Masterpiece: Kinderspiele (Children’s Games), 1559-1560
By Pieter Bruegel, the Elder
Pronounced: Peter BROY-gel
Keywords: Mood, Energy
Grade:
Kindergarten
Month:
May
Activity:
Tile Trading Art
Meet the Artist:
 Bruegel was born in The
Netherlands in about 1525 and
passed away in Belgium
(Flanders) in 1569.

Artists were very important
during this time throughout
Northern Europe because they recorded events, people, cultural activities
and practices since there were no cameras yet. To be an artist, you had to
have studied art and worked as an apprentice under a master artist for a
number of years and have a license to practice art. There were strict art
rules you had to follow so all people could understand history, politics,
religion, and everyday happenings. There were more artists than butchers.

Bruegel the Elder was a quiet man, but loved to make practical jokes--like
dressing up as a ghost and scaring people with haunting sounds.

He painted the peasants of the village. In the 1500’s it was a hard life to be
a peasant. Being a peasant meant you worked very hard to provide for your
family but still had very little. Peasants and their families were often
mistreated by the noble class and were hungry, cold, and always poor.
Bruegel would dress up as a peasant so he could fit in and better paint what
their life was like.

He had children that also became artists. That is why he is known as
Bruegel, the Elder.

Bruegel became a leading Flemish (from Flanders) Northern Renaissance
artist, known for portraying life with mood and energy and detail.
Possible Questions
o In this painting, the artist shows over 80 children’s game: leap-frog, hopscotch,
tag, marbles etc. Can you see any?
o What mood do you feel from looking at this painting?
o What does it make you want to do? Do you feel like you have energy? Does the
painting have energy flowing from it?
o What types of sounds do you think could come from this painting?
o Do you like it? Why/why not?
o How is this painting different from children playing today?
Activity:
Tile Trading Art
Note to Bin Coordinator: Cut the 9”x12” paper into six equal squares: cut in half
length-wise (4½”) and thirds width-wise (4” each). Each square will be 4”x 4-1/2”.
Explain Activity: Students will create 4 “trading cards” of their favorite activity,
and then trade three of those cards with cards from their classmates.
Materials needed:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Four “cards” of white construction paper cut to 4” x 4 ½” (see above)
9 x 12” assorted colored construction paper
Colored pencils
Sharpies: Black, fine-tip
Glue sticks
Process:
1. Hand each student 4 squares of the white construction paper and a set of colored
pencils and a black marker
2. Brainstorm ideas of activities the children love to do and make a list on the board.
(I.e. read, play outside, soccer, swim, skateboard, etc.)
3. Have the student draw and color a picture of them doing something they love to do on
each tile. They may use the black markers to outline their subjects. The important
thing is that they finish drawing their favorite activity on each tile.
4. When finished with all four tiles, they need to put their initials in a corner, small!
5. After everyone is done, student keeps one of “tiles” and trades the remaining 3 with
other classmates.
6. Give them about 2 minutes for trading…they need to end up with 4 different “tiles”
(including one of their own). Each tile should have a different set of initials.
7. Give each student a piece of colored construction paper.
8. Have them glue their collected tiles onto the construction paper in a four-square
pattern with a little space between each tile so they are “framed” by color.
9. Students need to write their names on the back of the colored construction paper.
Sketch of Pieter Bruegel, the Elder and other artwork