Sometimes I find easy art projects for kids that aren’t easy to replicate for lots of students. That’s when technology steps in. This fox painting looks like students recycled newspaper for the background of a painting, but actually one sheet was scanned and printed for all of them. No need to make your own, just download my file in the … Read More
DIY fall festival banners don’t get much cheaper than this. Just rolls of paper, thick black marker, and lots of crayons. Oh, and lots and lots of kids to color. MATERIALS • Large roll of paper, about 30″ wide • Black Sharpie marker, chisel tip • Crayons DIRECTIONS Prep: Cut long strips of paper from a roll, about 6′ long. … Read More
Add a grid to your leaf art projects and students can’t help but fill the entire paper. Draw a different type in each and you have a very pretty painting. MATERIALS • Watercolor paper or multimedia paper • Black Sharpie marker • Liquid watercolor paint DIRECTIONS 1. I used my printer to make lines that divided the paper into 6 … Read More
Here are some easy DIY owl decorations that use some of my favorite craft supplies. Love the earthy look of these woodsy little owls. The good news is that these craft sticks and little wooden shapes come in all sizes these days, so you can make a family of owls all day long. I just recommend that you stick to … Read More
This fall drawing project makes students use the entire page as it only works when the branches touch the edge of the paper. I love the combo of black Sharpie trees and then soft oil pastels to fill in, but I have discovered that the marker will bleed in time and make a fuzzy line. If you want to avoid … Read More
This tree silhouette art is a multimedia project using chalk pastel and tempera cake paint. Each media does what they do best – make fuzzy backgrounds and opaque coloring. MATERIALS • Multimedia paper • Old CD for tracing • Chalk pastels (blue and purple recommended) • Tempera cake paint, black • Paint brush, water DIRECTIONS 1. Students traced a CD … Read More
I saw this simple weaving for Kids project on Pinterest (thank you to Artrageous Afternoon!) and loved it immediately. It’s a great way to make a little weaving project have more life than just sitting on a shelf or wall somewhere. MATERIALS Corrugated cardboard Hole punch, heavy duty Old paper cutter, recommended Yarn Beads DIRECTIONS Cut chipboard to 2.5″ … Read More
This really is the world’s most simple owl drawing. Just a few lines and bam, an unmistakably fierce looking bird. Be sure to trace those simple lines twice with the black oil pastel to make sure they stand out. It makes all those edges really stand out. MATERIALS Old paper to make pattern. 8.5″ x 11″ Scissors Black construction paper, … Read More
Add texture to your fall leaf art for kids project with some good old paper towels. A pretty spongy texture will be left behind, after the leaves soak up all the paint. Add a watercolor blue sky and you have a painting with lots of contrast. Don’t worry about any spots or blotches along the way, I think they only … Read More
When students learn how to draw a haunted house, they can practice their architectural drawing while making their houses look spooky. • View and download Haunted House Tutorial MATERIALS • Color print of Haunted House tutorial • Multimedia paper • Black Sharpie • Liquid watercolor paint DIRECTIONS 1. You could begin with a discussion of what so-called haunted houses … Read More
To follow my pumpkin lesson for very young elementary students, here’s how to draw a pumpkin with older ones. I’ve added overlapping and shadows. Pumpkins just have it all when it comes to art projects. The built in ridges help show off their dimension so they don’t look like flat circles, and the bright orange color is so festive to … Read More
Pumpkin drawing for six and seven-year olds is a LOT different than those a few years older. Focusing on drawing symmetrical shapes takes lots of practice. Pumpkins just have it all when it comes to art projects. The built in ridges help show off their dimension so they don’t look like flat circles, and the bright orange color adds a … Read More
If you make a grid and fill it with autumn shapes that fit in each, you will have a very pretty seasonal drawing, great for a card or decoration. MATERIALS Multimedia paper Black permanent marker Oil pastels DIRECTIONS Students draw a border in pencil near the outside edge of the paper, and the inside is divided into sections as shown. … Read More
First graders were shown how to draw a bat, but only after learning some more about them in this amazing new book I found “Nightsong”. It beautifully illustrates how they use their radar to see at night, and tells of a young bat’s first flight by himself. Really one of those special books, and a great match for this how … Read More
Combine the idea of rings or color and a tree and you get a fun Kandinsky for kids project. Great for warm and cool color studies too. If you can, get your hands on the most colorful paper possible, it will make a big difference in your results. The card stock found at craft stores is my favorite, but construction … Read More
Here’s a fun way to draw a scarecrow. Add some crayon lines and watercolor and you have a very cute fall painting. I highly recommend printing or drawing the light center guide lines though, before you start. They really help young ones place their lines. And don’t skip the crayon details as they add some nice bumpy texture. MATERIALS • … Read More
OK, this is my new favorite line art project. Students learn to make leaves transparent by drawing them only with lines. These students are 1st graders and they really took their time and drew LOTS of lines. I think having quality markers made all the difference. MATERIALS Drawing paper Leaf stencils, or templates cut from posterboard Stabilo Markers, or other … Read More
Thanks so much to Baechtel Grove Middle School in Willits, CA for sharing their work-in-progress Harvest banners. They look amazing! I recently made this new Harvest Banner template for my PDF shop after seeing how popular my hand drawn post was. I know that not everyone can sketch out giant ears of Indian corn, or even has time to, so … Read More
Now you can make your own Indian corn harvest banners for home, school or festivals with my latest PDF mural template. Buy it once and create as many giant ears of Indian corn that you could every possibly need. My sample has pretty realistic colors, but you could go abstract too with bright random colors. The simple corn shape will … Read More
I wanted to do something different with my last watercolor class, but still keep it with the fall season, so here is how to draw a truck full of pumpkins. • View and download Pickup Truck Tutorial MATERIALS Print of Pickup Tutorial for each student Watercolor paper Sharpie marker Crayons Liquid watercolor paint DIRECTIONS PREP: Draw or print … Read More