• Reading
  • Writing
  • Math
  • Science
  • Gardening
  • Recipes
  • Cultural

The Educators' Spin On It

Learning Games and Activities

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Contact

By Amanda Boyarshinov 2 Comments

Russian Art for Kids – Art Collection and Activity

 

Learning About Russian Art:

Russia has a history rich with talented artists.  During one of my visits to Moscow, I was fortunate to be able to visit the Tretyakov Gallery.  The museum houses a stunningly beautiful collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and icons.  Although you cannot begin to get the depth and feel of a piece of art by looking at it on the screen, you can preview their collection here.

 
 
What I am continuously amazed at is the artistic talents of this generation.  My husband purchased this gorgeous egg to display in our home in Moscow. One can find these symbols of love and faith in churches, stores, and street markets and most are painted by local artisans.  This particular icon egg is made of wood and sits upon a pedestal, modeled in part after Faberge’s Eggs, the historical extravagant carved and hand painted eggs.
 
 
I personally am drawn to local art that represents a cultural tidbit.  This was a painting I purchased in the Udmurt Republic that represents more of the traditional, rustic dacha (garden home).  Although Russian flats (apartments) are mostly modernized with washer machines, dishwashers, coffee pots and other appliances, many dacha’s still remain simple with just the necessities for weekend and summer living.  The perfect place to get away from city life, relax, garden and drink a cup of chai (tea).  It is my daily reminder to find joy in the simple pleasures of life and not to get consumed by the modern technology.
 
Making Learning About Russia a Hands-On Experience Through Art:
 
I try to teach my children that artwork, both well known and local takes time and skill.  If we are putting a project together, most often it is a craft. Although I do feel that many projects tend to walk a fine line between the two.
 
If you are hoping to do some crafting with your kids to learn more about the history, architecture, art, and geography, here are some activity links worth reading.
 
  • Russian Cathedral Drawing at Art Projects for Kids
  • Construction Paper Building at Having Fun at Home
  • Making a Dyimkovsky Toy at Crafty Crow
  • Kandisky Project with Several Printable Coloring Pages at DLTK’s Crafts for Kids
For our activity today, we will be looking at Kasimir Malevich, an abstract Russian painter (1878-1935)  He is revered as a “pioneer” in the abstract art movement. A quick Google Search will give you and your kids an idea of Malevich’s style. We talk about the changes in art and how his pieces were made not to represent shapes, but a feeling.  We used color, shape, and size words to not only describe what we saw, but to reinforce and increase my preschoolers oral vocabulary. Our goal for the Russian Art Activity today is to arrange rectangles in a way that represents a feeling, going beyond the actual shapes and colors of the rectangles.
 

 

Russian Art Activity: Rectangle Abstract Art

Materials Needed:
Paper: red, orange, yellow, black, green.
Scissors (you can either pre-cut a variety of rectangle shapes and sizes or with proper safety measures, let the kids make them)
Glue
Large White Sheet of Paper
 
Directions:
1. Cut out rectangles in varying sizes.
2. Glue them onto the paper in such a way that they represent a feeling.
3. Display
_________________________________________________________

 

To learn more about Russian Language and Culture, please visit our other Russian Posts here at The Educators’ Spin On It.
 
Seven Ways to use Matroshka Dolls to Teach
 Chalk Replicas of Russian Buildings – a lesson in art, math, and geography
Act out a traditional story – Repka
Sharing Russian Culture with Friends
A Guest Post at Mama Smiles about Russian Food
Where to find resources to teach Russian
Making Borsht and labeling your fridge
Activities for non-native speakers to teach another language
Happy New Year with FREE printable
What environmental print looks like in my home
The Importance of Music
How to build a bilingual book collection
Christmas Traditions
Including traditional toys in play
 
New for 2014 – The Educators’ Spin On It Newsletter – Sign Up Here! 
 

Like this idea? Pin for later or share now with a friend!

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Arts, Cultural Education Tagged With: Amanda, Around the World, Art projects, Bilingual Babies, Creative Crafting, Raising Global Kids, Russian

About Amanda Boyarshinov

K - 12 masters reading teacher, author and mom to 3. Amanda is a National Board Certified teacher with oodles of experience in early childhood education.

« Best on Pinterest Finalist
Winter Olympics Themed Books »

Comments

  1. Galina / Trilingualchildren says

    January 8, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    Thanks for the ideas! my 4,5 years old loves drawing old buildings and castles. I talk a lot to him about different styles of art and the Malevich project would work just right for us!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign Up for our Newsletter!

For ages…

Baby
Toddler
Preschool
Grade School

Find a Kid’s Activity

Popular Posts

Child working at table with white bookcase behind with toys
winter virtual field trips for kids featuring sledding, snow covered mountains and evergreen trees and ice castles

You Might Also Like

Family using books and technology to cope with changes during social distancing

Helping Children Cope With Changes Resulting From COVID-19

indoor play activities for cold winter days

Indoor Play Activities; Winter Learning Activities and Crafts

Indoor Movement Games and Activities for Kids

101 Valentine's Day for Kids

101+ Valentine’s Day Activities for Play and Learning

How to Make Easy Heart Shaped Pancakes with Kids

Let’s Connect!

Kim Vij

Early childhood teacher, author, speaker and mom of 3. Kim Vij shares ways to make learning fun and parenting an adventure by sharing developmentally appropriate activities.
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021