Cookie Monster Kisses

Hip, Hip, Hooray! and Bravo! to the talented moms and dads who take time out of their busy schedules to share their gifts with eager, energetic kindergarten children.

Todd, our most recent guest is an artist (painter, collagist, filmmaker) who taught the kids about collage art. Contrary to my (mis)conception there is more to creating a collage than cutting and gluing.

Each collage tells a story. In fact, many stories. It is the integration of these smaller stories into a larger message that the artist strives to convey.

Todd asked the students to find pictures and words that told their story. What they like or find interesting. One little boy, we discovered, quite likes the ladies.

Once they had a small collection they began the task of placing each item. The layout continued to change with each new addition according to the story the students wanted to tell.

And there were so many possibilities.

The finished piece (well, what we had when we needed to stop - is art ever really finished?) contains stories of hearts within hearts safely holding what we find precious, lots of animals (the winking owl a nod to our own O'Neal), New York and happiness.

The kids named it Cookie Monster Kisses.

As a follow-up each child was invited to create an individual collage to represent the many aspects of themselves. This fits nicely with the 'all about me' educational standard for kindergarten.

Thanks Todd!