Dutch December skyline

You need:

1. black construction paper 20 by 20 cm
2. chalk pastel
3. coloured pencils
4. white sheet A4 size for stencil

Draw a skyline with roofs of Dutch canal houses on the white sheet. Cut it. Choose a colour to stencil with. Rub chalk on the stencil. Use a tissue or your finger to rub the chalk off the stencil on the black sheet, to create the soft looking skyline. Turn the stencil and take another colour to repeat this process. Students may also exchange the roof with your neighbour, to get different skylines. Draw a moon with chalk pastel. Draw windows in the houses and colour them with a yellow and/or white pencil.

Paper bag city

Made by a student of grade 2

You need:

1. white drawing sheets A3 size
2. tempera paint in blue, white and black
3. brown paper bag
4. scissors and glue
5. brushes

Torn some typical city center buildings in various forms out of brown paper bags. Paste them on a white sheet. In front of the high buildings we see smaller ones (overlap). Paint a blue or grey blue sky on the sheet. Use different colours of blue and grey. Outline the buildings with black tempera paint. Paint windows and doors. Hang all artworks together to create a long street.

Cool web, big spider

You need:

1. white drawing paper 20 by 20 cm
2. left overs of white drawing paper
3. yellow crayons
4. liquid watercolour
5. thick brush
6. jar with water
7. scissors
8. glue
9. black construction paper

Students draw a web with a yellow crayon. The easiest way is to first draw diagonal lines from the corners of the paper. Then draw more lines from top to bottom, left to right. The lines must all go through the center. After this draw circles around the center, until the sheet is full.

Paint the sheet using liquid watercolour ink in cold colours. Take two colours. Leave the work to dry.

Draw some leaves with a warm colour crayon on a white sheet. Draw the veins. Paint the leaves with warm colours liquid watercolour. Let the leaves dry.

Make a spider of black construction paper. In the example above, the spider is made of a circle with a diameter of about 4 cm. Cut the circle in to the center and stick the cutting edges on each other so the center rises. Draw a cross on the back if you want to. Cut a smaller circle for the head, draw eyes on it and paste it on the body of the spider. Cut the feet: 8 strips of 8 cm by 1/2 cm. Glue the legs on the underside of the body. Make a fold inwards on the mid of the strip, and 1 cm from the end a fold outwards.

When the work is completely dry, cut the leaves and paste them on the web. Put the spider in the web by pasting the lower parts of the legs and the head.

Paste the artwork on a black background. You may draw the spider web lines on the background too.

Collage of geometric and organic shapes

Made by students of 8-9 years old

A lesson I found on Artsonia. It's a great lesson to explain the different shapes and to practice cutting and pasting skills.

You need:

1. black construction paper 18 by 18 cm
2. four coloured sheets 16 by 16 cm in different colours
3. scissors
4. glue
5. left overs black construction paper

Start this lesson with an instruction on geometric and organic shapes. A geometric shape is a shape with a name, like a rectangle, circle or square. It's shape is regular. An organic shape is a shape from nature, without a real name. The shape of a leave or animal is organic, but cloud shapes are organic too. An organic shape is a shape you can not describe, that has no name. It is irregular.

Choose four sheets with matching colours and fold them in four quarters. Cut the folding lines to get 16 squares of 4 by 4 cm. Put four rows of four squares neatly against each other on the black sheet. Do not place two of the same colours side by side. Glue the squares. Cut a number of organic shapes out of black paper. Create a beautiful composition on the sheet with squares and paste the black shapes. The shapes should not overlap.

Learning letters

Made by a student of 7 years old

You need:

1. drawing sheet 20 by 20 cm
2. crayons
3. liquid watercolour
4. brushes
5. jar with water

Draw a 5 cm grid and copy it on drawing sheets. Give every student a grid sheet. Students use crayons to write big handwriting letters in the squares. Trace the lines of the squares with crayon too using one colour. Paint the squares with liquid watercolour.

In Holland we call those letters 'lusletters', 'letters with loops' if I translate is. The first letters children learn, at the same time as they start learning to read, are called 'blokletters'. Block letters?

How do you call those letters? Blockletters? Writing letters? Who can help me?

Desert sunset

Made by a student of 8 years old

You need:

1. coloured paper
2. black construction paper
3. scissors
4. glue

By tearing stripes of different colours of paper, children create a sunset. Draw a big cactus on black paper and cut it out. Paste the cactus on the sunset sheet.

I scream for ice cream

Made by students of grade 1

You need:

1. coloured cardboard A2 size
2. brown construction paper
3. white drawing paper A4 size
4. tempera paint
5. brushes
6. saucers
7. tissue paper
8. salt
9. scissors
10. gold markers
11. fiber fill or cotton wool

In this lesson, children use each other's work.

