This fun and engaging 1st grade art lesson connects directly to STEM concepts, foundational literacy, and a school community event (the 5th grade “Invention Convention”)!
This was a 2 day art lesson -2 (40 minute) art periods. On day 1, we talked about how the 5th graders created their own inventions with their classroom teachers, and had them on display for the whole school to check out. Students then shared their favorite inventions that they saw when visiting the invention convention.
So for the 5th grader Invention Convention, which is a yearly tradition, 1st graders went with their classroom teachers to visit the invention convention earlier that week. They walked around the gym where everything was set up and were given the opportunity to ask questions and hear how their inventions operated and why they were useful! A lot of my first graders had older siblings that took part in the schools invention convention event too. Parents and people in the community were able to see the inventions and talk to the 5th grade inventors one evening at the school as well!
Here are some of the 5th graders inventions below!
Then students were introduced to RubeGoldberg’s illustrations, and learned that Rube Goldberg lived from 1883 – 1970, and that he was an American cartoonist, engineer, and inventor who received the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for his political cartoons. Rube is best known for his cartoon drawings that depict “Rube Goldberg Machines”, contraptions that were deliberately over-engineered to perform (via a chain reaction) a very simple task in a very complicated way.
FUNFACT! The popular board game, “Mouse Trap”, was modeled after a “Rube Goldberg Machine”.
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They then watched this very silly and fun video by http://josephsmachines.com (which my students absolutely LOOVED!)
You should definitely watch this if you haven’t seen it yet. Also visit his YouTube channel for other fun videos!
I particularly liked this one below “what happens to your bags after drop off”
Then I showed students invention drawings (in my Google slides)by previous 1st graders for more inspiration.
Here are my screenshots of my Google slides with directions that I showed my students after.
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On day 2, students finished coloring in their inventions and then did a “turn and talk” with their peers, explaining what they created and how their invention worked.
Artwork by my first graders is below the learning goals for the lesson!
LearningGoals:
Students learn about the artist /engineer Rube Goldberg and can identify his artwork
Students can see connections between science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM)
Students can use creative problem solving skills, and visualize a unique invention
Students can translate abstract ideas into a 2D drawing, using lines, shapes and textures to represent functioning parts of their invention
Students can give their invention a unique name, and a written description encouraging creative ownership while creating art that connects with ELA
In connection with the 5th-grade event, students will practice explaining their drawing to peers, developing the “narrator” skills needed for future presentations
Students recognize the school-wide theme of “innovation” and see themselves as part of the same creative community as the older students
Students learn to use real-world events (like the 5th-grade convention) as a springboard for their own artistic exploration
the students artwork above wasn’t finished yet but I had to add it in!
Thanks so much for visiting my website today! I hope you enjoyed these 1st graders creative inventions and try it with your students soon!
Please be sure to check out my previous posts below
I created my FIRST EVER #shorts video!!! I think I messed up a teeny bit though and added #shorts to the actual video haha when I actually didn’t have to (whatevs…. Not a big deal!)
In my video, I first give an introduction on Wayne Thiebaud and talk about his artwork while showing a variety of his paintings with the titles of the art listed at the bottom, and share some fun facts kids will love! (2 minutes), then during the drawing I show how to hold a ruler correctly when drawing any straight lines—-how to use crayon to create a “barrier” or wall, to prevent watercolors from seeping into other wet sections, —and “wet-wet woops!”Something I came up with when wet paint next to wet paint merges together where you don’t want it to 🙂
Suitable for grades 3-5
******* More on this lesson below the hashtags**********
#WayneThiebaud
#mixedmedia
#watercolortutorial
#elementaryartlessons
#youtubetutorials
#art
#artlessons
#cake
#drawingcakes
#howtodrawacake
#cakelover
#artprojectsforkids
#Artlessonsforkids
#springtimeartlessons#elementaryart
Materials needed:
Good quality white drawing paper (I used 9×12” 80# paper)
Black fine point sharpie permanent marker
Crayons
Ruler
Watercolors
Puffy paint (or oil pastels) for the sprinkles
3 day lesson (40 minute art classes each)
Day 1:
Draw and sharpie cake (include frosting dripping over edge, wavy frosting on top around perimeter, strawberry (or other cake topping like chocolates, candles, or cherries), diagonally striped frosting on the inside, plate, table and 5 vertical stripes for rainbow inside the cake (if you want to include that part) *omit sharpie on those lines
Day 2:
Color strawberry with crayon
Color wavy frosting on top of cake with crayon
Draw a thick line of crayon at edge of frosting drips
Color in the diagonal stripe of inside frosting with crayon
Trace over vertical stripes inside cake (just tracing over lines) to create a “barrier” for paint, with crayons, pressing hard
Color in the plate with crayon
Add crayon tablecloth design / pattern on table
Paint the sides of cake (from drips down) not the inside slice taken out yet
Paint the top of cake and frosting drips
Day 3:
Paint the inside of cake (just be careful near the top and don’t use too much water on your brush) rainbow vertical stripes starting with red at outermost edge of cake going to purple in the center on both sides
Add puffy paint sprinkles on top of cake (or once the top is completely dry) or use oil pastels
LEARNING GOALS:
Students learn about the artist Wayne Thiebaud and can identify his work
Students understand how art and other disciplines, like math can be interdisciplinary and helps generate new ideas and supports creative thinking
Students utilize the elements of art: line, shape, form, space, texture and color to create a cake and can identify those elements in their work
Students can create, identify and define crayon wax resist techniques
*****NEW! I just added my step-by-step drawing guide (PDF) on how to draw the cake to my TpT store (4/15/26) for only $1.25
This handout would be great for any absent students on day 1 of the lesson. Also great for any early finishers on any given day! And useful to add to your sub binder!
