Art Lessons for Kids
If you haven’t seen Lucy Cousins’ Hooray for Fish! I encourage you to find it at your nearest bookstore. It is filled with vibrant colors, fast reading text and the most adorable fish you can imagine. My Kinders LOVED this book and the illustrations captured their imaginations. I began the lesson by reading the book and asking [...]
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This art project was a huge success with my Kinder students. If the project looks familiar, that’s because it is! We created our cardboard owls and fish before but this time, my Kinders created a cool habitat for their little abstract friends. Making the fish To start, we followed the same instructions for making the [...]
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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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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 got 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 [...]
Of all the art lessons I do with my kinder classes, the Eric Carle inspired seahorse project is my favorite. It’s a great way to teach painting techniques (both tempera and watercolor), cutting and pasting skills and offers a wonderful canvas for free expression. I use templates for the seahorse but some children draw their [...]
What’s the biggest thing in the ocean? According to the giant squid in Kevin Sherry’s book I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean, he is! I’m The Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry This lesson was inspired by Meg Duerksen’s Whatever blog. Here is her Squid Art Project that she did based on the [...]
Koi Fish are a favorite subject of many art teachers for obvious reasons; they’re relatively easy to draw and have wonderful markings. Most of the lessons I’ve seen have been done with watercolor paints. I would have done the same but my sixth grade students hadn’t yet worked in tempera paint so I needed for [...]
Half art lesson, half free-choice project, pre-historic fish has been very popular with my fourth grade students. Based on the book Rators, Fossils, Fins & Fangs by Ray Troll and Brad Matsen, I photocopied pages from the book plus created a few of my own drawing aids and set out lots of supplies. The kids [...]
This watercolor fish art project takes a while (about four-45 minute classes) but it is worth it. It’s also worth having watercolor paper, no matter how inexpensive, as this project is a wonderful opportunity to experiment with watercolor paints. Regular paper really doesn’t do the drawings justice. Believe me, I’ve tried! I have to admit, [...]
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 [...]
Composition is hard. How do you know when a picture “looks” right? That’s what I asked my fourth graders today. We talked about what grabbed our attention and how our eyes travelled around the page. I used student art to demonstrate compositions that were effective. Creating a balanced picture was our goal. Fish were our [...]
Salmon are beautiful. Period. The tangerine flesh screams yummy…accompanied by a tangy ginger sauce or on a bright blue paper! This project was inspired by the book Wow! America! by Robert Neubecker. The illustrations in this sadly out-of-print book are engaging and fun. Just like my kinders. To begin, start with a bright orange piece of [...]
Kids love painting paper. Place a piece of white paper and a few tubs of paint on a table and watch ‘em go at it. Pure joy. If you think Kinders love this technique, watch your fifth graders. They go all out. This project is simple. Set out 2 pieces of white paper per student [...]
Here’s a quick lesson that will only take about one hour to do. It requires a supply of foam, so either purchased the foam sheets from your favorite art catalog or recycle the foam lunch trays or even meat trays from home. Step One:Painting the Background I used glitter liquid watercolors for this project but [...]
All successful watercolor projects begin with a great drawing. Use the how-to-draw handouts to help your students to their best work. This 19-page art booklet features four Watercolor Projects that are suitable for all elementary school grade levels. PROJECTS INCLUDE: Tweet! Tweet! An easy directed line drawing turns into a stunning piece. Perfect for Kinder [...]
