20 Winter Themed Art Lessons!

Hey there, friends! It's that time of year where the days might be cold and a little gloomy but the art room can be a bright and colorful place...especially with these projects! 

I thought I'd round up some of my very favorite winter art lessons that are (totally free!) kid tested and approved and share them with you. You are welcome to use them in your art making world (although I do not grant my permission for any of these lessons to be repackaged and sold on Teachers Pay Teachers). Nearly all of these lessons come with a video for you and your artists and some come with free downloadable drawing sheets. So be sure and follow the link to the blog post.

Without any further chattin', let's dive in! 

Kicking things off with this lesson of wintery penguins from my first grade artists!

This is the perfect Back to School after winter break lesson as it focuses on a review of LINE and PAINTBRUSH CONTROL. Of course, to kick things off for that, you might find my books Larry the Line and The Paintbrush Ballerina very handy!

Both books are rhyming books which make them super fun to read. Larry the Line will introduce your artists to the names of lines and ways to remember them and there is a free line guide to be shared with students in the back. The Paintbrush Ballerina has a strong focus on how to use, handle and care for a paintbrush. I created a ton of free downloads to accompany that book and you can find them here and here!

Once line and brush practice is complete, early finishers practice their penguin drawing on dry erase boards. The following glass, we dive into large paper and draw with our beloved bingo dauber! If you have not used them yet in your art room, here's more details!

Chalk was used (sparingly!) to add a little shadow and color to these cuties! From there, we cut them out and added them to the spiral line painted backgrounds. 

Now this kindergarten snowman lesson was very similar in the lesson format! We reviewed lines and painting and created the background. We practiced drawing snowmen and then created our own with an ink filled bingo dauber. Then we cut then out and attached to the background!

If you are short on time or are uncertain if your kindergarteners won't accidently decapitate their snowman in the cutting out process (it happens) then you could...simply have students decorate the background! This early finisher made a second snowman and just added spots of color for snow. So do what works! Save your sanity! 

If you do have some early finishers who are looking to practice their snowman drawing skills then I might have a fun game for y'all! This one is FREE WITH DOWNLOADS and I promise your students will love it. This works for all early finishers so be sure and have it on hand for your artists as they work.

Looking for a little something that would serve as an in-between project? Maybe a short lesson that is sure to yield big results? This winter pup and kitten lesson was a kid favorite! Each one was so cute and the artists just follow along drawing with me in the video! Check it out here.

After winter break is usually when I start hyping myself up for upcoming clay projects! I definitely don't do those right after a break...I like to ease back into a routine. So to get the kids excited about clay and the annual Clay Mug Lesson, we create these big ole hot chocolate paintings! Of course, we use our ink-filled dauber. For color, I love to use neon oil pastels and liquid watercolor. 

Looking for a quick collage lesson? This one is perfect! And we created them in a smaller format (I think it was 6-8" squares?) so we were able to use up paper from the scrap bin. This is a great lesson to remind students on how to use their scissors and glue too! Need a book about that? I might be able to help...

I wrote Scissors, Glue and YOU! to help all artists learn to use this supplies without waste or, worse, injury! It's another fun rhyming book that features Larry (from Larry the Line) and Alfred! Kids love to see these two in art class. You can check it out here. 

Speaking of collage...here's one I do with kindergarten every year!

If you do decide to venture into the clay mug lesson, I've got ALL of my tips and tricks for you! I did this with my whole school for several years and they LOVED it. It was an outrageous hit and I think I figured out the best way to go about teaching it. You can check out all the details here!

A lesson that I love to do each year with my third grade artists is this one! We used to create these pieces on cardboard pizza rounds until I convinced my friends over at Prang to create ROUND PAPER! You can now buy it here. 

Speaking of round paper...that brings me to all of the snow globe lessons I've created! Turns out...I've made a lot! This lesson was designed for my fourth grade students. They loved getting detailed with all of the buildings for their snow gloves! Lesson here. 

Because we explored MANY concepts in this lesson, it was a long one! So for some shorter snow globe projects...

Let's start here! This one is also great for a sub because I have a free video as well as two free downloads to go with this lesson!

With these two free downloads, your students can also create the following snow globe lessons:

This marker print snow globe project!

And this floating chalk print snow globe!

Okay, question: are Gingerbread or Candy Houses JUST for the holidays?! If your answer is no then add THIS fun lesson to the mix! 

Did I mention that there's a free download?!

I don't know about you, but I love to sneak in a short lesson after a long one! So...if your students have just wrapped up a big project, they may enjoy this two day art project for kids of all ages!

Learning to draw 3-D is always a hit with the kids!

Just when you thought this blog post was done...I have more! Here's a rapid fire of all the other winter themed lessons I have for you for free!

This selfie with printmaking thrown into the mix. My second graders loved this one!

I know chalk can be a bit of a mess and that's a big reason so many of us steer clear but...would you look at these beauties by my fourth grade? Lesson details here!