I hope you enjoy my new video!!
I know in my last post “Springtime Art Lessons” I mentioned that I’d be creating a new video for 2nd grade “April Showers brings May Flowers” but I just really wanted to create this video first! I will still be creating that one though sometime very soon!
I’m also thinking about creating a YouTube tutorial on Georgia O’Keeffe inspired Enlarged flower drawings (oil pastel) — you can view them under my 4th grade Art Lessons page —-would you be interested in something like that? With a bit of Art history and talking about her art and life in the intro? Let me know your thoughts!
Please check out my new video when you can! Also be sure to check out my post below on “Springtime Art Lessons” —there’s a ton listed from grades K-5 as well as special education with links back to my original posts on many of them that have detailed step-by-step directions with lots of photos. I plan on making a permanent spot for all of those on a dedicated page under my main menu in the next day or so.
These lessons are listed in order by grade level from 5th grade to Kindergarten and then Special Education
All pictures shown are of my students artwork only (no teacher examples)
Almost any of these lessons could be used for the grade above or grade below as well!
I’ve included my links (where I could) that go directly to each post about that particular lesson, which include very detailed steps and step-by-step photos. This will make it much quicker and easier for you to find the directions for each springtime art lesson!
Please be sure to check out my drop down MENU to view all that I have to offer on my website (especially if you’re someone new to my site!) There’s lots to look at and I added NEW pages recently! —-one of which is titled “ OPEN HOUSE or P/T CONFERENCE NIGHT IDEA” —-
I’m planning on adding another new page within the next few weeks as well!
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with step-by-step photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 5th Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions with photos of students artwork
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 5th Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions with photos of students artwork.
This year I’m having my 4th graders, at one of my schools (the school where I have an art room ) make these for the Art Show coming up in May 2026! Instead of having them create the bubble wrap prints for either their vase or table, I’m having them “up-cycle” the art room messy mats! Honestly, the messy mats are their OWN work of art at this point!! I’m really REALLY excited about it!!! They will still create splatter paintings for either their vase or table too!
4TH GRADE
ENLARGED FLOWER DRAWINGS INSPIRED BY GEORGIA O’KEEFE
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 4th Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions with photos of students artwork. The 4th grade Art Lessons page has additional (different) photos of student artwork than the link too
COLLABORATIVE ENLARGED FLOWER DRAWING- Inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 4th Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions with photos of students artwork.
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 4th Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions with photos of students artwork.
RADIAL SYMMETRY PRINTMAKING
Rainbows are always happening in springtime! Plus it’s SOOOo colorful so I figured why not add this one to the springtime collection!
The detailed steps (and photos for EACH step) are under the lesson on my 4th Grade Art Lessons page already—so no need to add in a link or type anything in my search box!
Also, here is my YouTube tutorial on this lesson!
3RD GRADE
SUNSET SILHOUETTES
I could see creating silhouettes of grass and flowers (drawn large along the bottom up close/ low view point) with flying bumble bees or butterflies as a fun way to heighten the springtime feel for this one!
The sunset colors just has the vibes of warmer months so I wanted to include this fun lesson in the mix!
Please go to my 3rd Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork.
SUNFLOWERS INSPIRED BY VINCENT VAN GOGH
Please go to my 3rd Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork.
2ND GRADE
ABSTRACT SELF PORTRAITS!
There were 2 different times I posted about this lesson— so ergo— 2 links! The second link is where I had kids add neon oil pastels onto their painted backgrounds, and to their black + white photos if they wanted! 🙂
I wanted to include this lesson because #1 it’s awesome, and one of my favorites! And #2, it could easily have a springtime feel added to it!
I could definitely see having kids draw simple flower heads layered on top of their dried paintings (just swatches of paint with different colors as the background)— OR —have kids draw flower heads (just an outline) all over their paper with crayons or oil pastels pressing hard first, THEN paint over them with watercolors (creating a crayon wax-resist or oil pastel resist) before applying their photos and text! That would be a great springtime edition of this lesson! I would maybe just have kids draw the flower heads really large (as kids always tend to want to draw small) to make them fun and more noticeable. Just an idea!
You can download the sheet with questions that kids fill out for this lesson in my TpT store below!
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 2nd Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions (still with photos)!
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with step-by-step photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 2nd Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions (still with photos)!
HEREis my link to my TpT store to download the tracing template for the 3 petals (large, medium and small) for this lesson
My YouTube video tutorial on this lesson is below!
Please click on the 2 links above to go directly to my original posts to view detailed steps with step-by-step photos on this lesson! There is a link to get a free bunny template through the first post as well! Or you can go onto my 2nd Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions (still with some photos)!
$2.99 DOWNLOADABLE PDF BEAR CUB TEMPLATE ON MY TpT PAGE HERE
MONET INSPIRED BRIDGE PAINTINGS
Please go to my 2nd Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see photos of students artwork.
Below is a YouTube link to show your students a video about Monet, which I love! It’s narrated by a cute 8 year old girl and she has the sweetest voice! My students LOVED watching it!
Please go to my 2nd Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork.
APRIL SHOWERS BRINGS MAY FLOWERS
Please go to my 2nd Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
I’m going to create a YouTube tutorial on this lesson soon too!
I will also be adding my umbrella PDF template to my TpT store so you can download and print one to copy and use in your classrooms! I will update this post once that’s all set and add it to my 2nd grade page as well.
