Preschool: Russian Architecture
“Raise a quiet hand if you remember which country we are studying right now,” a teacher prompted the children at morning circle. One child proudly raised his hand and shared, “Asia!” “That’s right,” the teacher replied, “Asia is the continent we are studying and Russia is the country.” She reviewed where Asia and Russia are on our globe.
“Today we are going to talk about architecture in Russia. Architecture is a form of art like painting or sculpture. It is the planning, designing and constructing of buildings.” The teacher showed pictures of bright and colorfully patterned buildings in Russia. She held up a familiar vegetable and asked, “What is this?” One child excitedly raised her hand to share, “An onion!” We discussed how onion domes are a commonly used shape in Russian architecture.
During the initial presentation, the teacher showed the children how they can pretend to be Russian architects by using special wooden blocks, which include onion domes, arches and half circles. For the second presentation, the teacher showed the children how to use bright, patterned collage pieces to design their own Russian buildings. The children created some beautiful works of art. These pieces are currently on display in the preschool classroom. Feel free to come take a peek!