Divide the class into six groups. Give each group of children some white sheets, a saucer, one colour tempera paint, salt, brushes, a jar with water and blotting paper in a slightly darker colour than the paint. Mix tempera on a saucer with a lot of water to get a light (ice cream) colour. Each group paint a few sheets of drawing paper with this diluted tempera. Salt can be applied to create texture and small pieces of blotting paper with water will suggest chocolate chips or fruit in the ice. Be sure there are so many sheets of each colour that every student can get half a sheet of all six colours.

Hang the sheets outside to dry.

Cut the large sheets of coloured cardboard lengthwise into three, so you get three large strips of approximately 15 by 60 cm. Give each child a coloured strip and a sheet of brown construction paper. Each student cuts a cone out the brown craft paper by folding the paper and cutting a triangle from the fold . Then the draw a wafer pattern on the cone with a gold marker.

Give each student half sheet of painted paper of all six colours. Let them draw circles on the sheets by outlining a cup. Cut the circles. Paste the ice-cream cone on the large sheet of cardboard, and paste six different circles on it. Remember that the first scoop of ice cream has to be pasted partly in the cone. Finally cream may be added, by cutting half a circle out of fiberfill or some cotton wool.

Colourful chicken

Made by Danjel, 12 years old

You need:

1. drawing paper A3 size
2. oil pastel
3. tempera
4. brushes
5. coloured paper for background

Children draw a horizon line on their paper. Then they draw a big chicken, partly below the horizon. They have to colour it with oil pastels in bright colours. Paint the background with diluted tempera paint.

Daydream land!

By Kim and Carlos, 11 years old

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A3 size
2. colour markers
3. chalk pastel
4. hairspray
5. paper strips in the colour of the window frame

A familiar picture for the teacher: you do your best to teach an interesting lesson, while the students stare dreaming out the window. What they see might not be so interesting: a street where every now and again a car passes or some boring buildings. Use your imagination! What would you like to see when you look out the school window? What does your daydream land look like? Do you see flying pigs? Are there popstars waving at you? Is there an airplane flying through the streets? Draw it! Colour your drawing with markers and outline it with a fine black marker. Colour the background with chalk pastel and fix it with hairspray. Cut strips in the colours of the window frames of the school and paste them on your drawing. Hello, daydreamland!

The most beautiful fish in the sea

By children of 7-8 years old

You need:

1. white cardboard A1 size
2. tempera paint in blue, white and green
3. brushes
4. jar with water
5. salt
6. markers
7. picture of the rainbow fish
8. scissors
9. glue

The book 'Rainbow Fish' is translated in Dutch as 'The most beautiful fish in the sea'. That's why I called this lesson this way.

Ask two or three children to paint the background for this group project. In this project the backgrounds are painted by children of 12 years old. Paint one or two A1 sized sheets with diluted tempera paint in several colours blue and green. Sprinkle salt on it when the paint is still wet. Let dry. Staple the two sheets together.

Read or tell the story of the Rainbow Fish, written by Marcus Pfister. The story tells of a fish with shiny, multi-colored scales. He is always fond of his scales. But one day, a small fish asks him if he could have one. Rainbow Fish refuses in a very rude way. The other fish are really upset about his behaviour and don't want anymore to play with him. Feeling upset, his only friend left, the starfish, tells him to go visit the mysterious octopus for advice. Rainbow Fish finds the octopus and asks what he should do. The octopus tells him that he should share the beauty of his scales with his friends. When he encounters the small fish a second time, the Rainbow Fish gives him one of his precious scales. Seeing the joy of this little fish, Rainbow Fish feels immediately much better. Very soon Rainbow Fish is surrounded by other fish requesting scales and he gives to each of them one of his shiny scales.

Children get a copy of the Rainbow Fish; of course children can draw their own fishe too. After drawing scales in it, they have to colour their fish with markers. Tell them to leave one scale white: Rainbow Fish will give his scale, a beautiful glittered one.

Cut the fish. Paste all fishes on the blue painted cardboard.

Flowers in fingerpaint

You need:

1. tempera paint
2. saucers
3. white drawing sheet A2 size cut in three
4. coloured paper for background
5. green crepe paper
6. scissors
7. glue

Give all students a saucer with tempera paint in blue, yellow, red and white. Let them experiment with mixing colours with their fingers. Show them that if they mix to many colours together, they'll get aa kind of brown. Mix blue and yellow to show this makes green. Show them to make colours lighter using white. Children can practice this on a scratch sheet.

Every child gets a strip white drawing paper (A2 size, cut lengthwise in three parts). Fingerpaint your own flower. Realistic or not, it's all right. The only restriction: the stalk and leaves must be green. The flower should be as high as the sheet.

Cut the flower leaving a white edge from about 0,5 cm. Paste all flowers on a coloured background. Cut a strip of grass from crepe paper and paste this in front of the flowers.

