Art Form: Visual Arts

Supplies Needed

-All Are Welcome book
-Paper or cardstock
-Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
-Optional: stickers, ribbon, collage materials, tape

Vocabulary

Welcome - to greet someone in a friendly way

Color - an element of art with three properties: 1) Hue: the name of the color, e.g. red, yellow, etc.; 2) Intensity: the purity and strength of the color (brightness or dullness); 3) Value: the lightness or darkness of the color (shades and tints)

Pattern - repetition of specific visual elements such as a unit of shape or form

Kindness - showing care for others through words and actions

Belong - to feel included and accepted

Design - the way something is arranged or planned to look

Character - a person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Instructions

1. Read All Are Welcome together and talk about how people in the story make others feel included. Who are the characters in the story? What happens in the beginning of the story? What happens in the middle of the story? What happens at the end?

2. Ask yourself, “What words or pictures could we use to show people they are welcome at our home?”.

3. Work together to design a welcome sign using bright colors and fun
patterns (stripes, dots, zigzags). Include kind words like: “All Are Welcome,” “Hello, Friends!” or “We’re Glad You’re Here!”.

4. Hang your sign on your front door, porch, or a window for neighbors and visitors to see.

Extensions

Talk about how your family shows kindness to guests or neighbors.

Add phrases in different languages spoken in your home or community to your sign.

Go on a “Welcome Walk” and look for other signs of kindness in your neighborhood.

Art Form: Visual Arts

Supplies Needed

-Math Curse book
-Paper
-Pencil and eraser
-Markers or colored pencils (optional)

Vocabulary

Comic - a story told through pictures and speech bubbles in a horizontal line, template below

Panel - to use something old in a new way

Exaggeration - making something seem bigger or funnier than it is

Expression - a way to show feelings through faces and body language

Visual Storytelling - using pictures to tell a story or explain an idea

Instructions

1. Read Math Curse. Think about the character and the problems that occurred during the day. What humorous moments occurred in the story? How was the character feeling during the story? Did those feelings change? Why or why not? Was the character able to overcome the "math curse"?

2. Think of a new ending to the story. Did the character encounter other issues during the day? Did the character encounter any other people in the new ending to help solve the problems?

3. Sketch a short comic (3-6 panels) that retells the story or create a comic strip with a new ending. Each panel could be a different event from the story. Use speech bubbles to share the characters toughs and questions.

4. Add color, details, and expressions to bring it to life. The author uses a lot of humor and irony in the book. Can you include more panels to add humorous moments?

Extensions

Trade comics with a friend, or family member, and discuss your alternate endings

Turn your comic into a short animated video using a stop-motion or drawing app such as Ninja brush or autodraw.

Art Form: Visual Arts

Supplies Needed

-A Chair for My Mother book
-Scissors
-Glue or Tape
-Recycled items (cardboard, bottle caps, paper tubes, string, fabric scraps, etc.)
-Crayons, markers
-Paint (optional)

Vocabulary

Sculpture - a three-dimensional work of art that can be made from a variety of materials

Recycle - to use something old in a new way

Structure - how something is built or held together

Stability - how strong and balanced something is

Design - a plan or idea for how something should look or work

Instructions

1. Read the book, A Chair for My Mother. This about the characters in the story. How did they work together. What was their goal? Why was it important to get a new chair for her mother?

2. Think about what kind of chair would bring someone you love comfort and happiness? Design the chair and make a sketch.

3. Gather recycled or household materials that you might find around your house.

4. Use tape or glue to build a mini 3D chair (it can be realistic, imaginative, or even magical!).

5. Add details using color, texture, and symbols that reflect the person your chair was designed for.

Extensions

Add a tiny sculpture of the person the chair is for, sitting or standing next to it.

Write a short story or poem about the chair and who it's for.

Turn your chair into part of a mini room or diorama that tells more of the story.

Art Form: Visual Arts

Supplies Needed

-All Are Welcome book
-Paper (any kind)
-Scissors
-Glue or Tape
-Old magazines, newspapers, or colored paper (optional)
-Crayons, colored pencils, or markers

Vocabulary

Collage - a composition developed by gluing colored paper, photographs, magazine pictures, fabric, and other two-dimensional materials onto a flat surface

Community - a group of people who live, work, or play together

Welcome - to show kindness and openness to
others

Symbol - a picture or object that stands for
something else (like a heart for love)

Character - a person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Central Message - the big idea or lesson of the story

Instructions

1. Read All Are Welcome. Discuss the central message of the story. Who are the characters in the story? Are they similar to the people in your community? How?

2. Think about how you or your community shows welcome and kindness. Cut-out pictures from magazines to make a collage showing people being kind and welcoming to others. Glue them down to make the collage. Add other paper or fabrics to your artwork. Think about how you can be kind and welcoming to others in your community.

3. Add symbols like hearts, open doors, or smiling faces to your collage. Add colors with markers, crayons, or colored pencils. Fill the entire space on your paper.

4. Write an artist statement describing your collage. Why did you select the pictures in your collage? How does it demonstrate being kind and welcoming?

Extensions

Write a short poem about feeling welcome.

Interview a family member about what makes them feel part of a group.

Art Form: Visual Arts

Supplies Needed

-Thank You, Omu book
-Paper
-Crayons, colored pencils, markers,
or paint in warm colors (red, orange,
yellow, pink)
-Scraps of tissue paper, magazines,
string, other items to add texture

Vocabulary

Warm Colors - colors that feel cozy and bright like red, orange, and yellow (and shades of each)

Abstract Art - art that uses shapes, colors, and lines instead of real-life pictures

Emotion - a feeling like happy, mad, kind, or thankful

Texture - the surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness

Balance - This is a sense of stability in the body of work. Balance can be created by repeating same shapes and
by creating a feeling of equal visual weight.

Generosity - giving to others and sharing what you have

Characters - a person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Setting - where the story takes place

Central Message - the big idea or lesson of the story

Instructions

1. Read the book. Who are the characters? What is the setting? What happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story? What is the central message of the book?

2. Think about how Omu made people feel with her kindness. On your paper, use warm colors to draw shapes, lines, and swirls that show the warm feelings from the story.

3. Fill the page with your colors and textures. Add optional symbols like hearts, bowls, or smiling faces. Add scraps of fabric, tissue paper, or other items like string to create texture for your artwork and create a collage.

4. Share your abstract artwork with others.

Extensions

Write an artist statement about your artwork describing how it relates to the story.

Create another version using only cool colors (blues, greens, purples), and compare how they make you feel.