A Fall Collage Featuring An Owl

       Collage (From the French: coller, to glue) is a technique of an art production, primarily used in the visual arts, where the artwork is made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. Above you can see that I began this collage using a template of an owl that I cut from heavy construction paper.

      A collage may sometimes include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or handmade papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs and other found objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.
      For this fall collage I used wood chips, pom-poms, acorn caps, painted and stamped papers and magazine clippings along with a few markers: brown, white, black and yellow. I will give my younger students templates to trace around. The older students will be required to draw their own owl designs.

      The term collage derives from the French "coller" meaning "glue". This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art. Owls were popular subjects for both cubists to include in their still life art works as well!

      I pasted some real feathers into my collage to finish off my teacher sample.

See More Owl Collage Lessons and Ideas:

• Owl collages and matting
• Owl collage from Roadsworth
• Marbled Paper Owl Collages
• Recycled owl collage
• Magazine Collage Owls

The Elf and The Dormouse

By Oliver Herford

Under a toadstool crept a wee Elf,

Out of the rain, to shelter himself.

Under the toadstool sound asleep,

Sat a big Dormouse all in a heap.

Trembled the wee Elf, frightened, and yet

Fearing to fly away lest he get wet.

To the next shelter-maybe a mile!

Sudden the wee Elf smiled a wee smile.

Tugged till the toadstool toppled in two.

Holding it over him, gayly he flew.

Soon he was safe home, dry as could be.

Soon woke the Dormouse-"Good gracious me!"

"Where is my toadstool?" loud he lamented,

And that's how umbrellas first were invented.

Widdy-Widdy-Wurky

This little song from 1911 (French?) is perfect for an early learning center's student performance at a Thanksgiving Play or festival. It is simple enough for little ones to memorize and silly enough for them to enjoy doing it! Don't forget to dress your performers up in costume.

This is sung by the children in a semicircle. They come in a single file. Each child takes the name of an animal, and as each name is mentioned, the child whose name it is must clap hand in time. All clap hands together. At the end all march out, the leaders first, each child falling into place as his or her name is mentioned. Go round in single file once and then out.

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey, 

Sit-a-gain is my hen,

Feather-er-loose, is my goose,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey.

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Quacky-wuck is my duck,

Velet-mat is my cat,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Shiny-coat is my goat,

Tub-of-wine is my swine,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Run-a-course is my horse,

Milkey-ow is my cow,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

What's-o'clock is my cock,

Run-around is my hound,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Nice-look-out is my house,

Dart-about is my mouse,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey,

Yes-I-can is my man,

Whirley-wind is my child,

Widdly-widdy-wurkey I call my fat turkey!

The Circus Day Parade

Oh the circus-day parade! How the bugles played and played!

And how the glossy horses tossed their flossy manes and neighed,

As the rattle and the rhyme of the tenor-drummer's time

Filled the hungry hearts of all of us with melody sublime!

How the grand band-wagon shone with a splendor all its own,

And glittered with a glory that our dreams had never known!

And how the boys behind, high and low of every kind,

Marched in unconscious capture, with a rapture undefined!

How the horesmen, two and two, with their plumes of white and blue,

And of crimson, gold and purple, nodding by at me and you,

Waved the banners that they bore, as the knights in days of yore,

Till our glad eyes gleamed and glistened like the spangles that they wore!

The Snowman Song

Original Poem By W. W. Ellsworth (verses of song)

Chorus lines by Kathy Grimm

One day we built a snowman.

We made him out of snow;

You'd ought to see how fine he was--

All white from top to toe!

we built a little snowman, as soon as it grew cold!

we built a little snowman, he'll melt as he grows old!

We poured some water on him,

And froze him, legs and ears;

And when we went indoors to bed

I said he'd last two years.

we built a little snowman, as soon as it grew cold!

we built a little snowman, he'll melt as he grows old!

But in the night a warmer kind

Of wind began to blow,

And winter cried and ran away,

And with it ran the snow.

we built a little snowman, as soon as it grew cold!

we built a little snowman, he'll melt as he grows old!

And in the morning when we went

to bid our friend good day,

There was n't any snowman there--

Everything had runned away!

we built a little snowman, as soon as it grew cold!

we built a little snowman, he'll melt as he grows old!

Students can sing this poem to the "The Dreidel Song." Read more about dreidels here. Listen to the original tune below and learn about the little Hannukah game.

More Little Snowman Songs on Video:

• I'm a Little Snowman Song for Children
• "Frosty The Snowman"
• The Snowman Song by Phil Keaggy
• The Mitten Song
• Snowflakes: Winter Action Song for Kids
• Little Snowman - Nursery Rhymes by Little Fox
• Snowman Songs for Children

How to Draw: A Cow

Step-by-Step way to both fold paper to draw a cow's head and also how to draw
details of the cow's features.

Directions for Drawing A Cow: Fold a square sheet of paper from corner to corner in every direction before drafting the proportions of this cow's head. This simple exercise teaches young students to use basic geometry to draw a cow.

