springtime art projects – Art with Mrs Filmore

Springtime Art Lessons

March 26, 2026 No Comments

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!

Ok, here’s my list of Springtime Art Lessons!!

5TH GRADE

MIXED MEDIA BIRDS NESTS!

MIXED MEDIA BIRD NESTS- 5TH GRADE!

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

MIXED-MEDIA BOUQUET OF FLOWERS

5th Grade- Mixed-Media Bouquet of Flowers

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

4th Grade Enlarged Flowers and 5th Grade Falling For Foreshortening

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

4th Grade -COLLABORATIVE FLOWER DRAWING!

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.

DANDELION PUFFS

Dandelion Puffs – 4th Grade

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! 🙂

ABSTRACT SELF-PORTRAITS -2nd Grade

2ND GRADE ABSTRACT SELF-PORTRAITS!

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!

TpT store link https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/art-with-mrs-filmore

BIRCH TREE LANDSCAPES

Birch Tree Landscapes- 2nd Grade

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)!

Here is my link to my TpT store to get the woodland creatures step-by-step drawing packet for this lesson Woodland Creatures Step-by-step drawing sheets

3D WATER LILIES Inspired by Claude Monet!

3D Water Lilies Inspired by Claude Monet! 2nd Grade

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)!

HERE is 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!

https://youtu.be/132KQyRR2d0?feature=shared

SPRINGTIME BUNNY, BEAR OR FOX!

SPRINGTIME BUNNY, BEAR OR FOX! 2nd Grade

SPRINGTIME BUNNIES AND BEAR CUBS- 2ND GRADE!

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!

https://youtu.be/r9O1c6Not6U?feature=shared

FIELD OF FLOWERS PAINTING

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!

WATERMELON WEAVINGS

WATERMELON WEAVINGS! – 1ST GRADE

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)

TANGLEBIRD COLLAGE

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!

3D LINE SCULPTURES!

1st Grade 3D Line Sculptures!

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!

SNAILS, FLOWERS AND BUTTERFLIES OH MY!

SNAILS, FLOWERS AND BUTTERFLIES OH MY!

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!

PRINTMAKING –VASE OF FLOWERS!

PRINTMAKING –VASE OF FLOWERS!

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!

COFFEE FILTER FLOWERS

COFFEE FILTER FLOWER

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

MIXED-MEDIA FLOWERS

Mixed-Media Flowers! Special Education

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?!!

Link below

OLDIE But GOODIE!

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!

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Mixed-Media Flowers! Special Education

June 6, 2019 No Comments

How adorable are these!! I love lessons that incorporate mixed-media and 3D elements!

This fun mixed-media lesson took 2- (40 min.) art classes to complete.

DAY 1

On a sheet of 9×12″ tagboard, with a pre-drawn horizontal line drawn near the middle of the paper, students colored each section using the side of an oil pastel. We used 2 different colors, one for the top section and one for the bottom section.

Then students painted over each section with liquid tempera paint.

Then we used a texture comb created from a recycled plastic gift card to scrape the paint while wet, to create various lines and texture!

We set them aside to dry, then began creating the model magic flowers.

Students started off with a small piece that they rolled into a ball, then pressed slightly to flatten it a bit. We used scissors to cut small triangular sections out all around, then pinched the ends to create the flowers petals.

The left over model magic that was cut out, was rolled into very small balls and flattened to make the flowers centers.

A green pipe cleaner was inserted into the flowers for the stems, and they were set aside to dry completely, until the following week!

DAY 2

Students painted their flowers with liquid tempera.

Then they painted a paper towel tube that had been pre- cut into smaller pieces.

The flowers and tubes were set aside to dry. Once dry, I hot glued the paper towel tubes to their painted papers, as well as their flowers and voila! A lovely project for springtime, with tons of color and texture!

Lesson inspiration from Cassie Stephens – Thanks Cassie!

UP NEXT!! I’LL BE POSTING THE FOLLOWING VERY SOON! …..

3RD GRADE – Matisse inspired Organic Shapes Collage

2ND GRADE – Springtime Bunny, Bear or Fox!

1ST GRADE – Watermelon Weaving!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

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SPRINGTIME BUNNIES AND BEAR CUBS- 2ND GRADE!

May 19, 2018 No Comments

How adorable are these?!? My 2nd graders did such a fantastic job creating them!

This lesson took (3) 40 minute art classes to finish and incorporates the Elements of Art- Line, Shape, Color, Value and Texture! We also used overlapping, contrast and pattern in our work! Students could choose between creating a bunny or a bear cub. Read below the photos of students artwork to see how they were created!