1ST GRADE
HOT AIR BALLOON COLLAGE
This lesson is too cute to not add in the mix! And let’s be honest —it is “springtime-esque”— I know I’d prefer riding in one of these in warmer temps! Plus I love how sweet they are (I have been told by many parents how much they love them and what a keepsake they are 💞and students loved making them!)
Please go to my 1st Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with step-by-step photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 1st Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions (still with photos- just not as detailed)
TANGLEBIRDCOLLAGE
Please go to my 1st Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
My students LOOVE this lesson! It’s so bright and colorful for a springtime display and kids learn how to create an amazing sculpture just out of simple construction paper!
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to view detailed steps with step-by-step photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my 1st Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the condensed directions (still with photos- just not as detailed)
SUNFLOWER DRAWING INSPIRED BY VINCENT VAN GOGH
Please go to my 1st Grade Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
KINDERGARTEN
BUGS IN A JAR
Please go to my Kindergarten Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
LITTLE CLOUD
Please go to my Kindergarten Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
BIRDS ON A WIRE
Please go to my Kindergarten Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
SELF-PORTRAITS WITH RAINBOW LINES
How adorable are these self-portraits??! I love the contrast too!
Please go to my Kindergarten Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
MIXED-MEDIA BRIDGES INSPIRED BY CLAUDE MONET
Please go to my Kindergarten Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork! This one is also listed under my Special Education page.
APRIL SHOWERS
Please go to my Kindergarten Art Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork! This one is also listed under my Special Education page.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
Any of the following art lessons can be taught to Kindergarten or 1st grade as well!
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to read how we made these with step-by-step photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the directions there
MIXED-MEDIA HANDS HOLDING FLOWERS
Please go to my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to read how we made these with step-by-step photos on this lesson. Or you can go onto my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the directions
SHAVING CREAM MARBLED PRINTS
Please go to my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
MIXED-MEDIA CLAY BUTTERFLIES
Please go to my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
FLOATING CHALK PRINTS
Please go to my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork! This lesson would be great to create textured papers to collage with!
MIXED-MEDIA RAINBOW COLLAGES
Please go to my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
CLAY BIRDS IN NESTS
Please go to my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
SYMMETRICAL BUTTERFLIES
Please go to my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork! Similar to the butterflies above but we used liquid tempera paint for the butterfly for this one!
LADYBUGS
Please go to my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the lesson, read how we made them and see additional photos of students artwork!
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to read how we made these and view the photo of the lesson. Or you can go onto my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the directions there
Please click on the link above to go directly to my original post to read detailed directions on how we made these and view the steps with photos of the lesson! Or you can go onto my Special Education Lessons page and scroll down to view the directions there!
Also, Just for fun — check out this old stop motion animation I made with my 5th graders WAAAAY back in 2012 when I was student teaching! There are 3 short animations total —back-to-back—with a pause in between. They made the music with the music teacher for this video! So cool! These kiddos are now 24 years old?!?! Yikes?!!
Be sure to check out my other recent posts below on:
Winter Northern Lights!
Blackout Poetry
Winter Cardinals
Thank you so much for visiting my website today! I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and will bookmark it for future reference to come back to these art lessons. Please consider subscribing below if you haven’t already ❤️ You’ll receive an email notification each time I post something new!
I will be posting something NEW (never before posted! ) art lesson here very very soon! 😀
P.S. —Have you checked out all my site has to offer? Click on the MENU on my home page and see if anything else suits your fancy 😉
There’s lots to look at and I added NEW pages recently! —-one of which is titled “ OPEN HOUSE or P/T CONFERENCE NIGHT IDEA” —-
I’m planning on adding another new page within the next few weeks as well!
First, I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all of my subscribers—thank you so much for following along my art room (well…art cart) adventures!
I love sharing all the beautiful creations that my students make and steps for the lessons. I hope that my website is a great resource to all Art educators, K-5 classroom educators, parents, students, and aspiring art teachers alike! And well… anyone really!!
I created this website in late 2014 and it’s been steadily growing ever since. I’ve recently gained over 100 NEW subscribers in just this past month alone- that’s pretty big for me! So, THANK YOU!! (I hope that doesn’t come across as sounding boastful— that’s not me— I just wanted to share my happiness about it and express my gratitude! Art teaching is my passion, and I love sharing what I love to do!
Here are some of my 5th Graders amazing #blackoutpoetry
Many of these are still works in progress, but we are finishing up this lesson this week. I just couldn’t wait to share what they’ve created so far! I hope you enjoy! Steps and directions (with screenshots) that I show my students from my Google slides are below the artwork as well.
”We are always in the process of becoming new
Our minds are exercising “
”I can make a difference”
”Major colors can be taken further into a mound of textures”
“He is over there
She is sitting over there
They now come together”
This student wanted to do a Haiku and found almost all the letters she needed for what she wanted it to say. We used a teeny tiny bit of whiteout to add in one or two letters for it to work. I love her dedication and perseverance to create this. Look at how many letters she had to find?! It’s so simple but so beautiful!
”In the dark, there is light”
“A special space large enough for me to dream
It was something special for me
Just for me”
”Explore life
Make purpose”
”Hope
or opportunity “
”Images create the world
Making images express us and life”
”She is telling
I’m thinking
It’s time to get outside and live out there for as long as you can. I’m out in the backyard with the rest of you”
”Without response. Sinking. Fast and gone. Flooded. Shattered”
”Deep in
More vivid imaginations
Will arise”
”We
can’t
control the
universe”
”She copied the wisdom of a higher grade to be big”
”A human means
to touch, explore, and
create the world”
”I dream unique
fascination
I become something special
A new part of history”
Somehow I always manage to screw up the spacing whenever I hang up artwork?!!?Anyone else have this issue?? ? Hahah—-I like the letters punched out that way though! I used one of those old school / hand crank gizmo’s -called a “Cricut cuttlebug” to cut the white paper to create the letters for the board. The bulletin board is black underneath.
