them that they need to freeze in a balanced position so they can hold it. Eyes need to focus in one place.

4. Ask students to gradually increase their speed until they are walking at a fast pace, but not running. 

5. Remind them that their bubbles must not touch.

Note: Sometimes a signal works for a freeze– tambourine, bell, etc.

(Yes, this is in the Dance Standards for K!)

Bright Idea!

• Use a song that has a built-in Freeze!

• There are LOTS of FUN songs available!

• Examples:

• The Freeze – Music and Motion CD

• Shake Freeze – Little Maestros

• The Freeze Dance - Unknown

Freeze Strategies

1. TURN AND FREEZE - Players stand in a circle facing out. On a count of 1-2-3-Freeze – players turn into the circle and freeze in a pose.

2. COUNT AND FREEZE - Count from 1-5. Players begin in neutral and grow from small to bigger to biggest and freeze on 5.

Coaching Hints: FOCUS

• Hold the “freeze” like a statue. • Where are the eyes looking? Are they

keeping true to the pose? (no roaming eyes like the Haunted Mansion!)

• Focus may not come right away.• It’s okay to practice!

Coaching Hints: Adjust

• How long can you stay in place?• If you find yourself off balance or in

pain, make adjustments.• Make adjustments so you can stay still

for a long time.

Activity- “Old Man’s Dance”

• Players stand in a circle. One person steps forward into the circle to dance

• The other players in the circle “follow the leader” or copy what the leader is doing.

• Players take turns playing the “Old Man” and walking toward the center to dance.

Great MUSIC – Saint Saens – “Carnival of the Animals”

Terms To Keep In Mind

• Unison- Simultaneous play. Everyone plays at the same time

• Solo- Everyone plays as an individual. No interaction between the participants. Gesture- An expressive movement of the body or limbs.

• Creative Expression - Encourage responses to be unique and exploratory

Taken from CA State Content Standards Glossary http://www.cde.ca.gov/BE/ST/SS/thglossary.asp

Narrative Pantomime

Someone "narrates" the action while the players act it out through pantomime. • Magic Paintbrush• Giant's Breakfast

Narrative Pantomime

Narrative Pantomime can be read directly from a story. Example: Runaway Bunny - Margaret Wise BrownPlayers line up to face partners. One line plays "Mama Bunny" and one line plays "Baby Bunny."

The Painter and the Elves

Narrative Pantomime is also referred to as

• Movement Story

• Sound and Motion Story

• Here is an example of a narrative Pantomime that is written out for you!

• Taken from- Movement Stories for Young Children: Ages 3-6 by Helen Landalf and Pamela Gerke

Now on to Visual Arts!

• Warm-ups

– Rub your hands, cover your eyes What do you SEE when you open your eyes??

– What color do you associate with…

– Hold up color cards, make a face

– Shape with bodies: Magic Paintbrush

Draw a Picture In Your Mind

Leader describes a scene or setting; players sit with eyes closed and imagine the picture in their mind. Specific descriptions work best.

Imagine a black stallion in a green field of grass with yellow and white flowers. The horse is standing behind a white picket fence. Above is a brilliant blue sky with white wisps of clouds floating by...

A Different Sort of Picture…

Leader describes a scene or setting; players sit with eyes closed and imagine the picture in their mind. Specific descriptions work best.

Imagine a green stallion in a purple field of grass with black and white flowers. The green horse is standing behind a striped picket fence. Above is a brilliant orange sky with green wisps of clouds floating by...

What Do You Teach About Color?

My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

Color Mixing Center 1

• Materials: Tempera Paint, Paper Plates, Saran Wrap, Tape

Tempera paints are placed on Paper plates and covered with Saran. Students mix the colors

Ideas: Saran may be removed for new prints!

Color Mixing Center 2

• Materials: Coffee Filters, Red, Yellow, Blue Markers, water, paintbrushes, paper towels, newspaper

Students color coffee filters with markers in 3 primary colors. Use paint brushes to wet the marker and see what happens!

When dry, can become rainbows, flowers, butterflies!

Color Mixing Center 3

• Materials: Index Cards, Tissue Paper in red, yellow, blue, liquid starch (or glue and water), paint brushes, newspaper. Black Construction paper (optional)

Students tear tissue paper into shapes. Then they use starch or glue and water to stick pieces to index cards. Colors mix as the paper overlaps. Designs can then be mounted on construction paper.

Possible Sentence Frames

• When I mix red and yellow and blue I see _______________________________.

• The color ________________________

makes me feel ___________________.

Let’s Talk!

• What have you learned from today?

• How can you use the arts in your classroom?

• What are you excited about trying?

• What are the challenges?

Thank You!!!

Professor Kim Morin

Department of Theatre Arts

California State University, Fresno

kimm@csufresno.edu

Jennifer Coull

VAPA Coordinator

Fresno County Office of Education

jcoull@fcoe.org

"Magic Paintbrush"

 First feel the "invisible" canvas in front of you – as high and low as you can reach, and as far to the sides as you can stretch. The paintbrush is "magic" because it attaches itself to different parts of your body and paints whatever color you want as soon as you think of it! Start by painting with your fingers – try painting fast and slow, then try lines – horizontal, vertical, thick, thin… next try your elbows – see how high you can paint with your elbows… how low? What shapes? Other fun body parts to try are: knees, feet, shoulders, top of the head, and – to sign your name – your rear end!

Giant’s Breakfast

You wake up feeling happy because it is Saturday. But suddenly you are puzzled - your bed feels different this morning… it is bigger than you remember…in fact, you can’t reach the edges! Finally you get to one edge and look down. Your bed is HUGE! It is 20 feet to the ground. You feel frightened as you slowly climb down one of the legs, but you make it safely to the bottom and then jump to the ground. You look up and see that you are in a giant log cabin. You feel curious as you walk around and see everything so high above you.

 

Giant’s Breakfast (cont.)

. You take a deep breath and smell a wonderful breakfast cooking. It makes you feel hungry. So you follow your nose to a tall, tall table. You climb up one leg, hop on the table and there is a giant-sized breakfast! You feel excited as you come to the first plate. It is flapjacks covered with butter and maple syrup. You leap on to the plate and squish right through the flapjacks, picking it up and eating as you go. It tastes delicious! Next you come to a plate of bacon – you go slipping and sliding along it. And finally, you splash into a bowl of Cheerios with milk.  

Giant’s Breakfast (cont.)

You feel lazy as you drift along riding in a Cheerio as an inner tube, but just then you are startled by a loud banging sound! Someone is coming! So you swim out of the Cheerios, across the bacon, through the flapjacks, down the table leg, across the room, and climb back into your bed. Quick throw the covers over your head and hide! Everything is quiet. You wait… and when you take the covers off your head, you are back in the classroom!

Other Great Books About Color

• Mouse Paint – Ellen Stoll Walsh

• What Makes A Rainbow? by Betty Ann Schwartz and Dona Turner

• Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

• White Rabbit’s Color Book by Alan Baker