Shakespeare Comes to Art Class

Don’t believe it if anyone tells you that first graders are too young for Shakespeare! Our first graders recently had a special opportunity to immerse themselves in Shakespeare when they met Shannon Whitt, the illustrator of a gorgeous picture book, Shakespeare’s Seasons, which uses excerpts from Shakespeare’s poetry and plays to introduce young readers to the bard’s writing. The kids were mesmerized by the poetry – and then they got to do their own paper and fabric collages inspired by some of the lines they heard. 

Turning Text to Art 

Shannon, who is the parent of a P.S. 154 kindergartener and 2^nd grader and visited art class as part of the PTA’s Meet the Author program, illustrated the book by creating collages that were then photographed. Like Shannon, the kids began their collages by selecting one of Shakespeare’s lines for inspiration. As they started working, they could draw on some of Shannon’s secret collage tips – like a fool-proof way to make accordion-style grass from paper. 

Seasons are Serious 

The kids worked from Shakespeare lines that focused on spring or summer. Some children zeroed in on the disappointments of the seasons – “The purest spring is not so free from mud” – and showed kids playing in soggy meadows, farmers getting stuck in their fields – and, in one case, a zombie stomping through mud! Others were captivated by a season’s promise of beauty – “Summer shall come and with her all delights” – and created landscapes with lots of flowers and butterflies. 

Literary Lions

The kids really loved illustrating Shakespeare’s words and creating their own versions of what the lines meant. And great inspiration does spark the imagination. Just look at the collages! 

A Different Kind of Book Learning

Art class provides a unique opportunity for the kindergarten children to discover books in a different way than they do in their regular classrooms: as artistic inspiration. Reading a beautifully illustrated book to the kindergarten classes and focusing on how the story unfolds in pictures as well as words has been an exciting vehicle to launch new projects. Recently, the children explored the pages of Eric Carle’s A House for Hermit Crab and then made their own depictions of how a hermit crab would decorate a home.

The Geometry of a Dwelling

The kids began with the basic shape of a hermit crab shell – the spiral. And that was the only thing that was basic! Colors not typically seen in crab shells under the sea were vividly on display in these marker drawings.

Feathering a Nest – or Decorating a Shell

Like the hermit crab in the story who adorned his plain shell with everything from sea urchin to starfish, the children were incredibly inventive in adorning the shells in their pictures. Flowers, rainbows, fish and even a pumpkin or two found a way into the kids’ designs. 

Home Sweet Home

Each of the kids put their creativity, hard work and lots of love into the hermit crab shells – a pretty good recipe for a happy home!