Sorry, there are A LOT of photos!! I couldn’t help myself–they are ALL too cute!

TEACHERS – You can get a free downloadable BEAR CUB template on my TPT page HERE!

These are currently up on display!

I couldn’t decide which image to post –so I decided on showing both panoramic and regular!

DAY 1

Students drew flowers all over their 9×12″ 80# drawing paper using markers and crayons. They were encouraged to draw the flower heads LARGE and draw LOTS!! Especially along the top and sides since later on the bunny or bear would be placed over their painting.

I demonstrated a bunch of different ways to create the flowers first, but students could draw them any way they wanted! I also encouraged them to use bright colors. If they drew flower heads with a circle center, they colored in the circles with crayon, pressing hard. Once their paper was filled they drew green stems from each flower head going all the way to the bottom, using a green crayon as well as a green marker for each one.

DAY 2

Students finished up creating their flower heads and stems if needed (they really took their time with this step and loved created intricate flowers!!) then using just water on a paintbrush, they went over each flower with water.

This turns the marker into almost a watercolor consistency, which kids LOVED!! I showed them how to just do one flower at a time then rinse their brush before moving onto the next so the colors wouldn’t get muddy.

Then students went over all their stems with water. The crayon part of the stems would remain a solid line since crayons resist water.

We talked about the Element of Art “Value” and how the colors of the flowers would get softer and lighter in value once water was applied.

I absolutely LOVE this flower painting below!! Particularly the way the yellow flowers came out! So lovely!!

The wet flower paintings were left to dry until the following class. Students then either chose a bunny or bear cub template to start drawing lines with sharpie to add TEXTURE!

I downloaded and printed the bunny template from a website for teachers called Teachstarter (free template) and then created the bear one myself and made copies for kids.

I demonstrated how to draw straight lines close together in between each section using sharpie. Students could leave the eye area as it was, or go over the lashes and create longer lines. We discussed how the lines created fur- like texture. We also discussed how the black & white vs. the colorful flower background would create CONTRAST.

DAYS 2-3

Students continued drawing lines if needed, then carefully cut out their animals and glued onto their flower background! I just LOVE how simple yet beautiful this lesson is! Plus- kids continue to understand how they are applying the elements of art while creating!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog! I hope you enjoyed viewing their beautiful artwork 🙂

To view additional 2nd grade artwork, and other art lessons, click on “2nd Grade Art Lessons” under the drop down menu! Follow me on Instagram for more work too!

Be sure to stop on by again tomorrow (SUNDAY!) to view NEW artwork by 1st Grade —then Monday night for NEW artwork by 4th grade!!!

Have a great weekend everybody! Take care and be kind 🙂

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MIXED MEDIA BIRD NESTS- 5TH GRADE!

May 7, 2018 No Comments

LOVE, LOVE LOVE THESE!! This is a new lesson I introduced this year for 5th grade and it’s definitely a keeper!! Thank you Painted Paper Art for this wonderful lesson idea!

These are created by 5Y, 1 (of my 5) 5th grade classes! (Other classes are going on day 2 of the lesson later on in the week). It’s a 3 day art lesson (40 minutes each) and incorporates ALL the Elements of Art (value, shape, line, color, form, space, and texture!)

HERE ARE A FEW CLOSE-UPS OF INDIVIDUAL NESTS!

DAY 1:

Students created the nest using oil pastels on a 6×6″ sheet of manila tagboard. They drew a large circle with pencil, then chose whatever color blue they wanted, to fill in the background.

They then drew a small black circle in the center, a loop of dark brown around the black circle, then looped various shades of brown oil pastel within the remaining part of the nest, layering as they went around. After that they drew short, curved lines extending outside the nest with brown, to create little pieces of hay or sticks sticking out from the nest.

Students then used various shades of yellow and golds to overlap the brown, until the manila paper was completely covered with oil pastels. As a final step with oil pastels, students used black to lightly draw circles close together extending outward from the center, to create the illusion of space and the nest going inward in the center.

For the last step on day 1, students glued on strips of pre-cut, painted papers all around the nest, to add texture!

DAY 2:

On the second day of the lesson, students shaped and created 3 eggs out of model magic air dry clay and glued them on in the center of their nests with tacky glue. Then they glued down 8-10 small twigs using tacky glue to add even more texture to their nests! (BTW- Twigs were collected while walking my dog in the park on a previous day. With only 7 more art classes remaining before summer break, (although it might have been fun), I didn’t want students to spend an art class searching around the school for them!!)

I love the various shades of blue in this one!

