Paper Owl Art Project

paper-owl-art-project

This colorful owl is a great lesson for those times when you need a quiet art activity. Tearing and gluing small bits of paper may seem like a potentially frustrating activity for a 7 year old, but every time I do this lesson, I’m always surprised with the deliberate nature in which the children apply [...]

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Painted Paper Tropical Birds

Parrot-art-project

 Even though by the end of the year my art room is  overflowing with painted paper scraps, I couldn’t resist using up my stashes of mixed paints to create this colorful assemblage of painted paper birds. My first graders created these birds in two, 40-minute sessions. A bit of a race I must say, but [...]

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Winter Bird Art Lesson

Snowballs-by-Lois-Ehlert

Lois Ehlert’s book, Snowballs, is yet another inspiring book for  elementary school art lessons. Instead of the featured snowmen, I gravitated towards the wonderful birds in birch trees. I created bird templates before for my “Pie in the Sky” art lesson and was excited to use them again. For those of you who don’t like [...]

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Snowy Owl Art Project

Kinder-owl-project

This just might be the most adorable owl painting ever. Inspired by 4Catslife’s owl painting I saw on Pinterest, I took no shame in trying to copy the piece as best I could. My kinder classes were the lucky recipients, but this lesson is easily adaptable to any age group. Supplies The supplies are simple: [...]

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James Rizzi Birds Art Lesson

james rizzi birds

Artist James Rizzi has been providing my art students with fabulous inspiration this Fall. After finishing another James Rizzi art lesson before class was over, some students continued on the Rizzi path and created these adorable birds. The 2012 James Rizzi Wall Calendar (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch Edition) is a great visual aid [...]

Cardboard Fish and Owl Art Project

fish-and-owl-gallery

If you have some extra corrugated cardboard and a few bored kids, try creating these abstract fish and owls. I won’t lie. It took a while to cut out 65 fish and owl shapes plus the notches and mouth openings, but my Kinder students loved creating this cute project. Very hands-on, creative and fun. Kinder [...]

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Watercolor “Shape” Birds for Kinder

Bird art lesson

Is there anything more adorable than watching little kids paint? Only if its watercolor paint! The brushes might be the smallest these five-year-olds have ever worked with and I sense the paint feels dainty to them. They are oh-so careful! This art lesson is a great introduction to the world of color. Paint mingles, spills [...]

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I Can Draw & Paint Art Lesson Plans

I-Can-Draw-&-Paint-Cover

I’ve said it before and I’ll said it again; don’t underestimate Kinders. Yes, they can be a tad bit rambunctious at times but reign them in and you have an eager audience. I love teaching this grade level. When the line of twenty tiny bodies walk through my door in September, the reason I teach [...]

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Oil Pastel Owl Art Lesson

Owl against a yellow moon

It’s no secret that I love owls. Kids do, too. For this owl art lesson, I gave my sixth grade students a few “owl” options: a realistic owl, a whimsical owl or an owl in flight. I demonstrated basic drawing techniques for all three and provided a few black and white illustrations that I found [...]

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Chalk Bird Art Project

Chalk Bird

Chalk pastels give the dramatic color intensity of tempera or acrylic paint with almost no prep time. Chalk gets a bad rap as being too messy. For the little ones, it can be. Persuading mounds of dust into intricate corners is not for the impatient student. That’s why most of my chalk projects occur after [...]

First Grade Watercolor Birds

watercolor bird

My last class with my first and second grade students was on Tuesday. I only had 15 classes with them, so when the last class arrived, it felt very sad and short. Most of my lessons are designed to fit into 2, 45-minute sessions, so when I need a one session lesson, I really need [...]

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Watercolor Birds Art Video

dcgbird

Woohoo! My first attempt at an “art video”! My second grade students completed these in one 44-minute class. It’s a pretty simple lesson… no-fuss bird drawing using oil pastel then paint with liquid watercolors. Perhaps the simplest lessons are the best? Enjoy! Second Grade Watercolor Birds video! (click on the triangle below)

Oil Pastel Parrot Art Project

parrotdcg

Tropical Birds are a wonderful way to teach a variety of lessons: color wheel basics, color mixing, drawing techniques. For this lesson, I focused on the drawing aspect. The children used oil pastels to color in their parrots, but the project would be stunning if you used tempera paint with black outlines. See this post [...]

Owl Art Projects

snowy owl art project

I have something for owls. Maybe it started with the Harry Potter books, but it seems as though owls are everywhere! Over the years, I’ve collected quite a few owl art lessons. Here are a few of my favorites: Torn Paper Owl: Much dexterity is needed with this project. Second graders drew an owl onto a [...]

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3-Ingredient Art 3/4 Lesson Plans

3-ingred-art-3-4

For some teachers, the biggest obstacle for teaching art lessons is lack of supplies. This 24-page booklet features four art lessons developed for grades 3 & 4 that use basic art supplies: paper, paint & a drawing tool (oil pastel or pencil). These lessons offer tips and tricks to shorten art instruction time and give options for [...]