In the Art Room: Penguins with First Grade

 Need a fun lesson for your first graders tomorrow? I think I might have something for you: these adorable penguins! This lesson teaches so stinkin' much: warm colors, brush control, using watercolors, painting spirals, a review of lines and shapes and much more. The kids loved creating these. 

I made  a video just for you to share with your students to walk them through this lesson. Here I'll break it down for you day by day.

 If this image looks familiar, that's because my kindergarten did a slightly similar lesson. You can check that out here. 

I see both my kindergarten and my first graders for 30 minutes twice a week. So here's how we spent Day 1 and 2: Painting spirals! Midway through day 2, most kids were finished painting their 12" X 18" papers with spirals. Once complete, the kids placed their work on the drying rack and worked on the following...

 With my shorter art classes, we don't have sketchbooks. Instead, we sketch on dry erase boards. This cuts down on paper waste...and, added bonus, kids LOVE drawing on dry erase boards. I got mine at the Dollar Tree. I created a step by step penguin so my students could practice independently while their classmates finished their paintings. This is something new I've been doing this year and I love it. Not a moment of instructional/practice/work time wasted...and no wasted paper either!

 Day 3: guided penguin drawing. These guys are huge, measuring in at 12" X 18". We used bingo daubers and drew on the floor. Yes, crazy...but it is the method that I found works best for me and my students. I had each place a messy mat under their penguin so we wouldn't get ink on the floor. Of course we did! It mopped up.

 Day 4: The following art class, we added the chalk to create form and painted. Some classes moved quickly enough that we were also able to cut them out!

 If you are looking for a fun winter collaborative project, that could be it! Skip the background painting and just create these. Add them to a backdrop and, ta da! Instant winter mural!

We hung these up with the kindergarten snowman for a fun and frosty display. Have fun, y'all!