These are the my Google slides I show my 5th graders students throughout the process of the lesson—-This is one of my teacher examples below on the LEFT (in the box) and in the following picture BELOW as well.
Screenshot
These are some slides showing some examples of Austin Kleon’s blackout poetry taken from his Instagram account
And these are slides I show my students with previous 5th graders artwork and poems to give them some more inspiration. This was when I taught the lesson using only black sharpie to illustrate their poems (maybe about 10 years ago???!)
This was a 4 day lesson (taking 4- 40 minute art classes)
I thought originally it’d probably take 3 art classes, but then realized on day 3 that students needed a day 4 and I wanted to make sure I gave them the time to finish. I have always loved incorporating writing with art lessons and I was excited to try this one again after so many years. I honestly am not sure why I stopped for awhile? Im glad I did though! Sometimes I think it’s something inside me nudging me to start writing myself.
Day 1: I showed them the slides above, explaining what blackout poetry is, and telling them about Austin Kleon’s work, and showed them his examples. I also showed them a few examples that I created and then showed them my previous 5th graders examples with their artwork too.
Then I explained how I photocopied a bunch of random pages from books that I had at home, a few books from the school library, as well as an article from a food magazine I had laying around. I randomly selected 3 pages out of the bunch and paper clipped 3 random pages together x30 per class.
I explained to students to look through each page and without reading the entire page, just look for words that jump out at them. Then to choose one page, and start selecting words with their pencil, making sure the words read like a book – from left to right- top to bottom— by drawing large rectangles around each word they wanted to include in their poem.
Once all words were selected in pencil, they traced over all their rectangles around each word with a super fine point sharpie marker.
Then they wrote their entire “found poem” out along the bottom of their paper in pencil. Then placed a sheet of printer paper under their poem paper (to protect their desks) and used a bigger “Fine point” sharpie marker to start blacking out all the other words they didn’t need in their final poem.
After that, on DAY 2–students started to draw a picture on 9×12” 80# paper with pencil that somehow connected to their poems. I explained that they could draw something very abstract (just focusing on lines, shapes and colors) to capture the feeling their poems represented or something more literal. They had a choice of what to color with —either markers, chalk pastels, colored pencils, or crayons.
Learning Goals:
Students can see how art and other disciplines, like English Language Arts can be interdisciplinary and helps generate new ideas and supports creative thinking
Students learn about the artist/writer Austin Kleon and his blackout poetry
Students develop a blend of critical reading, creative writing, and visual art skills
Students can create images that directly support, mirror, or enhance the meaning of their chosen poem
Students explore creative expression, using art to emphasize their found poem to create a personal, artistic piece
Students can reflect on how their chosen words and images express their own thoughts, feelings, or interpretations
Here are some photos of students creating both their poems and artwork!
I’ll be updating this blog post when students are finished with their artwork very soon! I’m also going to post this under the “5th grade art lessons” page soon at the bottom, where it’ll permanently live.
I’ll ALSO be posting a collection of my SPRINGTIME ART LESSONS within the next couple of days as well FYI – so please be on the lookout out for that!
Also— haha— yep, moooore also’s…. Have you checked out all my site has to offer? Click on the MENU on my home page and see if anything else suits your fancy 😉 I added a NEW PAGE under my menu called “OPEN HOUSE or P/T CONFERENCE NIGHT IDEA” – be sure to check that out!
I’ll be posting SPRINGTIME ART LESSONS sometime this week ( as well as some other new fun art lessons that I haven’t posted before!)
This will be my last winter art post for the season (Woo-Hoo! that’s a good thing!) Spring is just around the corner -thank god!! I’ll be posting a collection of “Springtime Art lessons” in a few days—so be on the look out for that! But in the meantime, I wanted to share some cardinals that recently wrapped up last week, and some fun superhero masks by my 2nd graders! —-I also have 4 NEW PDF hand drawn mask templates you can download and print out now in my TpT store too (more on that below).
One out of my (5) 4th grade classes finished painting their cardinals…the rest will finish up this coming week, and I’ll add more here after (as well as within the “4th grade art lessons” page).
This lesson took (4) 40 minute art classes to complete.
DAY1: I demonstrated under the doc camera how to draw the cardinals on a sheet of 9×12” 80# white drawing paper. Students drew along with me as I drew starting with the cardinal, then the branch and snow, and then the tail feathers. Once all of that was drawn, students added texture on the branch and then went over all their lines in sharpie.
DAY2:
On day 2, I showed students how to color in their bird, branch and snow. We used colored pencils to color in, and I explained to press down hard while coloring in their bird red to make the color pop. For coloring in around the eye, I explained to press a little lighter, so the black wouldn’t completely blend in with the detail of the eye. They colored the beak orange, feet black, and branch with colored pencils and then added just a little bit of blue along the bottom of their snow along the branch. I explained to press hard with a blue colored pencil right where the snow meets the branch, and then gradually get lighter and lighter as you move up the snow, only to about 1/2 way. For some reason it’s not really showing in the photo in the artwork above.
DAY3: On day 3, I demonstrated how to add shading using a black colored pencil within the bird, making sure to press harder along the edges and gradually pressing lighter and lighter, as it moves away from the edges. I also explained it’s important to overlap your lines as you do that step.
