Line Monsters

This is a super fun lesson for Kinder and PreKinder students on line, shape and color! We started by drawing out a bunch of different lines. Straight, curved, zig zag, cloud, castle, etc. Next, students took watercolor paint and filled in the sections between the lines. This was our first attempt at painting so students learned all the techniques and procedures for the first time! For the next class, we cut out the shape of our monsters and added arms and legs. The final class was spent learning how to change the eyes, mouths, and eyebrows to make the monsters have an emotion. The kids loved how these turned out and some even resemble the artists!!

Be a Rainbow!

Students in PreK and Kinder learned about the color wheel and Roy G. Biv to create these wonderful artworks to welcome spring! We began by looking at rainbows and comparing them to the color wheel. We noticed that the colors are in the same order- so when students used watercolors to paint they followed the wheel from red to violet. During the second class, students mixed black and white paint to create clouds and cut yellow paper to make a sun. This is a great lesson for teaching basic color relationships and also for younger students to practice cutting with scissors safely.

Graffiti Color Wheels

Color theory and mixing is vital for art students but can become very tedious and boring. This lesson was a fun and different way to teach color mixing and give students the chance to experiment with different lettering styles as well. We started with drawing out names in any chosen font- I gave my students the choice of bubble letters, block, graffiti or three-dimensional.Next, students divided the paper up into 12 sections. These 12 sections would include all 12 colors on the color wheel (primary, secondary and intermediates). They would have each color appear twice- once around as the letter and its complement as the background. This was a great lesson that got students to understand color theory but also put their own style and creativity into the lesson.

Personal Color Wheels

These color wheels were made by the artists in grades 7 and 8. We began by creating a design that showed radial symmetry. This design needed to contain 12 equal parts to show all the colors of the color wheel. Students needed to include the three primary colors (red, yellow and blue), the three secondary colors (orange, green and violet), and the six intermediate or tertiary colors. This gave students the opportunity to learn about color theory and relationships while gaining experience with mixing. Once completed, the students outlined their designs with black sharpie. 

Rainbow Self-Portraits

Montessori students in grades 1 through 3 created these vibrant and colorful self-portraits. We began by drawing a realistic portrait and coloring them with colored pencils. Students learned about Mondrian and the primary colors and created some Mondrian inspired umbrellas. To create the rainbow rain storm, students first learned the order of the color wheel. We then put drops of watercolor paint on the paper and blew them through a straw. This was a super fun lesson teaching portraiture and the many aspects of color!