Kinder’s First Art Project

I’m guessing that as an art teacher I’m not the first to overestimate the abilities of my students. I’m never more aware of this than when new kinders come to my room at the beginning of a school year. Some are semi-prepared from preschool, but some are not. So as much as I want to dig in at first with some beautiful new project, I’ve learned that the first class just needs to be super, super simple.

1. Kinders in CA spend much of the year studying patterns, so this blends well with their curriculum. I spend a few minutes talking about all the ways that lines can make patterns (round, square, zigzag, etc.) and then draw some examples on the board. The students are all given a thick black marker and five strips of construction paper about 2" x 8" wide. They are asked to draw a different line pattern on each. No coloring in is allowed, only lines.
2. When the patterns are done, they get a sheet of black construction paper, about 9" x 15" or so. After instructions on how to use a glue stick, they glue the strips to the black paper. It helps to start at the top and work down, leaving some space in between. As more than one kinder teacher has taught me, it’s important that these new students have a successful experience their first time around in the art room. It’s worth it at this point to focus on the process and not so much on the product. The masterpieces can all come later.

Pin Flowers

This project came from an Arts and Activities magazine, and I loved how well it worked with kinders.

1. The students are to draw in pencil near the outside edge of the paper a rounded box (kind of like a TV screen). A zig-zag grass line follows near the bottom of the paper. For the flowers, start by drawing the center circle of the flower up near the top, and then another circle around it. Then petals kind of “jump” around that outside circle. In between the petals, radiating lines are drawn out, with circles added on the ends. Stems are drawn to connect the flowers to the grass, and then leaves may be added. It's best to break this project into steps and have the students follow your large example drawn on a board or large paper.

2. After the pencil drawing is complete, give the students thick black markers to trace all their lines.

3. Distribute markers so that student can fill in all the shapes they've drawn with lots of color.

CA Visual Art Standard: Creative Expression, Grade Kinder

2.6 Use geometric shapes/forms (circle, triangle, square) in a work of art.

Doodle Summer Self Portrait

I like to have my first art project of the year somehow acknowledge all that has happened over the summer. I’m going to try a doodle self-portrait and ask students to tell their summer story with just visual cues; i.e. a bracelet made in camp, mosquito bite from the lake, etc. I hope the loose style will help them relax and get their doodle on.

1. I really like the background notebook paper look, so I made a tabloid version that would give students lots of room to draw. You can download the 11" x 17" template HERE. Print one for each student.

2. Guide the students through drawing a body that fills the page. The head should be about 8 lines tall and touch the top blue line. The waist should be about halfway down the paper, and so on. Once the body is drawn, students trace it with a fine point black Sharpie, something that will make a medium weight line. Their name is also added on top and traced.

3. The rest of the drawing is done with a thin black marker or pen. The details of the clothes, the written words, any crosshatching are all made with thin black lines to add variety to the artwork. Tip: it is easier to write the words and then circle them than visa versa.

4. Shapes are colored in at will with colored pencils. The more doodles and color you add, the better the self-portrait looks!

Seasonal Tree Mural

Many students will be learning about seasons as they go back to school, so I made a mural that can be adjusted to follow along. After a large tree is completed, different leaves (included in file) are colored in, cut and mounted to show the changes that occur in spring, summer and fall.

My mural has 24 pages to color and is 45" by 40" when complete. You can purchase my pdf file with instructions and color guide for just $5. To see a preview of the pages, click HERE. Click the “Add to Cart” button to make your payment via Paypal and receive immediate download instructions.

Classroom Colored Pencil Labels

This is just a simple way to make a name label for a student, and could be used many different ways. I find that students tend to use their crayons and colored pencils most often with just one value. Most are just not in the habit of shading with them. These pencils are all made with just one color, using more pressure to make the darker values.

1. I cut tabloid paper into 3 equal sections, roughly 3.5" x 17", one would be given to each student. I drew a vertical line 4" in from the right side for the end of the pencil. A triangle is drawn inside that to make the point of the pencil. Three equally spaced lines are drawn across the length of the pencil. Names are written neatly inside the middle section, and all the lines are traced with a thin black marker.

2. The students are to choose one crayon or colored pencil, and color with the lightest pressure on the top panel, medium on the middle, and heavy on the bottom. The wood can also be shaded with pressure to match the rest. Cut out to make a fun display or leave in panels to label something.

Back to School Decorated Pencils

Here’s one quick way for your kids to get creative and personalize their back-to-school pencils. I just pulled out my handy-dandy stash of Sharpies and tried a few different looks: animal skin, flowers and stripes. I’m sure kids could think of many more. Fish scales? Reptile skin?...

1. You may have read on my “Favorite Supplies” list that I prefer Ticonderoga pencils to almost any other brand. Others are often made off-center, or have wood that chews up in a sharpener, or lead that is too light. I like the quality of these, plus the nice yellow color is a good base to work with. The one coloring tip I can offer is that it helps to put your pencil on a little ledge of some kind (I used a book) so that one end can extend over. When coloring with the Sharpie, try to rotate the pencil in the air as you color so that the marker has a few seconds to dry before it touches the paper. The color does set up fast, but if you touch it right when it’s still wet, it will smudge. To make the leopard skin look. I started by making lots of brown spots all over, and then drawing black “C” shapes or “O” shapes all around them.

Close Up Portrait

I've found that drawing a portrait of another person from a photo can sometimes help students see more details than usual.

1. Find closeup photos of different faces, male and female, preferably with strong features. Make sure the photos are all closely cropped, especially into the top forehead.

2. Give the students paper that is in the same proportion as their photo. With a pencil, follow the steps shown in the diagram to the right. Starting with a large "U" shape can be easier than an oval for some students. Remind them that our eyes are located in the middle of our heads, but because of this cropping, they will be near the top of the paper. The bottom of the nose is halfway between the eyes and the chin, and the mouth is halfway between the bottom nose and the chin.

3. After the facial features and shoulders are added, have the students trace their lines with a black marker and color everything in with construction paper crayons. Encourage the addition of shadows, such as on the neck chin, etc.

CA Visual Art Standard: Grade Four

2.5 Use accurate proportions to create an expressive portrait or a figure drawing or painting.

Homemade Dress Drive for Haiti

Earlier this month, when Project HOPE Art was at Nadine’s orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, it became abundantly clear just how few clothes many of her girls have. The things they do own are well worn at best, some just barely holding together. HOPE Art would like to change this with a personal touch by starting a Homemade Dress Drive. We are inviting all seamstresses, beginner to advanced, to make one or more simple sundresses to be hand delivered to the orphanage by Christmas. This project is being aided by “oliver + s”, an online pattern company who has kindly agreed to let us use their free sundress pattern that you can download HERE. I used this well designed pattern to create this little pink number which is officially, “Dress #1”. Please email me with any questions and thanks in advance to all who take this on.

UPDATE: As of December 1st, Hope Art has received 334 sun dresses sent in from all over the world, including Canada and Australia. Our commitment to this drive continues as we plan to share our collection with as many girls in Haiti as possible. Thank you everyone!