Then we outlined the bird, branch and snow with a black crayon (while pressing down hard). Doing this step helps create a barrier so that the watercolor paint won’t seep into those areas. Having pointier crayon tips (or sharpening them beforehand with a crayon sharpener) is helpful for this step as well. Then we added some snow falling using a white crayon —making sure to press really hard as well. I reminded students even though you can’t see white on white paper – sometimes the way you hold your paper (if you tilt it just right) you can see the shiny parts from where you drew snow from the wax of the crayon on your paper. We talked about how this eventually would create a crayon-wax resist technique, (watercolors and wax don’t mix, and the paint won’t cover up the areas where you draw with crayon) when we paint the sky blue in the following art class.
DAY4: Students used turquoise liquid watercolors (that was watered down a little) to paint their sky, revealing their snowflakes on the final day of the lesson. I like using Sax brand liquid watercolors for this lesson.
LEARNINGGOALS:
Students can create, identify and define a crayon wax-resist painting technique
Students can create value changes in their bird with shading
Students can define the element of art “value”
Students can create, identify and define texture within their artwork
I’ll add more student artwork here later this week once they’ve finished!
2ndGradeSuperheroMasks
Link to my TpT store to download a PDF of 4 different hand drawn masks is below – $3.99 for all 4 masks
This was a super fun one day lesson!! (40 minute class) *Some classes needed a day 2 to complete
I drew four different mask shapes, each on a sheet of 9 x 12” super heavy weight tag board paper and then ran each one through the copy machine. I recommend printing these out on “super heavyweight tagboard” (or thick cardstock)
Students could design their mask anyway they wanted with pencil first and then colored in with markers, crayons or colored pencils. Once finished they cut out their mask and then folded a little bit where the eyes were and then cut a tiny slice so they could get their scissors inside and then cut out the eyes.
Some students even decided to draw above the mask line to add other details as seen in the photos above like rabbit ears and additional details above their mask design. They were extremely creative!
To fit their mask to their face I had straps that I cut from the same super heavy weight tag board paper into 9“ x 2“ strips. Each mask got 2 strips. I helped them staple each strip end to each side of their mask first, then put the mask against their face to measure out where the straps should meet/ overlap and then stapled at that area, so it would fit snug on their head, but be able to come off easily at the same time.
Students LOOVED this fun and engaging lesson and wore them immediately after they were finished being sized. I had students asking me in the hall “Are we making masks tomorrow in Art?!!” They heard from their friends that’s what they did in art and were SO excited to make one too!
This lesson coincided with reading the book “Almost Super” within their classroom, at one of my schools.
After students finish their masks, you could have students draw their own superheroes too, or have them write about what their superhero name would be, what powers they have, what greater good are they fighting for, where does their superhero live etc. to connect to literacy!
LEARNING GOALS
Students continue to enhance their cutting skills
Students can use a variety of line, shape, color, texture, and pattern to design their own unique mask
Students understand that art can connect/ relate with other subjects
Link to my TpT store to download a PDF of 4 different hand drawn masks is below – $3.99 for all 4 masks
——-Next, I’ll be adding a new blog post on a collection of various springtime art lessons, as well as 5th graders “Blackout Poetry” with their blackout poetry artwork!
——I also just added more photos to my “about me /Q+A” page (under my drop down menu on the main page at the top) and a funny little story (that I just remembered) involving making music video’s with a cam corder, when I was a teenager from back in the 90’s
——Would you be interested in a YouTube video that shows how to create my “April Showers brings May Flowers” 2nd grade art lesson below? If so, please let me know by replying “YES” in the form below! I can post my hand drawn umbrella PDF template on TpT for FREE to use for the lesson too!
Also— please let me know any other art video tutorial you’d like me to make! You can fill out the form below. The forms will not get published by the way— it’s for my eyes only. I’d love to hear from you -Thank you!
****UPDATE: Unfortunately I had to delete the forms because I’ve been getting hit with 100’s of responses a day from somebody (cyber bully??) who is only submitting random responses (basically spamming / blog spam/ web bot)
And last but not least—if you’d like to check out my art lessons on Instagram—follow along on my Instagram account at @mammalovespeaches
Thank you so much for visiting my website today!❤️ Hope you’re having a great weekend (or weekday, depending on when you’re reading this 🙂
This is aNEW art lesson that I created on 12/17/25. I’m SO excited on how these turned out! This is definitely a keeper in my curriculum and kids really loved creating them!! Such a fun process and I’m very proud of my students work (as they are too!)
The only materials needed are 12 x18” black paper ( I like to use Sax brand “Black Colored Art Paper” because of how saturated the color it is, and doesn’t have spotting or inconsistencies within the paper), 6” x 18” black paper, 12 x18” white paper, colored chalk pastels, white chalk pastel, scissors, a glue stick, a toothbrush, a plate for the paint, and white tempera paint.
I knew I wanted to create a fun landscape using chalk pastels for a winter art lesson and kept playing around with ideas in my head for a few days, then started experimenting at school. I really love how the northern lights came out and how the snowy trees pop against the black and all that vibrant color!
This lesson takes (4) 40 minute art classes to complete. This winter lesson can be created throughout ANY of the winter months! December-January-February….March even! (If you live in New England, March is like the loooongest cold month (besides January of course haha!)
Day 1: Create the Northern Lights
On a sheet of 12×18” white drawing paper, draw 5 random wavy lines across the paper with pencil to create a template for the northern lights. Make sure no lines are overlapping.
Then cut along that first top line and toss that first top section away in the recycling.
Then place the remaining paper (template) on top of the 12×18” black paper, lining up both papers. Then using various colored chalk pastels, draw right on the edge of the white paper -AND- on the black paper, going back and forth to create a thick line and to create a lot of chalk dust. Use a variety of colors and switch colors as you move along the edge of the white paper. Overlap colors where they meet as well. Then once the entire edge is colored, use your finger to smudge upwards from the white paper onto the black paper. (I did try to use a different finger as colors changed here and there, but even if I didn’t and they blended a little, it was completely fine. I guess that really just depends on what effect you’re going for color-wise and what colors you choose.)
