Watercolor Dragons in Grade Four

Posted on March 4, 2010 by artlessonsforkids

Our school celebrated Chinese New Year recently so it was perfect timing to explore dragons! I had recently seen a dragon project in an old Arts and Activities magazine that would fit nicely with this art lesson.

We talked extensively about dragons and looked online for many examples. The students were more than eager to create their own unique dragon and wanted to get started. I gave out recycled paper so the kids could practice and draw 2-3 dragons from which they would have to choose one for their final piece.

I gave out 18 x 24 white contruction paper. Each student made a 2 inch border and them proceeded to draw their dragon at a much bigger scale. Wings and tails were allowed to come off the border so the dragons would look more dynamic and not closed in.

Next, the dragons was divided into sections and filled with different kinds of lines to create texture. The borders had to also have an interesting pattern.

I gave out watercolor pencils and the borders and dragon were colored in.

When the students added water to their sections colored in with watercolor pencils they thought it was neat that it turned into waterpaint. The main background behind the dragon was painted with regular watercolors.

Once everything was dry, the students outlined all the lines with black sharpies. This is a great lesson you can do with older kids too.

I loved how these turned out, what do you think?

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Self-Portrait Busts in Grade 6

Posted on January 26, 2010 by artlessonsforkids

These took quite a while to make and required patience, problem solving and imagination. It’s amazing what you can do with a box, balloon and paper mache! Find more self-portrait lesson ideas here. I think they turned out lovely don’t … Continue reading →

Leaf Collages in Grade Two

Posted on January 5, 2010 by artlessonsforkids

I adore teaching this lesson with my kids because they are always amazed by the magic that happens when you put leaves together to create a picture.

Start by collecting many leaves with your kiddos. Give each student scissors, a bag and gloves. The bag is to put the leaves in and the gloves to avoid any allergic reactions when handling leaves–trust me on this one!

Go for a nature walk and visit the trees around your school and with the scissors show the kids how to carefully cut a leaf off the branch. I live in Bahrain so we don’t have many trees to choose from and you just don’t see leaves lying on the ground. This is why we need to cut fresh leaves. Make sure kids collect different sized leaves especially small ones because these become ‘details’ such as scales, dots, etc.

Go back to class and have everyone sort their leaves. Give each child an old magazine with their name on it. Have the kids place their leaves between the pages. let each child take their gloves home and tell them to collect more leaves especially smaller ones for one whole week. Each time they bring in leaves they go into their magazine.

There are some great books out there with leaf art to show your kids for inspiration. My favorite has to be “Look What I did With a Leaf” by Morteza E Sohi.

Have the students take out all their leaves and do a practice run by making a picture with their leaves. This will help them ORGANIZE their thoughts and make any changes. The rules are NO CUTTING allowed and you must use the entire leaf. Give out glue bottles when everyone is ready, a large piece of 12×18 white construction paper and be amazed at the wonderful pictures the kids will come up with. Stick to making animals with the younger grades.

Didn’t these turn out so lovely?

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