Each year, I tend to try something different for Valentine’s Day. I like to spice things up, don’t you?
Here are some from the past that I have done.
I have made these for Christmas presents, but they would be perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Two of my classes made pictures frames like these:
They turned out really cute and I did not take pictures until after the kids glued their pictures in, so I did not want to post any of the frames with their pictures in it.
This year, I did not do too many holiday art projects, but here is a round-up of some that I have done in the past.
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| I usually do these in January, but this could be a holiday landscape. |
Thanks for your kind comments about my fingers! They are actually healing much faster than I expected.
As you might know, I am a lover of all things mixed media! I also enjoy occasionally teaching an after school art workshop for my students (I’d love to do more, but since my daughter goes to daycare it’s a bit tricky.) I thought painted canvases would be a great gift for kids to give someone in their family, so I decided to do an after school art class which I taught today. The kids in this class were in grades K-5, so I had quite a range of skill levels. 23 kids signed up!
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| 1st grade artwork |
I bought a bunch of canvases, scrapbook papers and paints on Black Friday (yep, I braved the craziest shopping day to pick up some cheap art supplies.)
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| 5th grader |
Each kid chose a 12×12″ or 9″x12″ canvas and a selection of scrapbook papers.
The kids cut out shapes and imagery from the patterned scrapbook paper. These were decoupaged on to the canvas using Mod-Podge puzzle saver glue (the kind that you can paint on to a finished puzzle to save it.) Paint underneath and on top of each shape. Smooth any wrinkles out with your fingers. When you are finished mod-podging, use a hair dryer to dry the glue.
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| 3rd grader |
The kids used acrylic craft paints to add paint and designs to their canvas. Colored sharpie markers were also used for fine details. It is very important to make sure the paint is dry (with a hair dryer) if you are going to use markers anywhere near the paint. It will ruin the markers if the paint is wet. Some students chose to write words on their picture.
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| Do you see the “love Marcia” at the bottom? so sweet! (made by a kindergartner) |
The class ran from 3:15-5:00. The kids mostly all finished by 4:45, which was good because we had a HUGE mess to clean up. If I did this again, I might split it into two sessions. It was a long day for the littlest kids.
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| Kindergarten– Lots of expression! |
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| 2nd grade |
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| 3rd grade |
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| Kindergarten |
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| 2nd grade Great shapes! |
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| 1st grade I love the colors in this one. |
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| 4th grade girl |
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| The four seasons– 5th grade boy |
(these are the projects I burnt my fingers on!) USE LOW TEMP GLUE GUNS!!!
Anyways, these are really charming and fun projects.
The 1st graders learned about recycled art and how to use unconventional materials in art. We read 2 books by Hanoch Piven, which feature portraits made out of objects.
The children brought in objects from home that represented aspects of themselves and we assembled the parts into faces in art class. We used foam board and matboard for the base of the faces. Scroll down to see more examples of the artwork!
Here are ones we made last year.
I love lessons where I can tie in different areas of study, art history and art techniques! This is a project I developed that incorporates study of frogs, Monet and watercolor painting.
To start this project, we learn about the artist Claude Monet and his paintings of ponds and lilypads. We read a book about Monet:
The first graders read a series of books called Frog and Toad in their language arts classroom. At the same time they study frogs (and other amphibians) in Science class. In art class, we look at pictures of frogs and observe the details and draw them as realistically as possible. They do some practice sketches first and then I teach them on the whiteboard some steps to draw a frog if they are struggling. They outline these frogs with green marker and color in with crayons. Then, they are cut out and glued to the pond. Some of them glue down the legs and bend them so the frogs pop off the page, and some of the kids glue them down flat.
Are you wondering what to get a child in your family for the holidays? As an art teacher, I see what the kids really like and what they gravitate towards to when they are given free time in art.
These are some popular items for kids that I have personally used and recommend. Most of these can be found at your local Target or Michaels (or other craft/art store). Don’t forget to print off a coupon online if you are buying from Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. Also, if you’d rather shop from your home in your pajamas, I have linked to Amazon.
Please also use with adult supervision until you are sure your child can handle the materials on their own.
If you are an art teacher, you may already know about a lot of these products. I’m always excited to find new fun art materials, so share some good ones in the comments.
For the child who doesn’t have many art supplies yet, these are some to start their collection…
Watercolor Pencils.. My preschooler loves drawing with watercolor pencils. Actually most of the kids I teach do too! There’s something magical about drawing with the pencils, adding water and watching the colors spread. Crayolas work just fine, but I let my daughter use my fancy Inktense colored pencils (because that’s what I have at home). They last a long time!
Glue sticks
Stickers I like to use foam letter and number stickers, shape stickers, character stickers, colored tape.. anything that sticks is fun for little kids.
Play Doh I hate the smell of Play doh, but it is the best to use for preschoolers (in my opinion).
Paints We use the Crayola fingerpaints and a basic watercolor set at home.
Gel Pens There are some that definitely work better than others! I love the neon gel pens from Sakura. Don’t waste your money on the cheaper ones.
Fine Line Pens Kids LOVE these fine line felt tip pens. They write really smoothly and have a lot of different colors.
Wild Notes This pen will color change on the paper. I bought some of the index cards as a gift.
Twistable Crayons The colors show up nicely and twisting the crayon is a novelty. Just don’t twist too far or it might break off.
Activity Books Klutz books are great for introducing all sorts of artsy crafty things. For example: beading, origami, friendship bracelets, etc..
Beads and other jewelry making supplies
Sculpture stuff: Wire, chenille stems, modeling clay, buttons, beads, charms, styrofoam, etc.
Shrinky Dink Paper These sheets can be drawn on and then placed in the oven. They shrink into little hard plastic pieces. If you punch a hole in them before you bake you can make them into pendants.