Blow on your paper to get rid of any residual chalk dust. Then cut along the second line, toss the top section out, line the two papers up again and apply the chalk along the papers edge in the same way as mentioned above, then smudge upwards. Repeat these steps until it fills the black paper (see photos BELOW). Then use your finger to smudge the bottoms of each line of color created, to soften the lines and blur them out a little bit.
***TIP***To get rid of any smudges / finger prints afterwards, wipe your fingers on a damp paper towel with water (or use a baby wipe) lightly rub your fingers together for a second or two to get rid of excess moisture, then use your slightly dampened (juuuust barely!) finger to wipe away any smudges you don’t want—— that trick really works great!
DAY2: Add the stars/snow
On day 2, finish creating the northern lights with colored chalk if needed. (Not a lot, but some of my students needed to finish). Then dip a toothbrush into white tempera paint on a plate, (I use Crayola Tempera Premier), not too much! And rub your finger along the toothbrush bristles to help spread it evenly. Then flick all over the black paper with northern lights creating stars in the night sky (– or snow falling, depending on how you see it). Once complete, set aside artwork in the drying rack to dry.
DAY3: Create the trees
On day 3, students each receive a sheet of black paper cut to 6” x 18”. Using white chalk pastel (no pencil sketching first) create trees by drawing an upside down “v” first for the top of the tree along the left side of your paper (forming each tree LEFT to RIGHT as you draw them).
Then draw lines goingupanddownonly (overlapping the lines as you draw and leaving a jagged edge along the bottom).
Leave some black paper showing in between the next series of tree branches.
Then move onto your next tree. Create trees that are close together (they can actually overlap too) with varying heights all across the paper.
Also blow on the paper after each section of branches are complete to get rid of any residual chalk dust.
DAY 4: Cut out trees and glue on
Finish creating trees if needed. Once complete, cut out the trees as one piece (keeping them all attached near the bottom) but leave a small bit of black paper showing all around each tree as you cut. About a 1/2” all around trees.
Then flip over carefully and glue the back all over with a glue stick (making sure to cover the entire backside, especially the edges).
Then place along the bottom of the black northern lights paper lining the edges up before placing down. Make sure the paper is facing the right way first—-so that the northern lights are trailing UP not down. Press along the very bottom only—where there aren’t any trees—to attach, and then use another CLEAN sheet of 12×18” white paper to then lay on top of the whole thing (sort of roll it on over the trees) and press where the trees are to help reduce any smudging of the trees while gluing into place.
***TIP***To get rid of any smudges / finger prints afterwards, wipe your fingers on a damp paper towel with water (or use a baby wipe) lightly rub your fingers together for a second or two to get rid of excess moisture, then use your slightly dampened (juuuust barely!) finger to wipe away any smudges you don’t want—— again, that trick really works great!
LEARNING GOALS:
Students can create a sense of space within their art, when creating the size and placement of their trees
Students can see how art and other disciplines, like science, can be interdisciplinary and helps generate new ideas and supports creative thinking
Students can demonstrate an understanding on how to blend colors, create texture, and show value changes using chalk pastels
Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed reading this post and try it out with your class at school or at home with your own kids! Please tag me and refer back to this website if you are sharing your creations on any social media, thank you!
I’ll be posting a NEW art lesson for 5th grade very soon! If you haven’t already— please consider subscribing to this site below! Thank you ❤️
And to all you teachers out there reading this, I hope you have a great rest of your February break!!! Enjoy!
Many of these lessons are only a 2 day Art project (40 min. each)! These lessons are versatile and can be taught to multiple grade levels (for example for K/1, 1/2, 2/3 or 4/5
Chris Uphues inspired Hearts – 1st Grade
Artwork inspired by artist Chris Uphues. The above images are my teacher examples. This is a new lesson this year that I’m doing, (lesson inspo from art teacher Cassie Stephens). Students are currently working on this and I’ll be adding this lesson with directions and photos of students finished artwork on the page “1st grade art lessons” once complete
Super simple 2 day lesson, using markers to outline the inside of each heart after sharpie, then applying water with a paintbrush to turn the marker into “paint” to fill in the hearts! Then add confetti all around with watercolors!
2. HandHoldingFlowers – Special Ed. (This lesson would be great for Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd Grade too!)
To learn more on how we made these, click on “Special Education” under the drop down menu and scroll down!
3. Mixed-Media Hearts – Special Ed. (This lesson would be great for Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd Grade too!)
I love how these come out! So colorful and I love the mix of materials. It’s also an easy 2 day lesson you can squeeze in before Valentine’s Day!
To learn more on how we created these Mixed-Media Hearts, click on Special Education from my drop down menu and scroll down
4. RainbowHeartCards – Special Education
This lesson uses model magic and a little white paint. Kids dip one finger in the paint to print little hearts on the background. Easy lesson that would be great for Kindergarten as well! To learn more, click on Special Education under the drop down menu and scroll down!
5. LoveisintheAir – 1st Grade (I’m teaching this to my Kindergarten students this year. This could easily be for K, 1, or 2!)
