Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Shape with Splat the Cat

Rob Scotton's, Splat the Cat, offers many opportunities for primary learning activities. 1st graders explored painting and cutting shapes to create their own version of Splat.

Students started with the basic shapes for their cat -- a large oval with triangle ears. The arms and a tail were options, too.


 Kids used a brush to paint these main shapes, but for all those skinny little hairs, they switched to homemade paper "combs."


The details of eyes, nose, mouth and pink for the ears and paws were done with cut paper and glue, so everyone got a little practice with those basic skills.

For most classes we let our Splats dry and added final touches on a second day.

When the paint was dry, a little pink crayon on the tummies finished off our Splats.



I loved the variety of personalities represented. Somebody thought to add a belly button to this one:
And this little guy with 2 arms up looks ready to spring onto (or after) something!!

Thank you, Rob Scotton, for the delightful stories. And thanks to the photo on Pinterest that directed me to this blog that had the idea. Maybe we'll try Splat's pet mouse Seymour, next!!

6 comments:

  1. Absolutely fun cats Bravo to all the students artwork here

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love these cats! - Am going to definitely do this lesson with my young art club, Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is just so stinkin' adorable!! Pinning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!! The book starts out with Splat worrying about his first day of Cat School. We talked about all things kids worry about before starting a new school, or even a new class. The book ends on the morning of Splat's second day of school where he wakes up with a HUGE smile anticipating his new day with excitement. Kids also shared how they identified with those feelings. All in all, a fun discussion to go with their "Splats"!! I would definitely do this again.

      Delete
  4. This is a great idea - going to try it with Kindergarten in a few weeks!
    Just wondering, what was the reason for making the bellies purple? I know my students will ask why, so I need to come up with an explanation. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good question. In the book, Splat's stomach is shaded lightly with pink and the kids were trying to do that too. They used pink chalk but it does look a bit purple in the photos. Good luck with your project - it's really fun to do!!

    ReplyDelete