Pyramid Landscapes

These were really cool and the kids loved the finished product.  We talked about habitats, and each student picked their own environment.  They then got a large piece of square paper, and drew the background on only the top half of the square (turned to look like a diamond).  They then construced the pyramid, and added "pop up" pieces for a 3-D effect.

Snowy Day Snowmen

The day before winter break, I decided to do a winter themed activity. I had a ton of clear overheads, so the kids used q-tips to dot "snow" all over them. They then drew snowmen using oils pastels/crayons and cut paper. I taped the snow over top of their snowmen, so they can lift it up, or put it down to make it snow.

Eric Carle Bugs

Not all that original of an idea, but my METS class were reading Eric Carle, so we did some paper decorating, cutting and making bugs.

Tissue Paper Peacocks

These peacocks were really beautiful, even though they are so similar looking.  I did this with my autism class, so all the cutting/drawing work I prepped for them.  Even so, they were able to glue down the tissue, and the details of the peacocks.

Kandinsky Shapes and Color

This is similar to the Miro watercolor/crayon resist that is fun to do with kindergarten.  This is something I did with my pre-k classes, and it has turned out really gorgeous.  Some of the art was so colorful and unique, I wanted to frame it!  We went over shapes, looking at different artwork.  Students then made shapes using cardboard pieces (triangles, squares and lines) and then used small paper cups to make circles with black tempera.  Once dry, they went back with watercolor paint and added color.  So pretty!

Paper Cityscapes

This is a basic cityscape idea that can be modified for any grade.  These pictures were from my Autism class.  I had them paint the background, then glue down the windows and buildings.  I've done with this kindergarten a lot, as well as higher levels, changing it to make it more challenging.

 

 From my pre-k class:  They focused more on cutting out simple squares from strips of paper, and gluing them down.

Monster Parade

This activity was to fill in some space right before the holidays.  It's a lot of fun to do- reading the students different descriptions of imaginary monsters/creatures and having them draw them in a monster parade.  They have a lot of fun with it as well.

Paper Trees and Owl Stamps

This was a long unit, but it encompassed a lot of things.  The results were mixed, but for the most part it was successful.  It started with a background- some classes did watercolor, others did oil pastels.  The oil pastels worked better because they were much more vivid and bright.  They then drew a tree with lots of branches, and began collaging torn paper to complete the tree.  After that, basic stamps were made out of thin foam and cardboard.  The students then stamped their owl stamp onto their tree.  I wanted them to add eyes/beaks/feet later, and realized crayon did not work with the oil pastel/tempera paint stamp because it just rubbed the paint off.  The best solution was using a q-tip and adding those details with paint.

These are the watercolor backgrounds, which haven't had faces added yet.  I'll be posting the oil pastel backgrounds as soon as they are finished.

Torn Paper Owls

These owls were really fun, and turned out great.  Students created the background night sky and tree branch first.  They then drew a basic outline of an owl- choosing between a flying owl or a sleepy owl and we began collaging torn paper to make the owl.  After the collaging was finished, they made eyes, a beak and feet for their owls. 

Clay Head Pots

My fifth grade class made clay head pots.  I thought this was pretty cool, and they liked the idea that they could add dirt and seeds and make something like a Chia pet.  They started out making a slab, and then adding it to a circle base.  They then scored and slipped on facial features.  We didn't have any glaze, so they used watercolor and I finished them with a clear glaze.  Really unique and fun!

Sunset Farms

This lesson was to allow the kids to begin using paintbrushes, as well as integrating what they were learning in the classroom (farms and farm animals).  They painted the backgrounds first, using watered down tempera paint.  The next class, they glued down the animals and the barn using their one "glue finger".  It was a lot of prep- cutting out all the animals, etc, but the results were great.