Kindergarten Pop Art with Andy Warhol

Even though it appears to be as easy as a "sub project,"  there are just some concepts that need to be explained a little more with kindergarten... plus when you're on the cart and have few materials to work with, this is a good project for you!

All you need is:

-10.5" x 10.5" square white paper
-12" x 12" colored paper for a frame
-woodemn stencils, which can be purchased at Michaels Arts & Crafts (normally .25 a piece, or wait for a good sale to buy shapes in bulk)
-Markers
-Pencils
-Crayons

I start by introducing Andy Warhol to the students.  I show them a picture of Andy, as well as picture of his repetative paintings he made of "Pop Art." 

After showing how Andy repeated his drawings, I showed the students how to take one shape and repeat it four times on the square paper.

But how can you get the students to keep their shape in the centers of the four squares?  Easy.  Have the students fold their paper in half, then while the paper is still folded, have them fold in half again to make a small square.  Unfold and you have four boxes to work with!  Let the students have only one stencil to work with.  When I attempted to put a bowl of stencils out for the students to use, they kept chosing four different shapes because they couldn't make up their mind!  One shape to each student works best.

After the students have their shapes, use a pencil to trace the stencils in all four boxes first.  Tracing can be tricky for kindergarteners, so it might be a good idea to use simpler shapes for those who may struggle with sharp corners (use hearts, clouds, apples, or other rounder shapes instead).

After tracing the shapes in all four boxes, have the students trace their pencil lines with markers.  I do not like students coloring in with markers for this project because it does not look as nice, but tracing helps the shape pop out more.  Once traced, students complete their project by coloring in each space with crayons. 

Since we are learning repetition and contour, I do not introduce color theory with the blocks, although it is a good idea to visit the idea of complimentary/analogous/monochromatic colors later on in older grade levels.

Complete the project by gluing a frame to teh back and you are done!  I can take 1 to two 40 minute class periods for students to complete this project.  If they do not finish within the first class, I have students practicing forms with play-doh once they finish with their project on the second day.