Superhero Cityscape Art Project with Van Gogh

By -
I knew my kids loved superheros, but I definitely underestimated how much they would love making these Superhero City-scapes inspired by Vincent Van Gogh!



Besides being a fun art project, these superhero city-scapes were an introduction to a new famous artist, a fantastic fine motor skill exercise, and a wonderful creative outlet.  Each child had their own "narration" to tell about their art work as they created it and when they finished!


We began by sharing a picture of "a famous painting," Van Gogh's Starry Night.  The kids loved talking about the techniques they could tell he used to create a fun visual effect.  I told them that we would be using pastels to create a sunrise special effect similar to Van Gogh's.  I was totally inspired to make a swirly background after I saw this kindergarten art project, and I knew my kids would love tying it in to superheroes!  





After they made the background, I invited them to use black, red, yellow, and orange construction paper to create city buildings, windows, or whatever else they wanted to include.  This was where their creativity really began to shine!

My son explained that his swirls were actually portals that bad guys were using to sneak into his city!  He used buildings on the right side of the page to represent the mayor's office and home, and a black strip near the middle to represent a volcano!  Eventually he added a black "cloud" at the top of the page too.



Check out the fine motor work here!



My daughter, who is a little older, explained that she was so inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night that she wanted to create more blended swirls, landscapes, and a barn (instead of sky scrapers).  So much of art is personal expression and creativity, that I encouraged her to make it however she wanted!



Eventually everyone finished, and we "mounted" their masterpieces on black construction paper and hung them on our wall!  If you do a similar project, be sure to include a circle time or group moment when everyone can share their creation.  Truly, hearing their narratives was one of my favorite parts of this project!






Do your kids love superheroes?  What kinds of superhero activities have you done?


This year I'm joining a fantastic team of bloggers to share activities that are appropriate for 2nd graders!  Once a week, this team will bring you fun, interactive, hands-on activities and printables that are perfect for this age group!  Mine will also all be easy to adapt for kiddos from PreK - 3rd grade, since those are the ages I work with!  This week the team is bringing you loads of "Superhero" ideas!  Check them out:
Super Hero States of Matter from Look! We're Learning!
Super Math Skip Counting from Sugar Aunts 
Superhero Pattern Stones from Rainy Day Mum 
Super Hero Reading Logs from 123 Homeschool 4 Me 
I am a Super Hero! Writing Prompt from Creative Family Fun 
Superhero Contractions Memory Game from School Time Snippets 
Superhero Cityscape Art Project with Van Gogh from Preschool Powol Packets 
Super Hero Self Portrait from Still Playing School




I may share at any of these parties!



Never miss another post again!  Sign up for our weekly updates newsletter and get links to all our posts once a week in your inbox!  Sign up here!!





Comments

Kristina said…
Such a fun project!
August 20, 2015 at 8:51 AM
Unknown said…
What a fun idea!!!
August 20, 2015 at 9:20 AM
Unknown said…
I love this! I would never have thought of mixing art and superheroes!
August 20, 2015 at 1:19 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Science Experiment: Elephant Toothpaste

By -
Image
Update: "Elephant toothpaste" is a science experiment that I used to do with my high school students.  It is a strong multi-sensory demonstration that goes great with a lot of chemistry concepts. It is also very popular with preschoolers and homeschoolers!  The internet loves it too! It has now been read by more than 3.9 million people! This was the post that started the trend on science activity sites across the internet and "irl!"  Thank you for being here...I hope you enjoy it as well!  💕  This exciting science experiment works great in a discussion on reactions, as a demonstration, or as an actual experiment. We've also done seasonal twists with "elephant toothpaste" like making it in a pumpkin and using it for " reindeer toothpaste !" To use it as a science project, perform it once with your child, then ask your child what might happen if you changed the amounts or left out an ingredient.  Any time you experiment
Read more

Kind Words Sensory Lesson Friendship Activity

By -
Image
This sensory lesson includes a kindness activity for kids that is short and sweet,  and makes teaching kindness a beautiful thing! Learning to use kind words with our friends is one friendship lesson that I think we can never cover enough...kids always need reminding (sometimes adults do too)!  You will need these simple supplies for the kindness activity: cotton balls, course sandpaper, cup, Should I Share My Ice-Cream by Mo Willems Directly teaching good friendship skills, like using kind words, serves two purposes: 1- You can refer to the lesson when someone forgets or needs reminding, and 2- These skills are not intuitive for all preschoolers. This is a perfect age to bring empathy and kindness to their attention and help them cultivate these skills! You can use this lesson plan exactly as I did it with our kiddos, or adapt it to fit your group! 1- Read  Should I Share My Ice-Cream  by Mo Willems.   {Image below is an Amazon Affiliate Link:} D
Read more

Crazy Cool Giraffe Science Experiment

By -
Image
Do you know what color giraffe skin is? Today we're using a capillary action science experiment to make our own giraffe skins in this fun giraffe science experiment project! (Read on...I'll tell you the color in a moment! AND I have a few more fun giraffe facts at the end! Anyway, go on and make a guess before you see the answer!) Fun Spot  Giraffe  Fact:  There are four different giraffe species:  the Masai Giraffe, the Rothschild Giraffe, the Somali Giraffe, and the Nigerian Giraffe.  Each has its own unique spot pattern.  Even more unique, every single individual giraffe has a different spot design.  Just like fingerprints on people and stripes on a zebra, spots on a giraffe are unique in every individual! Giraffe skin is mostly grey. (Were you right?) It's also really tough and thick.  The coat is a shade of tan with brown spots or patches.  Male giraffes actually get darker as they get older! To make our "giraffe skin" we're going to us
Read more