This is a fun, one-day project for kids that teaches about positive and negative space and is good for spatial awareness. I taught this to my 1st graders and most of them understood the concepts and some of them needed help. First, positive space is the shape you cut out of the paper. Negative space is the shape left behind. You will need one sheet of background paper 8.5″ x 11″ and a color rectangle of paper that is half … Read more…
Today I am going to show you a quick and easy homemade scratch art trick which is fun for kids to try. You can make your own real scratch art paper using oil pastels and watered down black paint. Or you can buy your own scratch art paper pre-made (affiliate link). This is a fun little trick that amazes and delights kids. You can make your own scratch art paper using just crayons. Start by coloring a patchwork of colors … Read more…
Happy New Year! I hope you all have had a relaxing and restful holidays and are ready for the new year. Today I have some cardboard shape pictures to share with you that my 2nd graders created. We first looked at the artist Marcus Oakley and his cardboard shape pictures for inspiration. Students could create an abstract picture or a picture that represented something. We used pre-cut shapes as well as shapes the students cut on their own. Thinner cardboard … Read more…
I got the idea for this spooky haunted house picture from this picture I found online. For the background, we did a marker ink printing process using washable markers on plastic ziploc bags. I learned this technique from Lauralee Chambers who does it using tin foil. You simply color with washable markers on a plastic bag, spray with water and then press your paper on the bag and rub the back. I love the mysterious effect it has on these … Read more…
Last year, my 3rd grade Girl Scout troop did a variety of art projects. One of the badges we earned was the Outdoor Art Creator Badge. Here are some of the activities we did to earn the badge. I thought I would share with you, because these are some fun projects you could do with a group of kids, maybe in an after school, day camp or scout program. Here is a link to the PDF guide for the badge, … Read more…
I used this simple “Snowflake Starter” to help my 1st and 2nd graders draw their own snowflakes. This is a great way to teach about radial symmetry. If you are going to use watercolor paints or glue thicker materials on to the paper, print the templates onto thicker cardstock. Simply draw shapes or designs on the spokes of the snowflake. If you draw something on one line, make sure to repeat the same shape or design all the way around. … Read more…
I often like to connect what we are doing in art to what they have learned about in science class. Insects can provide a lot of inspiration for artists. The colors and designs in insects can be intricate, beautiful and amazing. Start by showing the students pictures of many types of insects (or collect real ones, if you are brave.) Talk about the parts of an insect.. head, abdomen, thorax, antennae, wings. Looking at reference photos and begin sketching insects. … Read more…
