Painted Paper Butterflies

Butterfly art lesson

I love happy art lessons. The ones that engage children right from the get-go. These painted paper butterflies are a perennial favorite in my art room. My first graders make painted paper and then use the paper to create butterfly wings. I set out wing templates from my Eric Carle-Inspired Lesson Plans PDF but encourage [...]

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Art Inspired Mother’s Day Gifts

artsy-mother's-day-gifts

It may sound hokey, but I don’t think there is a better gift than a piece of art created by a child. To know that your very own child chose that particular color and made those particular lines is pure magic to me. And while acts of creative expression are precious and rare, don’t feel [...]

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O’Keeffe Inspired Graphic Flowers

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This Georgia O’Keeffe inspired art lesson is quick, easy lesson that all grade levels will enjoy. Needing a one-lesson project for the end of my sixth grade art rotation, I was inspired by an O’Keeffe art print on my wall. But instead of focusing on the center of a flower and creating a detailed drawing, [...]

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Watercolor Poppies Art Lesson

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Here is a very easy watercolor lesson for any grade. Simply add puddles of liquid watercolor paint (or well-watered pan watercolors) onto watercolor paper. Before the puddles “dry” tap the paper onto the table surface to create streams of paint. These are the flower stems. After the paint dries, the artist can use chalk pastels [...]

Painted Bunny Art Lesson

Painted-Bunny-Art-Project

Here is a very easy bunny art lesson that involves a simple line drawing, sponge painting and a few embellishments. My first graders did this lesson in one 40-minute session. Afterwards, I realized that we forgot to add bunny teeth. And wouldn’t a cotton-ball look adorable stuck on Bunny’s bottom? Maybe you all can add [...]

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Paper Bunny Art Lesson

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Last week, my second grade students used templates, painted and colored paper and oil pastels to create cute little rabbits. Adding tails, teeth, ears and flowers, the kids created their own Mr. Bunny all in one 45-minute class time. This lesson is fast due to the use of pre-made templates. I created a head, body [...]

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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Tissue paper Butterflies

butterfly

It’s no secret that I love butterflies. All grade levels love them. The instructions for this lesson is the same as the Symmetrical Butterflies, but instead of using watercolor paints to color, kinders used tissue paper and liquid starch. Many people ask if watered-down glue works as well as liquid starch. Basically yes, but I [...]

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Snakes in the Grass

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Here is a cute lesson that I did a while ago with my second grade students. It’s a great lesson for achieving good cutting skills which I think by second grade is pretty crucial. The steps to draw the snake are fun and easy but creating the grass can be challenging for many second graders.  [...]

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Colorwheel Flowers Art Lesson

Colorwheel flowers

I jumped right in this year…messy painting project on Day One! Actually, it was alot of fun and the kids loved it. For my first graders, I wanted to begin the year with a colorwheel lesson. Often I wait until a bit later in the year but it’s worth it to start the year with [...]

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Colorwheel Bouquet Art Lesson

colorwheel bouquet art lesson

This is a great lesson to teach the colorwheel, reinforce cutting and pasting skills and sharpen color observation and recognition. I did this lesson with my Kinders at the at end of the school year. They had a whole year to become familiar with cutting, pasting and sorting, so they were quite capable of understanding [...]

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Van Gogh Sunflowers Art Lesson

van-gogh-sunflowers

A perennial favorite…what student can go through elementary school without completing his own version of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers? I usually do a collection of Sunflowers in oil pastel, but decide to try out a tempera paint version instead. Here’s what we did: Using an oil pastel, students drew a vase, table line and the flower centers. [...]

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Painted Pigs Art Project

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Simple. Cute. Fun. What more could you want from a first grade art lesson?  Last year I did a watercolor pig art project and couldn’t resist doing it again. This time, however, I used tempera paints with a black outline. Not as fast as the simple watercolor resist, but more dynamic. Art Supplies: 12″ x [...]

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Lois Ehlert’s Bird Art Project for Second Grade

ehlert-birds

Pie in the Sky by Lois Ehlert I was organizing stacks of art the other day and came across these beautiful pieces. I featured these birds in my “Art and Literature” PDF Booklet but wanted to share the images with all of you. This project was highly successful, meaning that children embraced the project with so [...]

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Birdhouse and Paper Bird Art Lesson

Birdhouse art project

Drawing a birdhouse is easy and satisfying for second graders. By combining some basic shapes, kids create a bird sanctuary complete with their very own feathered friend. This lesson is fairly easy. It only requires two 40-minute sessions, but you could extend it to three classes by adding a more detailed background and more decorations [...]

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