Art Projects for Kids + Tips for the Teacher!

Art Projects for Kids + Tips for the Teacher!

Elementary Art Projects & Creative Lessons for Kids

Welcome to Art is Basic, a blog full of elementary art lessons, easy art projects, and teaching ideas for K-5 classrooms. Browse hundreds of engaging activities designed to inspire young artists.

Colorful abstract art piece with layered, textured patches in blue, red, pink, green, and yellow on a white background.

Paper Pulp Pictures Art Project for Kids

This lesson plan is an idea I tried at one of the National Art Education Conferences. This is such a fun project because it gives you the experience of paper pulp painting, but without the blenders or mess. …

May 19, 2011
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Magazine cover of "Hamster Monthly" with a graphic design featuring an illustration of a brown hamster and various article titles.

Graphic Design Magazine Cover

I wanted to introduce graphic design to my 4th graders and I thought a magazine cover would be super fun. I was able to check out the mobile lab computers for one of my classes, but for the…

May 18, 2011

A painting of dinosaur silhouettes shows a spiked dinosaur and a flying counterpart against a bright orange and yellow background.

Dinosaur Silhouettes

This is one of my favorite lessons for kindergartners! First, we identify and classify the colors as warm or cool. Then, we choose all the warm colors we have (different shades of oranges, yellows, reds). Then the first…

May 17, 2011
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1st grade children's artwork showcases an underwater collage featuring colorful sea creatures, including a turtle, jellyfish, shark, and seahorse.

Underwater Collage– 1st grade

The 1st graders looked at art that was about water and then created their own underwater collage using tissue paper, foil, cellophane and drawings of underwater creatures.

May 16, 2011
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A 2nd grade child's drawing of a multi-story building with colorful windows, a door, and a small cross on top showcases their budding interest in architecture.

Architecture — 2nd grade

Frank Lloyd Wright: The 2nd graders discussed Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings. We analyzed how he integrated his buildings with the surrounding nature. The students worked collaboratively to build intricate buildings out of wooden blocks. Next, they represented these…

May 16, 2011
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Child's drawing of an airplane and a hot air balloon in the sky, with patterned designs at the bottom. The artwork showcases vibrant sketches capturing youthful imagination.

Memory Drawings

This unit focused on recalling a family memory and creating a picture about this story. We read about the artist Faith Ringgold and her story quilts.

May 15, 2011

Budgets for Art

I was reading the teacherartexchange listserve from the Getty museum, which is a very cool list serve, and I felt really sorry for one teacher who only has $100 for a budget that serves 350 students. She was…

May 14, 2011
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Sketched postcard images of a man in various styles and patterns, with slight differences in facial hair and clothing details.

Portrait Drawing Exercise from postcard images

Drawing Activity This drawing activity will help to sensitize you to the variety of drawing styles and qualities. First, fold your paper in half 3 times in order to make 8 rectangles. In each of the rectangles, you…

May 14, 2011

Pencil sketch of abstract stacked shapes, including a heart and a "Hotel Delfino" sign with a small dolphin graphic.

4th/5th Grade Secret Cities– Drawing in 3-d, shading

Secret Cities The 4/5s learned how to draw 3-d forms and include shading and shadows. They stacked these shapes to make a “secret city”. I got this idea from a book about drawing by Mark Kistler. This artist…

May 9, 2011

"The Art of Silliness" workshop, featuring a drawing of a person surrounded by whimsical doodles.

the art of silliness!

This is a worksheet from Carla Sonheim’s Art of Silliness class. I recommend this class, it’s very fun. The worksheets she sends you each day are very unique drawing activities. What I am doing with these is photocopying…

May 8, 2011
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Wouldn’t this be a fun and educational project for kids?

In my blog perusing, I found this cool junk mail tutorial. Wouldn’t it be a fun project for kids to recycle all those pieces of junk mail we all receive? The catalogs and flyers that come in the…

May 7, 2011
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A pencil sketch of a panda resting its head on a bamboo structure with a few clouds in the background, showcasing cross hatching technique.

Cross Hatched Animals

Hatching and Cross-Hatching by the 3/4s The 3/4s are learning about hatching and cross-hatching. They explored this technique in a portrait drawing. After a quick practice of portrait drawing, the students moved on to a cross hatched animal. …

May 7, 2011

A large boot outlined with stick figures dancing, climbing, and parachuting around it on a white background, evoking the creativity of 3rd grade.

Contour Shoes– 3rd grade

Contour Drawings The students observed the details and lines on their shoes. They completed a contour line study of their footwear. Next, they turned these drawings into “miniature playgrounds” for stick people. Contour drawing helps define and explore…

May 5, 2011
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A hand-drawn, green letter "R" with vine details and a blue circular design in the center on a beige background, resembling Illuminated Letters.

Illuminated Letters– The 5th/6th grade

The 5/6s visited the Chazen Art Museum to see Medieval illuminated manuscripts. These delicate and decorative books were amazing! The students designed their own illuminated letter using inspiration from the illuminated manuscripts they observed. Weused pencil, watercolor paints,…

May 2, 2011
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A child's drawing depicts someone at 30, with family and work, and at 70, using a cane and standing alone.

Substitute Assignment

On Wednesday I had a substitute teacher. I left this drawing assignment for the 2nd graders to complete. Divide your paper in half. On one side, draw what you imagine your life to look like when you are…

April 28, 2011
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