I have to say, I REALLY LOVE tacky glue!! I’ve used it for so many art lessons recently and it’s WAAAAAY better than regular old white school glue! It adheres quickly (which is super important for this lesson) and best of all—dries clear!

These were all set aside to completely dry in Mason paper box tops until the following week!

DAY 3:

Students painted their eggs using liquid tempera (students could choose from a variety of blue/ blue-green paints).

They had the option to then add spots of white and brown speckles using the end of a paintbrush handle.

Students did a wonderful job creating their beautiful bird nests and eggs, I couldn’t WAIT to hang them all up!!!!

I hot glued twigs to create their sign and added some colorful cupcake liners for flowers! More nests to come SOON to fill in the empty spaces on this bulletin board!!!

Thanks for checking out my blog!! Be sure to check back tomorrow (Tuesday) night for another new post on some NEW artwork!!! To view other 5th grade artwork -click on 5th Grade Art Lessons under the drop down menu!

Uncategorized

4th Grade Enlarged Flowers and 5th Grade Falling For Foreshortening

April 2, 2018 No Comments

4th Grade- Enlarged Flower Drawings inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe!

Students learned about the artist Georgia O’Keeffe, and viewed examples of her flower paintings. We talked about the scale (size) of her work and that her flower paintings were so large because she thought flowers were incredibly beautiful and wanted people to notice them! She loved to create close-up paintings of flowers. Looking at her flower paintings is like looking at a flower with a magnifying glass!

We also reviewed what abstract artwork is (artwork that focuses on mainly lines, shapes and colors), which is how Georgia O’Keeffe depicted a lot of her flowers in her work. She focused on just small sections of a flower –instead of the entire flower in a lot of her work, therefore abstracting the image. Not all of her flower paintings are abstract, but many are.

DAY 1:

I showed students multiple examples of her flower paintings through a power point presentation and discussed her work and background.

After demonstrating how to focus in on one area of a flower and block out the rest (students could choose their own printed flower image to observe) by using a viewfinder, (using a black square piece of construction paper with a small (about 2×2″ square) cut out in the middle). Students had to select an area of their flower so it’s petals touched or ran off at least 3 sides of their viewfinder (see pics below).

Students then practiced drawing and enlarging small sections of their chosen flowers, in their sketchbooks. They did this 3 times, each flower drawing on a different page in their sketchbook. They had a choice of choosing 3 different flower images OR drawing from 1 flower image but focusing in on different areas of the flower each time.

DAYS 2-3:

Students selected 1 photo of a flower for their final drawing. They enlarged a section of their flower on 12×12” paper, making sure that their drawing of their chosen flower ran off or touched at least 3 of the 4 sides of their paper, while considering the composition (how and where things are placed on the page).

Once drawn, students colored in using oil pastels. Students had a choice of coloring in their flower any colors they wanted!! In previous years I had students color in their flowers trying to best match their flowers colors in the photo. The only rule with color I had was, was to switch to a different color when their was a transition of color in their flower photo. Also, If their was a bit of background showing in their composition, (some students selected areas of their flower that only showed the flower– without any background) they needed to color it in with any one chosen color for contrast.

DAY 4:

For a final step, students created a bit of depth within their flower by adding shadows around the edges of their flowers petals with black oil pastel, then blending with their finger. Adding black for shading with oil pastels is a pretty tricky step, and can be a bit challenging, but I think students did a wonderful job adding that element to their artwork!!

5th Grade- “Falling for Foreshortening” Drawings!

For this art lesson, students learned about a type of perspective called foreshortening.

(Scroll down further to view more photos of students working on this lesson!) Foreshortening is a drawing technique used to create the illusion where parts of something or someone appear to come out at the viewer strongly, making those areas seem closest to the viewer, and some parts appearing to recede strongly, making those areas seem the furthest away from the viewer.

Students used this technique by drawing a person that appears to be falling backwards into something, with their arms and legs outstretched. They did this by tracing their hands along the top of the paper, and their feet along the bottom of the paper, leaving space in the middle. They then drew the head, neck, arms, and legs of a person smaller, to create the illusion that the body was further away than the feet and hands.

Students were instructed to pay special attention to the soles of their shoes, being sure to add details and texture to make it look like the bottom of their shoes. Students also had to draw the person’s facial expression to match whatever it was they were falling into (something scary, or something soft and fun!), show movement in the hair, and add details to the palms of the hands.

Once the person was drawn, 5th graders outlined in black sharpie, then drew a background depicting what their person was falling into, and colored in everything using colored pencils.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Check back soon for NEW artwork by 1st Grade!! (Mixed Media Alphabet Soup!!)