To learn how we created these go to 1st Grade Art Lessons under the drop down menu and scroll down. I also have the (PDF) plane template in my TpT store to print out! Link available under that lesson
6. LoveMonsters– 2nd Grade
This could be a great lesson for K-3! To learn how we created them, click on 2nd Grade Art Lessons under the drop down menu, and scroll down
7. 3DHearts – 3rd Grade
This is a Fun 2 day art lesson that you can do before V Day as well! To learn how we made these 3D hearts click on 3rd Grade Art Lessons and scroll down
8. BoxofChocolates– 4th Grade (This can be for grades 3-5)
Kids love scratch art- and with this lesson students make their own scratch art with oil pastels and crayon! Painting the background would be fun too! To learn more about this lesson, click on 4th Grade Art Lessons and scroll down!
9. ALoveYourselfLesson – 5th Grade
Valentine’s Day is all about love- so why not show some love for yourself!
This 5th grade lesson could easily work with 4th grade as well. Below is a double sided sheet of “I Am” statements I made to use with this lesson. You can find this in my TpT store to print out for your class too! Link under the lesson in 5th grade art lessons
To learn more about this lesson and see more student artwork, click on 5th Grade Art Lessons under the drop down menu and scroll down
10. Mixed–MediaBouquetofFlowers – 5th Grade
Because why not include this as a V-day project? Flowers and Valentine’s Day go hand-in -hand! ***suggestion*** maybe students can design their vase with hearts / reds and pinks! Or maybe the clay flower heads are heart shaped with petals coming out from the hearts! ❤️🩷❤️ It would also be a great lesson for Mother’s Day!!
To learn more on how we made these Mixed-Media Bouquet of Flowers, click on 5th Grade Art Lessons and scroll down
11. EnlargedFlowerDrawings – 4th Grade
Mayyyyyybee not the most “Valentine’s Day-ish” ——but again….flowers! Plus students love this one, (and it’s one of my favorites too)!
Students created these beautiful close up flower drawings using oil pastels. This lesson is inspired by artist Georgia O’Keefe
To learn more and see additional artwork by my 4th graders, click on 4th Grade Art Lessons and scroll down.
I’m currently toying around with the idea of doing lessons 10 + 11 for my schools upcoming 4th grade “Spring Student Celebration ” this May.
4th grade gets the spotlight for this and specialists put together a night of : art on display, music performances, fun physical ed. games and activities, and library/media for parents and students.
So I’m thinking one school will do the “mixed-media bouquet of flowers” and one school will do the “enlarged flower drawings”.
I’m thinking of using my “well loved” 12 year old messy mats (that are 18”x24”) as an option for cut paper for the textured table or vase instead of just splatter painting or bubble wrap printing. Wouldn’t that look SO amazing!? I guess you’d have to see my messy mats first — but I think they are pretty spectacular all on their own. So many layers of colors, mark making, and texture!!
I’d do this lesson with only ONE of my two schools I teach at though.
At one school I’m on a cart teaching art, and at my second school I have an actual art room.
So being on a cart, and having (4!) 4th grade classes, low storage space for all the clay flowers, and not having enough messy mats really makes it problematic to make happen.
So limiting that lesson to just one 4th grade class (26 students) at my other school, where I have an art room, makes much more sense (ease of paint distribution, storing clay flowers, and enough messy mats for each student to collage into their artwork).
Plus it’ll be awesome to showcase 2 different flower lessons on display, instead of just one!
Still trying to figure this out though…..whatareyourthoughts? Do you think it’s a good idea? Or would my other 4th graders be jealous they didn’t do the lesson with the clay flowers? ALL 4th grade artwork would be on display together at just one school, so families and students will see them both on display in the same space. Drop me a line and let me know what you think in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
Alsoooooo…..Be sure to check out my winter art lessons post for some ideas if you haven’t seen it yet (type in “Winter Art Lessons” in my search page ) because sadly ….it IS still winter. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for spring! Or at LEAST some warmer temps!! It’s been in the single digits here lately! (My favorite is 80 or higher!)
Please also check out my new “WinterNorthernLights” lesson under 5th grade art lessons! (It’s the first lesson you’ll see on that page at the top). I have a YouTube video for that lesson posted there too. It’s one of my favorite videos I’ve ever made, and actually definitely one of my top favorite art lessons I’ve ever taught!
Check out my page “Teachingart fromaCart ” (under my drop down menu on the main page) if any of you art teachers out there reading this are curious to see what the heck I wrote… or someone who hasn’t read it yet just cuz’…. OR are losing their art room next year??!!? …. OR are going into the profession soon! Lots of OR’s there haha, but lots of info on that page that could be helpful!
And to cap off this post—( well not quite) — I’d like to share a few super cute NEWLY finished “catching snowflakes portraits” by my 2nd grade students! You can view more and learn more about this oil pastel drawing lesson under “2nd grade art lessons” under the main menu. I am actually doing this lesson currently with my 2nd AND 3rd graders this year. As you can see below, adding braces was very popular with these kiddos! I’ll be posting more of these once all finished in the next week or so
Since it’s almost Valentines Day and I love a good rom-com here are 4 rom com’s I highly recommend (if you’re someone like me who’s into a good rom-com). How many times can I say rom-com?
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021) on Prime
Timer (2009) (Tribeca Festival Premiere) on Prime
Love Across Time (2024) on Prime
Love at First Sight (2023) on Netflix
Thank you for visiting my website today! ❤️ I’m also @mammalovespeaches on Instagram in case you wanted to check that out and follow along there too ❤️
First I want to say hello to all my new subscribers 🙂
89 NEW subscribers in the past month! WOW! A BIG thank you and welcome!!
Below is a collection of newly finished winter artwork!
Kindergarten- SnowyOwlCollages
Such a fun lesson that my students really enjoyed! To learn more about these Snowy Owl Collages click on Kindergarten Art Lessons under the main menu and scroll down. These are actually at the top of that page! Detailed lesson directions, photos of steps along the way, and learning goals are posted!
