Oil pastels, with their rich colors and expressive line quality, are one of my favorite mediums to use with kids. And the key to getting the best results with any oil pastel lesson is LAYERING! Materials:12x18 black construction paperOil pastels (We use the Pentel 16 color set.)Directions: 1. Set aside your black oil pastel... you won't use it until the end!2. To begin this … [Read more...]
Drawing Fish with Lines and Shapes
In Kindergarten this year, we've been focusing on drawing the world around us using lines and shapes. This colorful fish was drawn by Gabe. For this project, we first read a story about different kinds of fish, and talked about the shapes, lines, and patterns we saw in each one.... lots of ovals, triangles, circles and rectangles, and lines of all kinds: straight, zig zag, … [Read more...]
Watercolor Fish
These are your basic crayon resist fish, but with a new twist.... students painted the fish separately from the background, then we glued them on top after everything was dry. The result is a background that looks continuous. Try sprinkling some salt on your background before it dries for an interesting, "watery" effect! I like to put up lots of visual references for students … [Read more...]
Foil Fish
Self-adhesive mounting board made this project a snap to prep and clean up! Special thanks to Mabel Gidcumb for sharing this fun lesson plan, which she adapted from a project in the Usborne Book of Art Projects. She made these colorful fish with her Vacation Bible School kids and reports that it was a huge success! They used self-adhesive mounting board, but you could also … [Read more...]
“Catch of the Day” – Ceramic Fish
Clay fish platter by AllisonKids love clay! There's just something about getting your hands covered with mud that kids can't resist! Clay is a great medium for learning about texture and form, and its possibilities are endless. Here are my directions for this fun fish platter.... a perfect summer project!Directions:1. Draw a fun fish design on a piece of 9x12 construction … [Read more...]
Watercolor Fish with Pointillism
Last weekend's teacher workshop at Palace Art was a huge success! It's encouraging to know that so many teachers are eager to expand their art skills so they can share the benefits of Art with their students! For this workshop we focused on watercolor, so I thought I would share a few of the amazing paintings these teachers-turned-students produced. (Scroll down for the lesson … [Read more...]