Mars kindergartners paint Valentine’s Day creatures
Students in Mars Area School District teacher Katherine Frye’s kindergarten art classes aren’t afraid of monsters.
Instead, they’re creating “Love Monsters” as part of a Valentine’s Day art project.
Based on the book “Love Monster and the Last Chocolate” by Rachel Bright, the brightly colored monster paintings now decorate the hallways of Mars Area Primary Center.
“We read ‘Love Monster and the Last Chocolate’ two weeks ago, and it has a really cute message,” Frye said. “It reminds you to think of others.”
The painting project is one of many activities based on books that Frye leads students to create.
“Usually, I like to see what they’re interested in,” she said. “Books are always great, and ‘Love Monster’ is a popular book right now.”
Frye, who teaches at both Mars Area Primary Center and Mars Area Centennial School, typically breaks art projects for younger students down into multiple steps, based on how much time the class will have to complete it. Older classes usually require less assistance, but for kindergartners, showing each step can help.
“For this project, I did it myself to see whether they could do it, and it ended up working out,” she said. “For kindergarten it helps to have a little bit of a guided practice, where they can see a step, work on it, and then I show them the next step.”
Celebrating Valentine’s Day
Students in Frye’s art class were excited to get their hands messy with paint and create their own Love Monsters.
Kathryn Andrews, 6, from Kim Schuelke’s classroom, said her favorite part of Valentine’s Day is “the presents, like cotton candy.”
“I like that I get to give things to my mom and dad,” Kiya Kier, 5, said.
Samuel Hagan, 6, of Christine Duff’s classroom, said his favorite part of the holiday is spending time with family.
“I like getting candy and getting cards,” said Stella Cuddyre, 5, of Schuelke’s classroom.