Snowflakes

Made by Marije, 10 years

You need:

1. white drawing paper A3 size
2. oil pastels or crayons
3. watercolour paint
4. brushes
5. glitter
6. glue

Show photographs from enlarged snowflakes or (even better): let students see snowflakes with a magnifying glass or microscope. Discuss the hexagonal structure. The children draw a few snowflakes on their sheet with oil pastel crayons. The flakes don't have to be complete, parts of the flakes can be drawn along the edges.

After this, the sheet has to be painted with diluted watercolour paint in winter colours. The oil pastels will resist the paint. When the work is dry, sprinkle a little glitter in in small dots of glue.

Winter coat

You need:

1. pattern winter coat
2. fabrics
3. buttons, straps
4. needles
5. sewing thread
6. textile glue
7. cardboard

Pattern winter coat

Make a copy of the pattern, enlarge it if you want to and print it. Cut the coat out of paper. Fold the fabric and pin the pattern on the fabric with the middle of the pattern against the fold. Cut the coat out of the fabric. Avoid fraying and use a lock or sewing machine.

Time to decorate the coat by sewing pockets, sewing buttons, embroidery, etc. When finished, paste the coat on cardboard.

Hot air balloons

You need:

1. white drawing paper A4 size
2. markers
3. fineliner
4. watercolour paint
5. brushes
6. coloured paper for background
7. scissors and glue
8. yarn

Look at several photo's of hot air balloons and discuss what they look like: use of colour, shape, size, advertisements. Look at the baskets and discover that, when we look up in the air we' ll see the bottom of the baskets. We also note that hot air balloons look smaller when they're further away.
Students paint their white sheet light blue with watercolour paint, using lots of water. When the sheets are drying, balloons have to be drawn and coloured on another sheet: a big one, a midsize and one or two small ones. After this students have to draw some baskets, with silhouettes of people (use a black fineliner!). Cut the balloons and the baskets.
Paste the painted blue sheet on a background paper. Make a composition of the balloons with one or two overlaps. Use the frame too. Paste balloons and baskets, but do not paste the people. Just bow them a bit, as if they're looking over the edge of the baskets. Glue small pieces of yarn between balloons and baskets. Eventually clouds can be made out of cottonwool.
This is also a nice assignment for the whole class or a group of children.

Birthday calendar, like Wayne Thiebaud

You need:

1. white sheets A4 format
2. colour pencils

At the beginning of a schoolyear, our students make their own birthday calendar. This is a good reason to show and discuss some paintings from Wayne Thiebaud. Each child draws his own birthday cake, surrounded by his birthdate and first name. Arround this drawing they have to draw a frame as broad as the ruler and draw festive stuff like little cakes, lollipops, candy, little flags, presents etc.

Spring flowers

You need

1. white drawing paper
2. wasco crayons
3. tempera
4. brushes

Children draw spring flowers with black crayon. The whole sheet should be filled with flowers. Colour the flowers with tempera. Paint the background in a bright spring colour.

Printing with you hands

With your hands you can make beautiful prints. You need:

1. black tempera
2. glass plate
3. paint roller
4. sheets A4 size in different colours
5. glue and scissors

Put some black paint on a glass plate. Roll the paint well, till the glass is covered. Put your hand in the paint and press firmly. Put your black hand on a sheet of coloured paper and make a print. Make four prints on four different colour sheets. Maybe you have to make even more, because some of them won't succeed. Never mind, choose the best ones after printing! Cut your prints after drying with 1 cm extra around the paint. Stick all prints on different colour paper and you have a beautiful artwork in the style of Andy Warhol!

Newspaper city

By students from 10-11 years old

You need:

1. white drawing sheets A4 size
2. tempera paint
3. newspapers
4. scissors and glue
5. brushes
6. black paper for background

Paint a blue or grey blue sky on a white sheet with clouds in it. Use different colours of blue and grey. Cut some typical city center buildings in various forms out of newspaper. Paste them on a white sheet. In front of the high buildings we see smaller ones (overlap). Outline the buildings with black tempera paint. Paint windows and doors. Paint the sides black; think carefully about which side is really visible. Hang all artworks together to create a long street.

Spring bulbs

Spring bulbs, by students of grade 2

What spring bulbs do you know? Tulips, daffodils and hyacinths. Maybe you know more spring flowers?
 
You need:

1. spring bulbs or pictures of them
2. white drawing paper A4 size
3. crayons
4. wash bowl with water
5. liquid watercolour
6. brushes
7. newspapers
8. coloured paper for background

Draw big flowers and colour them with crayons on a white sheet. When the drawing is finished, place it in the wash bowl. Splash liquid watercolour on the drawing with a brush. The liquid watercolour will run off into the water. Move the sheet, so the colour can spread over the drawing. Because the crayonlines are fat, they will resist the liquid watercolour. Let the drawings dry on a newspaper. Paste the artwork on a coloured background.