Lines, Tigers, Kindergarteners, Oh My!

While learning a little bit about the country of India, a kindergarten classroom used lines (strips) of paper to create their own Bengal Tigers, the national animal of India.

Bamboo Mat Paintings.

For their final project while studying Asia, 2nd graders were asked to paint an image that comes to their mind when they think of China.  Another reason the Target dollar section is the best?  Packs of bamboo mats for cheap!  The students were informed that bamboo grows in Asia (and pandas eat it) -- and they thought that was SO COOL.  The students first planned out their painting, transferred their drawing onto the bamboo mat, painted it with acrylic paint, and then "brought back" some details with a Sharpie marker.  They did a fantastic job!

Fabric in India.

The Himalayas.

The Himalayas are a mountain range located in Asia.  They stretch across 5 countries and contain the tallest peaks in the world, the tallest of which is Mount Everest (about 8,848 meters tall)!  These mountains are so tall (and cold) that many of their peaks are covered with snow year-round.  While learning a little bit about these beautiful mountains, the kindergarteners and 1st graders also learned about the "trick" our eyes play on us when we look at objects close up versus objects far away.  When we look at landscapes (or seascapes and cityscapes), objects get lighter as they get farther away from the viewer, while darker objects tell our brains that those objects are closer to us.  For this lesson, students created their own mountain landscapes to demonstrate this concept!