Picture This – Art Exploration for Kids: “Frozen in Time: Exploring Prehistoric Art”

Picture This – Art Exploration for Kids: “Frozen in Time: Exploring Prehistoric Art”

Kindergarten through 5^th grade.

“Join us as we travel back in time 32,000 years to see
some of the earliest examples of art ever created!
Then help us create our very own cave paintings.”

· Open with atmospheric music (and play this while kids cave painting): Dream Catcher by Kevin Locke (616 LOCK) or other Native American instrumentals. 
Kids browse:  Mystery of the Lascaux Cave (J709.01 PAT), Dawn of Art (A759.0112 CHA), Prehistoric Art ( J709.01 HOD) plus the ones below, The Mud Family (Picture Book James)

· Read aloud: First Painter (Picture book Lasky) atmospheric imagining of a young girl cave painter trying to bring rain to her people.

· Show pictures from Painters of the Caves (J759.01 LAU) Point out how difficult the caves would be to spot on cliffs under overhanging vegetation – so that new caves with paintings are still being discovered (the most recent in 1994). Mention that the first cave paintings were discovered around 130 years ago by an eight year old Maria De Sautuola (JBiog Sautola).

· Read aloud: Quennu & the Cave Bear (Picture Book Day)  (2016, planned to substitute The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux by Emily Arnold McCully J709.01 MCC, but kids eager to start art – next time start with this book)

· Hang brown Kraft paper on the walls (we used a dim stage area) and have kids use chalk, crayons, &/or pastels to create “cave paintings.” (I found the chalk pastels at Michaels -- $4.99 for a pkg.of 48 – worked great but are somewhat messy – left a chalk residue on carpet when kids were coloring enthusiastically!)  Also cut out brown paper “bison hides” for who wanted to color individually (offered both chalk pastels & markers for this.) Resource: Animal Magic My Art Book (DK) (J745.5 MY) p.6-11

9.06, 6.16