1st Grade – Mixed-Media Snow Globes
To view more Mixed-Media Snow Globes and read how we made them along with step-by-step photos, and learning goals, click on 1st Grade Art Lessons under the main menu and scroll down
2nd Grade – WinterBearsInSweaters
To view detailed directions, with more photos of student artwork and see the learning goals for this lesson, click on “2nd Grade Art Lessons” under the main menu and scroll down!
3rd Grade – Polar Bears
This is a fun 3 (40 minute) art lesson that has been a huge hit year after year! Black oil pastel, liquid watercolors, and salt
I hope you enjoyed looking at my latest K-3 students artwork! I’ll be making a new post on 8 Valentine’s Day lessons later this week!
Also my 4th graders are currently working on drawing Victorian houses (Victorian Architecture) and 5th are working on “Winter Northern Lights” and I will post photos of students finished artwork here as soon as they finish (which is VERY soon!)
If you haven’t seen it yet, please also check out my previous post below on 5th grade “winter northern lights” which also has my YouTube video! My detailed instructions with step-by-step photos and learning goals are posted under “5th Grade Art Lessons” as well!
I just finished making a new YouTube tutorial on this lesson I created! I can’t wait to start teaching this lesson to my 5th graders soon after winter break! Thank you to all of you for your support and interest (in a previous post I added a poll and asked if anyone would like to see a video on this, and got a tremendous amount of Yes’s!) I appreciate you all so much! I hope you enjoy this video and will use it in your classrooms or at home with your children
I hope you all enjoy the rest of your winter break and have a smooth transition back to teaching (I can’t believe break is almost over?!?!)
This is such a fun and cute winter art lesson that not only engages young artists while learning new art terms (collage, texture, overlapping etc.) but also allows for an opportunity where young learners can feel successful with their art skills early on and helps build fine motor control!
One out of my 4 kindergarten classes finished their snowy owls just before winter break, so I’m sharing a small sample that I was able to capture before leaving school! I thought I got more photos of their finished artwork, but I know I was rushing to get out the door haha, so I’ll have to take more after I return and add more photos then! They did a great job creating these though didn’t they?! I’m very proud of my students hard work with this lesson! This took 4 (40 minute) art classes to complete and there was a lot of tearing that was required for the owls body. My students really enjoyed the process though and I’ve added the steps with photos as well as the learning goals of the lesson below!
DAY1
Students each received a 12×18” sheet of black (Sax brand) paper which had an outline of an owl and a branch drawn with a white colored pencil (I did this step ahead of time).
Students each received a small sheet of brown construction paper to tear for the branch first. I showed them to tear longer strips that would fit inside their branches, and to glue the back of the brown paper using a glue stick and press with the flat of their hand for about 5 seconds after in place. For any smaller branches where they needed to add brown paper they tore smaller sections (making a triangular tear or point with their hands).
Once the branch is filled (and btw, they glue the brown paper right over the owls toes as well) they start tearing white (80# drawing paper) into small pieces (I show them to tear the white to about the size of a quarter or a bit larger) and as soon as they tear one piece to glue the back and press down somewhere along the wing or head to start. I also told them not to glue the black paper, but to make sure to glue the torn paper. This way they’ll make sure each piece of torn paper has enough glue so they stay down. We also talked about what overlapping means, and I demonstrated how to overlap the white pieces as they glued.
DAY2
Students continued tearing the white paper and adding the pieces to the owls body until it was filled in completely. Then I showed them how to tear 3 small pieces for each toe on each foot over the brown branch.
If students finished early, they then added more texture to their collage by drawing lines within their branch using two different shades of brown with crayon.
DAY3
Students continued finishing their white pieces, adding the owls toes, and then traced 2 circles on yellow construction paper with pencil for the owls eyes, using these cardboard circles that I had (I’m not sure where I got these? But they came in handy for this lesson!) Students cut each one out, glued them on the owls head, and then glued on the pupils and beak. I used a regular hole puncher for the black pupils and handed them out in containers as well as cut black triangles for their beaks.
Also kindergartners added the texture for the bark on the branch with brown crayons at this point, if they hadn’t yet.
This little cutie had some fun with lipstick out at recess before art class!
DAY4
This was my students FAVORITE day of the lesson because they got to use paint!! I demonstrated how to paint on some snow on top of the branch first, using liquid tempera paint (I use Crayola “Premier”) and then showed then how to flick snowflakes all around using a toothbrush! Kids LOVED that part especially! Kids shared the paint on paper plates at tables.
Zoom in on the girl in the background below!! She definitely needed a few wet wipes to clean her face afterwards Haha!
Since it was the last day of the lesson, if students had some “bald” spots within their owl, I told them to fill those areas in with white paint using their paintbrush, which worked out great. Another student ( further below ) decided to do a little “finger painting” to add in some snow flakes haha!
My teacher example below, and then some students finished artwork!
LEARNINGGOALS:
Continue to strengthen fine motor skills (tearing, gluing, cutting, drawing)
Can create a collage using torn pieces of paper, and define what a collage is
Can define texture and show texture within their artwork
Can define overlapping and show this in their artwork
Connection to science/ Learn about owls
Please also check out my most recent blog posts by copying and pasting the title below in my search bar below to go directly to that blog post!
Winter Northern Lights
Mixed-Media Snow Globes
Winter Art Lessons
1 Point Perspective Cityscapes
Thank you so much for visiting my website today! I’ll be posting more within the next day or two and I’m going to work on creating a NEW YouTube tutorial on Winter Northern Lights as well, so be on the look out for that soon!
