Art Lessons for Kids
Matryoshka dolls are wooden nesting dolls originating from Russia. They are handcrafted by folk artists and often feature a woman wearing a traditional Russian dress and scarf. Many dolls seen today can carry many themes ranging from political leaders to cartoon characters. For my second grade students, these nesting dolls are the perfect vehicle for [...]
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I’ve posted about Paper Molas before and because it’s such a fab project, I will post again. Recently I was at a friends home and noticed some newly framed artwork on her walls. They were authentic molas from Panama and Colombia. Molas are cloth panels that form part of a blouse for the Kuna women. They use [...]
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Learning how art impacts every culture and civilization in the world is an important part of any art curriculum. I remember learning about Canada’s native population in second grade. Making igloos from marshmallows and creating my own “Eskimo” paper doll remains my most vivid childhood art experience. The art hasn’t changed much, but the verbiage [...]
Aztec Warriors are really fun to draw. Using few supplies (black waterproof marker, colored broad tip markers and paper) my sixth graders dove straight into the drawing with a black marker. When you look at the gallery, it’s hard to believe that no pencils were involved, but they weren’t necessary. I recently discussed the pros [...]
Inspired by the cultures of Africa, this 21-page booklet offers four lessons for the early elementary student. Using basic supplies (colored paper, oil pastels, tempera paint and waterproof markers) you’ll find all of these lesson simple, fun and educational. The African Art PDF features FOUR lessons: African Huts-Colorful mud huts are created using paper and [...]
This Chinese Vase Art Lesson is a simple, fast and effective lesson. The original idea came from Artsonia, but it’s been so long, I can’t remember the original source. I had this odd green color of construction paper in my art cabinet and couldn’t decide what to do with it. When I saw the bright [...]
Three easy art lessons with a cultural slant. This 20-page booklet offers lessons for first grade through sixth and uses basic art supplies: white paper, brown paper or a paper bag, markers and tempera paint. With help from the many handouts provided, these three lessons require only two, 50-minute art sessions to complete. Great, fool-proof basics to [...]
Based on “Folk Art Lesson” in the book Art Projects from Around the World (Scholastic 2006), I adapted the images to create a very cool “bark” painting for fourth grade. Supplies: 6 x 9″ brown or tan paper (paper bags or craft paper works well as does construction paper) Tempera paints in red, white, yellow, [...]
This 22-page booklet contains three art lessons requiring only a pen and paper. Have more time? Add a shot of color to create an even more stunning piece of art. All grade levels will enjoy creating these fun line drawings and with the help of the original drawing handouts, teachers will enjoy the ease of [...]
Studying ancient civilizations is a component of California’s sixth grade social studies curriculum. Most teachers have a bevvy of lesson plans devoted to Egyptian art but this one is my favorite. It takes portrait drawing skills a bit further by learning how to draw a profile plus it allows for a ton of creative expression. [...]
This lesson is adapted from a lesson in “Dynamic Art Projects for Kids” by Denise Logan. It’s a great book filled with exciting and doable lessons for elementary kids. I have used many and reserve the Tribal Mask project for my upper grade students. Fourth grade students loved this lesson and I’m sure older children [...]
Coming up with an Aboriginal Painting lesson is not as easy as I thought it would be….most ideas feel too complex or too simplistic. This one falls right in the middle. 1. I start with giving the children sheets of “drawing aids”; illustrations of typical aboriginal icons. Have the students pick one and draw it [...]
One of the best books for art lesson ideas is Dynamic Art Projects for Children by Denise Logan. It has many doable art lessons for elementary kids. This Mola project above came from this book and includes great tutorials plus handouts to give to the children. I did this lesson with fourth grade kids but it would [...]
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