HBL: No Tripod, No Problem!

I just figured out a way to set up my camera so that the top-down view is above my head while I sit comfortably to record my lesson. As I have a shelf fixed above my desk, I can’t place my tripod on my desk but I could remove the quick release and attached the camera mount. I needed the camera mount (grey) to be fixed horizontally and I tried tape initially but my phone was too heavy and it couldn't hold. Finally, I attached a 3M hook that can hold a mass of 3.5kg and tied a twine to the camera mount. It was stable and a good distance from my desk. I could even close my cupboard door! You can view the video below which I've embedded in Student Learning Space (SLS).  

Art Class: Colours (Part I)

The story, Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh is a wonderful book to introduce colours to the younger students. I gave each student a set of primary colours cellophane papers so they can walk around their class and see through new lens. It's quite amazing to see their reactions when the primary colours overlapped. Then, I had them sat down for a class discussion about what they have observed and they thought that besides secondary colours, we would have 'college colours'!

Within the same lesson, the children will blend the primary colours by using the cross-section of the oil pastels. Quite a feat to see three sticks of oil pastels churning out a variety of abstract art. Stay tuned to next week's lesson!

Art Class: The Colour Experiment

Behind the scene...

Substitute palette paper with freezer paper. I got mine from the supermarket. It works as well, is a cheaper alternative and you can customise the dimensions. In this case, I'm using my art room tiles (x2) as my measuring ruler :D

For my P3 pupils who will be learning about Diversity, we began the class with a story The Colors of Us by Karen Katz. This unit introduces socially-sensitive issues about racial identity through self-portraits. While most of the children in my school are mostly Asians, a number of them belong to cross-cultural families or second-generation immigrants. When we held discussions about skin colours, a boy aired his misconception that a person's culture can be determined by his/ her skin colour. Another talked about the evolutionary reason of the skin responding to the sun. 

I collected the lids of the paper reams and use them to distribute acrylic paint to the groups. Throughout the lesson, no water is needed. The children will clean their paintbrushes on the cleaning paper (which are essentially the wrappers of the A4 printing papers) and throw them away after use.  

The children were given a worksheet to record their tests and observations like an artist/ scientist. Their task is to try to get a shade of skin colour but not necessarily theirs. We had a discussion of some of the children's observations and getting them to articulate their thoughts instead of just doing the experiment as a means to an end which I think is more meaningful. Painting is definitely interesting, it encourages sensitivity to colours by rejecting the idea of teaching children culturally-agreed object colours.

Art is more than merely the expression of ideas and expression. In the development of artistic competence and enjoyment, children are encouraged to explore the potential of materials. Their ability to control these processes are learned through the freedom of spontaneous expression which can deepen their understanding, failing which, would produce a sense of incompetence and frustration (Robinson, K. 2008). 

Last month's issue of Nat Geo is such a coincidence!

Listen to photographer Angélica Dass on how her work challenges the way we think about skin colour and ethnic identity here.


Dr Ken Robinson, 2008. The arts in schools: Principles, practice and provision. Lightning Source, UK.

Art Class: Kinetic drawing

For the past few weeks, the P1s children have been exploring drawing and painting. To be more specific, we are doing kinetic drawing. I try to include more movement in art class for the younger ones and I can't imagine art lessons to be another pen and paper kind of task.

The videos below give a brief idea to kinetic drawing, inspired by the artist, Heather Hansen. During class discussion, we spoke about how the arts not having to be viewed as a single entity. Some artists can combine different kinds of arts together to make an artwork. An example is Heather Hansen. She uses her entire body to draw. Unlike painting, performance arts such as Dance exist mainly as events in time (Robinson, K. 1989). When the music, the dance or drama ends, there is no physical object left to see or touch. Without recording devices, it is never to be seen or heard again unless it is performed again. Thus, what Heather Hansen seems to do is to reject the theory that Dance only exists in time.

In class, we did kinetic drawing by getting the children to work in pairs. The standing person will do some movement while the artist will try to "record" their movement on the mini whiteboard. Thus, this activity serves as a tuning in for our upcoming art task.

Robinson, Ken. 2008.  The Arts in School: Principles, practice and provision. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, London.