Panels of Creation

Introduction:

In this activity, students make 7 large panels, representing the 7 days of creation. This a fun way to teach students about the story of creation and to introduce them to different art media and textures. When preschool teacher Lin K. does this with her students at the JCC in New Orleans, she has the class create one panel each Friday. She lays out a large sheet of paper (approx. 1 feet wide and 3 ft. long) on a table and has students work together to create each panel. Another option is to have students create individual panels, which can, in turn be placed on a larger class panel.

Materials

• 7 large sheets of paper (such as bulletin board paper)
• paint
• glue
• collage materials

Directions:

For each panel, introduce the theme of the day and discuss the significance of that theme with the children. Ask the students to think of ideas on how to decorate the panel.

Day 1: Let there be light

Note: In preparation for the activity students can be asked to bring in black and yellow objects (ribbons, buttons, yarn, old shoelaces, pictures from magazines, cardboard boxes, jar lids, etc.) from home that they can put on the panel.

1. Draw a line down the middle of the panel (splitting the paper in half vertically). The left side of the line will symbolize darkness and the right side, light.
    
2. Have the children paint the left side black or have them decorate the left side by pasting on black images or black painted objects.
    
3. Have them paint the right side yellow and/or paste yellow images and/or yellow objects onto the right side of the panel.

Day 2: Let there be sky

1. Have the students brainstorm about the color of the sky- Have them paint the paper with paint or food coloring mixed with water. The students can mix white and blue paint to get the shade of paint that they want.
    
2. Have them discuss the color of clouds. They can add clouds by gluing on cotton balls, painted sponges, gray brillo pads, etc. Another option is to take sponges and to dip them into white, gray, white-gray paint and to press the sponges onto the paper to make sponge print clouds. The students can mix colors together to get the colors that they want for the clouds.
    
3. Another fun way to create the sky is to have the students create white and gray clouds on the paper with crayons. After they have finished drawing, they can paint the paper with watercolor paints. The paint will not stay on the spots that have been drawn on with crayon and the students' crayon clouds will appear.

Day 3: Let the earth bring forth grass, plants and trees

1. Students can create a nature collage. Have students think about different types of plants, flowers, trees and grasses. Go on a nature walk to observe the ground in your neighborhood. Have students collect twigs, pine cones, acorns, flowers, leaves, etc.
    
2. Have students discuss the colors of the ground, plants, trees, etc. that they saw during their walk and think about what colors they would like to use on their panel for creation day #3. Have pictures of grass, flowers, mountains, beaches, trees, etc. from magazines for the students to be able to glue on.
    
3. A fun idea to create grass which Lin K. does with her students is to use pieces of green tissue paper. She has students glue 1 bean to one sheet of tissue paper and then lie the sheets down flat near the bottom of the panel.
    
4. One fun idea for this nature collage is to have the students create a border around the edge of the panel using seeds, and beans.

Day 4: Let there be lights in the sky

1. Draw a horizontal line across the center of the panel. The top half will be night and the bottom half, day.
    
2. Create a black background for the night section, either by painting the area black or by gluing black sheets of paper onto a large sheet of paper.
    
3. Draw an outline of the moon in white chalk in the top half of the paper and draw a sun with chalk in the bottom half of the paper. Have the students glue precut sparkling silver paper and shiny ribbons in side the drawn outline of the moon. Have the students glue gold or yellow colored paper and other collage materials inside the drawn outline of the sun.
    
4. After the students have decorated the sun and moon, ask them to tell you some activities that they do at night. Write "At night I..." at the top of the page and then write students' responses on the paper. Then ask them to tell you some of the activities that they do during the day. Write "During the day, I..." in the bottom half of the paper and write some of the students' responses.
    
5. Another option is to have a variety of pictures of different activities that take place during the day (for example- swimming, students in school, skiing, people having a picnic, etc.) and pictures of different activities that take place at night (people sleeping, a view of the stars and moon in the sky, a group of people having a campfire, a parent reading a bedtime story to some children, etc.). Have the children match the pictures with the appropriate time of day. Have the children glue pictures onto the paper (the night pictures on the top half of the paper and the day pictures on the bottom half).

Day 5: Let the sea swarm with fish and the sky with birds.

1. Divide the paper in half with the top being the sky and the bottom being the sea. Have the students brainstorm about the color that they would like to paint the sky and the color that they would like to paint the water. Have them paint the background of the top and bottom sections with food coloring and water or with watercolor or tempera paints.
    
2. Have the children decorate the top half by drawing, painting and/or gluing on images of birds. Another option is to have students glue colorful plastic bird feathers onto the background.
    
3. Have children draw, paint or glue fish images in the bottom half of the paper. One fun way to create fish images is to cut out sponges in the shapes of fish, press them in paint and create colorful fish prints by pressing the sponges onto the paper.

Day 6: Let there be animals and people on the earth.

1. To create a fun background for this panel, put small dabs of watercolor paint on the paper and have the students spread the paint around the paper by blowing on the paint with straws.
    
2. In advance, take pictures of each of the students in the class. Give each student his/her picture to paste onto the paper.
    
3. Have students draw or cutout images of animals (their own pets, pictures from magazines, etc.) and paste them onto the panel. Students can also use animal-shaped sponges or animal stamps to put animal images onto the panel.
    
4. Have the students make hand prints around the border of the paper or create hand outlines by tracing the hands of other students. Students can also use stamps of animals and/or animal footprints to make a colorful border.

Day 7: Let there be a day of rest.

1. Have the students discuss some of the objects or food that are used on Shabbat (candles, challah, etc.). Have them cutout, glue, draw and/or paint theses images onto the paper.
    
2. The following is something that Lin K., JCC preschool teacher in New Orleans, has found to be successful in her class: She draws outlines of Jewish stars on the paper and then has the students add sparkles along the outline of the stars. Another option would be to have students glue a variety of sparkly ribbons and other collage materials inside each star.

This activity teaches the following:

• color recognition
• sorting, grouping similar things into categories
• team work
• shape recognition
• the feel of different textures
• cutting
• sharing
• sequencing/ putting things in order
• mixing colors to create new colors
• drawing and painting skills

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