The Cow

by Robert Louis Stevenson

The friendly cow, all red and white,

I love with all my heart;

She gives me cream with all her might,

To eat with apple tart.

She wanders lowing here and there,

And yet she cannot stray,

All in the pleasant open air,

The pleasant light of day.

And blown by all the winds that pass

And wet with all the showers,

She walks among the meadow grass

And eats the meadow flowers.

How to Draw: Old-Fashioned Airplanes

Would you like to learn how to draw old-fashioned airplanes?
Above are three classic examples that teachers and parents
may print out for their young plane enthusiasts to copy step-by-step.

How to Draw: The Head of A Horse

Many young students love to practice drawing animals even though it is near to impossible to give them opportunities to do so from real life in a classroom environment. Above is a simple step-by-step, how to exercise in drawing a horse up close that educators may either print out or project on to a white board. This exercise uses triangle shapes to determine proportions of the horses head.

A Simple Farm Maze for Little Folks

Help the farmer's cow find her way back from the pasture to the barn.

Pumpkin and Jack-O-Lantern Number Books

Crafting and gifting little number books for Fall related themes is not all that uncommon in day care programs or
early learning centers. So, I have decided to submit here a few simple ideas of my own. You can use the
same patterns for either version of this craft. One version is a spooky Jack-O-Lantern and the other is a decorative
 pumpkin. Both crafts include pumpkin seeds as the elements that young students are to count on each
 individual page.

As you can see, students may count the seeds and also associate the written number with the quantity of those
seeds on every page. Don't forget to include zero at the very beginning. Each of my number books
includes 11 pages. Above, you can see the decorative pumpkin cover using painted papers.

Here is my Jack-O-Lantern version of the same project. I have also included a little "illuminated candle on
every page as well!

Above is my page of patterns for both versions of this little Fall number book.
Below is an additional page of burning candles that I have drawn for those of
you who would prefer to turn your fall number book into a Jack-O-Lantern.

Craft a Paper Scarecrow Jumping-Jack

      For this little craft, you will need Autumn colored papers in a check, a plaid and four solid colored papers. You will also need 12 brass brads, one set of googly eyes, two buttons, a paint stick, scissors, white glue and one black felt tip marker. 

      Download and print the stencil pattern that I have drawn for the scarecrow Jumping-Jack. Trace and cut the pattern pieces, use a hole punch to clip through the papers at the x markings. Assemble the scarecrow according to the sample shown above. Mount him onto a paint stick or a wooden dowel. I did not string this particular Jumping Jack but you can string him.

•  Here is a web page that describes to visitors how to string Jumping Jacks.

A free Jumping Jack pattern by Kathy Grimm.

More Paper Jumping-Jack Crafts:

• DIY Hilarious Jumping Jack Bugs
• Halloween Jumping Jacks
• Craft a Pirate Jumping Jack
• Antique, French Jumping-Jacks 

Trace, Cut and Paste Developmental Learning Activities

A sampling of trace, cut and paste developmental learning activities coming soon to this blog.

       Trace, cut and paste, developmental learning activities are very popular lessons taught inside preschools, kindergartens and early learning centers. In the early learning center where I teach, students complete at least two of these kinds of exercises per week. The reason for this is obvious to those people who have ever observed the fundamental learning that takes place during any primary school’s curriculum. All young students experience some difficulty in developing the levels of obedience, observation and productivity that are required of them in order to be successful in academic environments. These qualities can be developed over a few short years by a loving, patient, and creative team of teachers (or parents) in order for children to be properly prepared for school.

      I have listed below, the preliminary objectives that educators assign to this type of activity. Very young students take at least an entire year or longer to accomplish these agenda. Ordinarily, art teachers would be expected by the State to qualify activities such as these by presuming that goals/objectives would be attainable within one lesson. This expectation is highly unrealistic for three, four and even five year old students. Most young students will not be able to fulfill all of the objectives concurrently until they have practiced them over and over for many months. The ultimate goal of the exercise is: to teach students to perform perfectly together all of the objectives within the context of the assignment, by the end of their kindergarten year, not by the end of the exercise.  

      Below are the objectives for trace, cut and paste assignments that eventually must be performed concurrently:

• Students will learn to listen and follow directions in the order in which they are given.
• Students will learn to recognize shapes and use their correct names.
• Students will learn to recognize colors and to use their correct names.
• Students will learn about spatial relationships and differences between basic shapes.
• Students will learn how to paste elements in an organized fashion in order to create an image.
• Students will learn how to cut simple geometric shapes accurately with scissors.
• Students will learn how to trace around a simple geometric shape while maintaining that shape’s original proportions.
• Students will learn to recognize and act out basic instructional vocabulary.

More Related Content:

• Ages & Stages: Learning to Follow Directions
• Why Colors and Shapes Matter
• Color and Your Daycare Center
• Preschool Key Developmental Indicators (KDIs)
• Shape and Space in Geometry
• The Geometric World of Young Children
• Creating Better Writers with Preschool Tracing Activities
• Effective Vocabulary Instruction by Joan Sedita (PDF)