Painting Blue Horses

I recently came upon Eric Carle's newest book "The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse". I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I feel it reminds us to slow down a bit...perhaps turn away from the "STANDARDIZED" notion that everyone can fit into round circles...some would even say it's HIP to be SQUARE ;-).
This book opens up a child's mind to express their "inner artist" in ways that encourage thinking outside of the box. I love that the animals in the book are painted with beautiful colors that go outside of the norm.
Due to cut backs in my district, my Kinders are not allowed to have music, P.E. or art with the teachers who are trained to do that work. It pains me so.
But I try to fill in the gaps with the talents I have (which are limited by the way) ;-)
I will say, this year the art work my students have produced is AMAZING!! I am so proud to see their work hanging in the halls, classroom and books they take home. Take a peek at some of our Backyard Birds books.....or our drawings of Abe Lincoln. Didn't they do a GREAT job?

I watched Eric Carle talk about his inspiration for the book and thought it was well worth sharing:

I also wanted to give my students a chance to hear the story, see the images and then be inspired to create on their own. With that in mind, I made this book for students.

 There are two versions of my student book and I haven't decided which one I will use with my kiddos. One book is intended to be copied on full 8 1/2x11 paper and students can paint the animals in the book. The other book is smaller and is more or less intended to be used with crayons. (Painting on such a small space may not be feasible). It is  also one of my EZ-2 Assemble books which are designed to be copied, folded, stapled and distributed to students. Both book options are in one packet and available at my Teachers Notebook Shop!

The book would be a great activity at an independent center.
I would love to see how your students choose to "paint" their horses!



PS...artwork from KPM Doodles and Goodness & Fun