Paper Bag and Chalk Pastels

THIS image is very inspiring a self-portrait on a paper bag can look great!

Supplies:

paper bag

chalk pastels

spray fixative

a mirror

Instructions:

1. Show children your example of the style you want them to draw in

2. Have children turn the chalk on its side and draw their face and neck

3. Use the side of your hand to rub the chalk around

4. Draw your hair and shirt next, rubbing in the colors

5. Draw the whites of the eyes and the iris then the lips

6. Now outline in black then go back to press hard with colors to make it darker

Tips:

* Make sure you have multiple flesh colored pastels. Older children will want to make it look realistic.

* Aerosol hairspray will fix the chalk pastels

*This activity is for older children but younger children can draw abstract images or stick figures. Just make sure the entire bag is covered with color by rubbing the chalk and it will look nice.

Acrylics and Oil Pastels on a cardboard

THIS image is so cool by an elementary student. Who knew a cereal box could look so good?
This is a great way to have kids paint for fun with acrylic for the background then do simple drawings of animals with oil pastels.

Supplies:

cardboard (cereal box)

acrylic paints

brushes

rags or paper towels

oil pastels

images to look at

Mod-podge or spray fixative

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of cardboard to the size you desire

2. Dump two colors of acrylic paint directly onto your cardboard

3. Paint the entire cardboard

4. Let dry (overnight)

5. Using oil pastels draw over top of the acrylic

6. Seal

Tips:

* The acrylic should be completely dry before you start to draw.

* It is best to give children images to look at while they are working. You could print off color images of different kinds of dogs for the students to look at then cover the front and back of the images with clear contact paper so they can easily be cleaned.

* Set the image next to the children's work area.
* Give the children a suggestion to paint something (dogs) but they can paint whatever they wish.

* To have art made by children look great, have them work on it for multiple days so they continue to add more detail and color.

* Oil pastels mix easily as you add more and more color and draw overt op of what you already drew.

* It is best not to give the children water because they will add too much to the acrylic paint and/or spill the water. Simply give the children a rag or paper towel to wipe their brush on.

* Oil pastels never fully dry so it is necessary they are sealed so they do not smudge.

100 Colors

THIS and THIS page made me think about how fun it is to just mix colors.

My two year old was successful at this when given one-fourth a sheet of paper and three colors. She could paint in little boxes of the grid and it looked good! Given a half sheet of paper it ended up all one color. Given white, red, blue and yellow her plate ended up brown and there were lines of the different colors on the paper.

This was WAY more fun than a color wheel. The results were pretty enough for display. I also like the idea of older student practicing with a pencil and ruler. (Did I mention my major is in art AND MATH? Yeah, everyone says its weird.)

Supplies:

thick paper with 10 x 10 grid, cardstock will work

paint brush

tempera paints (red, blue, yellow, and white) (black optional for older students)

mixing tray (a large yogurt lid will do)

paper towel (to wipe brush on, NO WATER)

Instructions:

1. Give each student a gridded piece of paper, paint and a brush

2. Challenge the students to paint each square a different color, 100 colors

Tips:

* Young children will go crazy adding too much black. I choose not to give it to them.

* Older students can draw their own grid

* I choose not to give secondary colors so students can have fun exploring mixing them

* It is best not to give them water to rinse their brush. Older students have to think about what colors they want to make and, also, younger students will not water down the tempera.

Pony Bead Bowl

LOVE THE RESULTS.
These are so cool it is well worth the work and the stinky kitchen.
I saw THIS and wanted to make it. It looked so easy. My two year old loved dividing my colors and this is the closed lesson I have found to Dale Chihuly's work for children.

I saw THIS image of a candy bowl which also makes me want to a bowl out of candy with leftover candy from the holidays.

This could be done with multiple students if you used foil pie plates!
This is multiple steps but even my two year old loved dividing the colors and arranging them in the pie plate. She really liked playing with the cooled bowl. She tried an "experiment" by putting them in silicone heart shapes to make a necklace and that worked well too.

Supplies:

pony beads

oven (500 degrees)

foil

round cake pan

cookie sheet

coffee cup

oven mitts

Instructions:

1. Arrange beads in foil lined cake pan
2. Put in the oven at 500 degrees, WATCH CLOSELY
3. It should take 10-20 minutes, depending on bead type
4. Let cool completely
5. Put a foil covered coffee mug on top of foil lined baking sheet
6. Balance bead circle on coffee mug
7. Put in oven for a few minutes until the sides fall
8. Let cool completely
   
   

Tips:
*This is a pain but turns out so well
* This smells, open the windows
* Muffin tins are too little and won't work
* Be careful the foil is flat so the bead don't melt around it.
* If you leave holes in the disk of beads, there will be holes in the bowl.






Use the same kind of beads!
 You can make them on a griddle too.

Gessoed Image

Simple Fun.
I often forget how much it excites kids to paint an image of their choice. Especially painting an image of a person they took.

I saw THIS site and it made me realize students would love to gesso over an image and paint it. We have all the materials on hand.

Supplies:

board of some kind

printed image (magazine or printed)

clear gesso

acrylic paints

brushes

oil pastels

permanent markers

other supplies

Mod-podge or spray fixative

Instructions:

1. Glue image to the board

2. Paint over with clear gesso (let dry, you could do this step ahead of time for the child)

3. Color with markers and paints.

4. Dry then seal

Tips:

* Fun if you take a silly image of each child the first day and print it off

Self-Portriat Line Contour

I saw THIS photo and art lesson. I HAD to try it.

The results are GREAT and the idea is so simple.


Supplies:
mirror
washable markers
paper
Permanent markers
Colored Pencil

Instructions:
1.) Draw yourself using one line without picking up your marker by tracing your image in the mirror.
2.) Wet your paper- wipe paper with a wet paper towel
3.) Press paper onto image and lift
4.) Use permanent markers and colored pencils to color in

Tips:
* This lesson can be related to the artist Egon Schiele
*Crayola and Mr. Sketch scented markers work
* Thin-tipped markers work best
* Your type of paper makes a huge difference, try it yourself first. Watercolor worked for me.
*12x12 mirror tiles from home improvement store work well
*Spraying the image with water lightly will work but makes a few drips

Lesson idea: Emotions

This is from the BSF notes in the study of The Acts of the Apostles lesson #11. I like the idea of turning Jesus's feelings into a lesson to teach. It is great to go with art work because we reveal a lot of who we are in what we create.

"Jesus became truly human as we are, thought not sinful, for sin is not a necessary part of being human. He experienced everything we experience. He knew what it meant to be hungry (Matthew 4:2), tired (John 4:6), thirsty (John 19:28), sorrowful over the loss of a friend (John 11:35), and broken-hearted over personal rejection (Luke 13:34, 35). Having been where we are, He is not ashamed to call us "brothers.""

Although, not all children have experienced the death of a friend or family member, surely they have experienced a friend moving a way, misplacing a favourite stuffed animal or missing their parents after a long absence.

This, obviously, needs to be fleshed out more but I thought these verses would be a good place to begin.