Looking to get those kids out of their seats and work on a large scale project together? Then you might want to check out the details of these big and beautiful beast!

Making snowflakes is always fun but have you ever tried EMBOSSED snowflakes?! You can check out how we did these here!

AND for those of you that are feeling ambitious, why not try tree weaving on for size?! You can see the details here!

Still want more?! Then...visit this blog post and this one! Have a great week, friends!

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A Printed Shape Castle Lesson!

Hello, friends! I'm coming to you with another SHAPE-themed art lesson. Earlier this week, I shared a super fun painting lesson when introducing the element of art, shape. You can check out that free painting lesson (with video!) here!

A while back, I created this printed castle lesson and shared it when I was doing shape stations with my students. If you'd like to check out more about my shape stations, I have lots of info here. 

One of the lessons that came out of those shape stations was this Paul Klee meets Mary Blair inspired castle project. Today, I thought I'd repackage the lesson into one video that will walk your artists through the process. 

Now, this lesson can be as simple as making printed castles all the way up to using chalk pastels and adding a background. I'll leave that up to you! Just know that I wanted to cater the video to your art teacherin' needs. So keep it a one-day activity with castle printing or take it beyond (as I did with my older students) and add more art supplies.

Regardless, here's the video for you:

For this, you'll need the following supplies:

* Construction paper. I only use Tru-Ray!

* Cardboard, lots of cardboard for printing. ALWAYS have students print with the wavy edge of the cardboard. Check out how we did that in this fun line printing painting!

* Tempera paint. Check out my fave painting supplies here.

* Tissue paper shapes.

* Chalk and oil pastels.

By the way, using puffy paint with students IS NOT for the faint of heart. You gotta keep an eagle eye on those kids when they are using puffy paint or they will ruin their artwork in a blink. So...I recommend doing it in small groups with you or a trustworthy student as the monitor. Trust me on this one!

This lesson is a long one...if you decide to go the whole thing, just so you know! But the results are pretty fun. 

Of course, you can also skip the cutting out of the castles and adding to the background. Instead, simply have students add "snow" or stars to the background paper to add a little more interest. Maybe even glitter!? BUT that might be a little too much. 

Of course, if you are introducing students to shape, might I recommend MY book?! You can find it here!

No matter what you do, I hope you and your artists have fun creating!

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Let's Make a Sandwich Collage!

Hey, friends! I'm coming at you today with a fun lesson that's the perfect thing to introduce collage, ignite the imagination and review shapes...a Sandwich Collage!

I shared a similar lesson years ago and you can find it here. And, if you want to continue on the food theme, I have a whole unit of lessons for you! It's one of my fave themes and you can find details here. 

For this lesson, all you'll need is construction paper, glue or a glue stick, scissors and maybe markers and crayons. I created this video for you to play for your students so...have fun!

For a quick link to the supplies I am using, jump over here!

I mentioned that this lesson would be a great way to reintroduce the element of art of SHAPES to your students. When I wrote my book Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes, I wanted it to go beyond the basic shape books I had on hand. So I dug into the first and second grade curriculum on shapes and made sure to include that.

As an art teacher, I focused on geometric and organic shapes. However, in the classroom, teachers talk a lot about sides and vertices. Which...I learned from my students! To support the classroom teachers and continue the education of shapes in the art room, I included the vocabulary and standards in my book.

Because Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes introduces so much, I recommend reading it in two parts! On the first day of the collage project, try reading about how line creates shape, the difference between organic and geometric shapes and what makes a shape. The first half of the book chats about geometric shapes, what makes them unique and how to tell them apart. From there, the book discusses organic shapes. Perhaps that could be discussed on the second day, when the artists focus on the organic shapes of the food they wish to include in their collage sandwich.

By the way, if you are interested in checking out free lessons and downloads, you may want to subscribe to my email list! You can do so here.

And often I share videos on YouTube before I have a chance to chat about them here. So...be sure to subscribe! You can do so here. 

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25 of my Favorite Lessons for Celebrating Love!

Hello, beautiful humans!

Today I'm sharing my 25 Favorite Valentines/Love-Themed art lessons! From sub plans with handouts to clay and plaster projects, I've got something for everyone...including printmaking with kindergarten! Most of these lessons include kid-friendly videos, some have handouts and all are FREE! I hope you enjoy and...

Happy New Year!

I know next week means heading back to school...and it's just so hard to do after weeks off. I thought I'd try and ease the sting a little by offering up to you my favorite fun and easy lessons for celebrating LOVE as Valentine's Day is on the horizon. It's never too soon to start those Valentine's themed lessons and NEVER NOT a great opportunity to celebrate all things lovey dovey. Many of these lessons here come with a kid-friendly how-to video and, best of all, they're free! Just tap the highlighted link for more!

The above is a lesson I created for my kindergarten friends but it was so fun that I ended up doing it with several grade levels. It's that time of year when you really just wanna ease on back into art teacherin', right? So why not do so with a project where you just gotta get out one art supply (tempera paint and black oil pastels) and call it a day? It's much more relaxing that way...and when you are happy and relaxed, it will reflect in your teaching (and, hopefully, the students). 

One of my all-time favorite things to teach first grade is...paper weaving! And I know what some of you may be thinking: SERIOUSLY?! Yes...because I got it down to a science! They make the looms, we weave together on a big loom I created, we do this on the floor and help one another...it's so fun! Here's the full lesson!

Nearly all of these lessons here are inspired by artists! Which means that students learn a little about both contemporary artists as well as artists of the past with these projects. Here we learned about Jen Stark!

For me, back to school after a long break meant back to the basics...a review of rules, routines and expectations. I cover all of that in my book Art Teacherin' 101...it's always a good time to get a handle on classroom management. No matter how could it is, it could ALWAYS be better, right? I share all of my tips and tricks in that book, if you are interested!

With that being said, I often just used simple supplies like markers when we return to school. But 'just markers' doesn't mean you can't do something super cool! Check out the video here on how we created these optical illusion hearts!

Of course, sometimes it's fun to just jump right back in with big and exciting projects! I've been all about the plaster and Celluclay in my own artwork lately...and kids do love it! More here.

Of course, back to school usually means PD meetings. One year, I convinced my admin to let me lead a workshop on creating these clay hearts with wings! I loved doing workshops with my faculty. It was a fun way to get everyone together in a relaxed way (which we never seem to do!) and enjoy creating and each other's company. To teach such a large group, I created a how-to video. 

As you know, teachers are some of the worst students (I'd insert a laugh emoji but we all know it's true!) so having a pre-recorded video will help!

I've never met a kid who didn't LOVE printmaking! But it can be daunting and super messy...which means a lot of clean up for us. However...you CAN do printmaking with just markers and Styrofoam. Let me show you how we made these!

This lesson is probably one of my most popular Valentine's projects! I show you how to draw each of these cuties in videos you can find here. 

I'll also show you how to make easy heart stamps with scraps!

Wanna make these?! My fourth graders loved creating these giant candy hearts! I created a video for them (and you!) here. 

Speaking of candy hearts...complete video to share with your students can be found here!

Wow! Did we LOVE creating these (see what I did there?!) And I have an easy method for you to make each one successful. You can check it out here!

This is a project I did with my second graders and they loved it! You can check out the video tutorial and lesson details right here!

Here's a fun lesson I put together to do in one class period! Well, for me, it took 2 classes as my class period is 30 minutes long. I did this with my fourth graders as a way to introduce them to four different artists...in one lesson! Check it out here.

Did we have fun with this one! We used old candy heart boxes and plaster to create our own faux chocolates. We also used tagboard and newspaper to create our candy boxes. It was so stinkin' fun. Full lesson here. 

Look how realistic! Did I mention we used puffy paint?! Everything is better with puffy paint.

I really like to work big with my students. The bigger the paper, the better! It's a challenge with storage...but it's so worth it. These hearts were created on huge squares of paper. We chatted about Britto and did a line review...

Speaking of line...if you need a book to teach (or review) line with your students, did you hear I wrote a children's book!? Yep! it's called Larry the Line. If you are familiar with my Larry the Line poem, let me tell you this is the longer more in-depth version with idea sheets to be printed and shared in the back! You can pick up a copy here. 

Big thanks to all of you that have purchased a copy and left a review! 83 5-star reviews is so amazing! Thank you all so much for the love and support. Okay, back to the lessons...

Another super popular lesson on my blog: My Chris Uphues Lesson! This one is perfect for a sub plan as it comes with a free handout.

Looking for a school-wide project? I have a ton of collaborative ideas on my blog (check out this post). This one involved each grade level creating a heart with a different medium!

This Britto-inspired lesson was another collaborative we did and...it was a sub plan! Check out the lesson video and process here. 

Looking for an easy one day lesson!? Look no further, I got you right here!

Check out these scrappy hearts made by first grade! This was actually a lesson with a focus on positive and negative space. The kids were so excited by the negative space their cut out hearts created that we filled the space with tissue paper on plastic. More here. 

Aren't they so pretty up close?

And this is what we did with the hearts we cut out! Just black and white painted designs. Simple and so pretty!

Do you want to explore printmaking with kindergarten students but you don't know where to start?! Try this easy and fun lesson on for size!

Once your students are done printmaking, you can take the hearts and create THESE! Aren't they so pretty?!

Got scraps of painted paper laying about?! You're an art teacher, of course you do! Spend some time teaching the kids how to cute out hearts and create these cuties! Use them to hang as mobiles, put them in windows, send to faculty as love notes...the possibilities are endless. Details here. 

Last but not least...check out these James Rizzi birds! Full lesson with video here. 

Thanks for dropping by, y'all! Know that it's TOTALLY OKAY to ease on in to this new school year. The slow you go...the more they will GROW, I promise! Slow it down, focus on what matters and enjoy art teacherin!

Love ya!

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