Favorite Art Lessons for Spring!

The weather here in Tennessee has been hinting that spring is on the horizon! Of course, if we all wait a good 15 minutes, then that will change but, for now, I'm embracing the notion of spring! And, with that in mind, I thought I would put together a blog post of my very favorite art lessons for this time of the year. 

Be sure and tap the link I've created for these lessons. Many of the lessons contain free hand-outs and/or kid-friendly videos. I know this time of year, before spring break, is exhausting. I do hope to help you out a little bit! 

Okay, let's get started...

This first lesson is one I loved doing with my second grade students in the spring. We used HUGE pieces of paper, ink-filled bingo daubers and were inspired by the contemporary artist Heather Galler. Once our drawings were complete, we added color with liquid watercolor. 

Here's the link to my first blog post about this lesson. 

And here's a link to the follow-up blog post with more details on how we finished our creations!

Seeing these large and colorful beauties in the hallways always brightened our days!

Of course, what better way to celebrate spring than with CLAY! My third graders spent a couple of 30-minute art classes creating these. This lesson was posted to my blog before I created video content...so that lets you know it's an oldie! But I do share step-by-step photos...which would be perfect to print out and provide for students. 

Lesson can be found here. 

This lesson could also be done with air dry clay! I shared that in my book Clay Lab for Kids which is FULL of 52 clay projects for those who do not have a kiln!

If you do have a kiln...I've got a lotta videos and blog posts all about clay. If working with clay frightens you a bit (trust me, I get it. I melted down a kiln once at the expense of $500...so, I GET IT), you might want to start here. 

Since we are on the topic of clay, another fun lesson for spring would be these clay butterflies!

Not only are these super fun to create but also super fast! My kindergarten students created these butterflies in just one 30 minute class period! 

All the details here. 

If you are looking for more kindergarten clay lessons, check out this blog post where I put 'em all in one place! 

Since we are on the topic of butterflies...check out these created by kindergarten! My other students were so interested in this lesson (and loved the printing process) so much that I ended up doing it with multiple grade levels. 

I created a video for students to follow along here. 

A couple years before that, I did a similar lesson with second graders but used chalk for the wings. I thought they turned out so pretty! Lesson with video here. 

The trees are already starting to blossom here so that means it's the perfect time for THIS lesson! I did this one with second graders when we were learning about Japan and each turned out so beautiful!

Vincent van Gogh's cherry blossom tree paintings are always so beautiful and they inspired this lesson here!

Got teachers asking for lessons for Mother's Day? This is one that my kindergarten students created that they loved! You can find the lesson video here. 

In the mood for printmaking? My students LOVED creating these Warhol-inspired prints. We used sunflowers I found at Dollar Tree but real flowers would be fun to use too. Of course, when I busted out the Puffy Paint, that's when the real party started! Full lesson with video here. 

When I shared this printmaking lesson many years ago, GelliPlates were not a thing. I made my own plates! However, I wouldn't recommend it as it's not vegan friendly nor does it last long. Also, who has time to make them?! So if you have GelliPlates or something similar, you will LOVE this lesson!

Each printing plate yields two of these gorgeous prints!

Bringing nature inside is always fun! I've done so many variations of this leaf relief lesson and it's always a hit! You can find all of the details here. 

I love this one with the watered acrylic painted on top!

Bright and cheery landscapes are always fun this time of year! A great way to review color mixing and mark making too. This was a hit with my fourth graders. 

And just look how pretty! Full blog post here. 

Got a million-trillion popsicle sticks?! Behold! A lesson that is super fun and uses 'em all up! Lesson details with video can be found here.

Details on this cute, little painted paper collage by kindergarten can be found right here!

My third graders really knocked it outta the park with this lesson! They loved creating the details on the vases. I loved watching them explore warm and cool colors for their backgrounds. This lesson can be found in detail here. 

If you've never tried using liquid starch with chalk and seeing the AMAZING results...consider this your sign! This lesson comes with a full video created for fourth grade students. They will love it!

In the mood for some fibers lessons? I'm not gonna lie: this project took A LONG TIME. So if you need something to carry you through to spring break...this might be it! 

I promise this lesson won't take nearly as long...and the kids will love it! Especially once they get the hang of weaving. Video lesson here. 

If you are looking for even more fibers lessons, you might want to check out my book Stitch and String Lab for Kids!

So...this lesson is labor intensive because you do have to put the mural together...but when I do large murals like this, they stay up for as long as the walls will hold 'em! This was hung at the start of the school year and left up until the end! Full details here. 

Of course, the idea for that mural came from this one! I created this spring-y mural for Dot Day but I think it would also be fitting for spring. All the details here. 

And there you have it! Over 20 art lessons for spring. I hope you find something here that you can use or are inspired by!

In case ya missed it...I wrote a children's book! Larry the Line can be found right here. This 48-page rhyming book for kindergarten up to second grade (and beyond!) will introduce all lines to students in a fun and engaging way. I promise, you'll love it!

AND...I've not told anyone this yet so...STAY TUNED! This is a series of books on the Elements of Art and the next installment is coming SOON (I'm so excited!). 

If you've not checked out my other book Art Teacherin' 101, you might wanna! You can find the details here, just scroll down.

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In the Art Room: Heather Galler Inspired Bouquets by Second Grade

 Hello, friends! I'm here today to do some oversharing of my second grade masterpieces as they are giving me so much LIFE! Both my young artists and I are beyond excited with how our Heather Galler-inspired masterpieces have turned out. These works of art are HUGE as we created them on 18" X 24" tagboard. I cannot wait to share them at our upcoming art show. Here's the video lesson I created for y'all to explain the process:

I only see my second grade kiddos for 30 minutes, twice a week. On our first day together, we managed to knock this out:

 This lesson could easily be done on a much smaller scale. However, while going through our pieces for the art show, I realized that my students had yet to do a BIG show stopper. Many of the second grade works of art were on the smaller side. I knew I wanted one piece that they would be super proud of. So this big masterpieces were destined to happen.

As y'all know, I have a slight bingo dauber addiction. I have created so many lessons based on my new favorite art room tool! You can find lessons where my third grade students created our school mascot; my first graders created Britto hearts and my kindergarten kids created pigeons and TWO alphabet paintings which can be found here and here. 

 On our second 30 minute art class, we started to add color to the flowers with both our florescent oil pastels (my favorites are made by Sargent) and liquid watercolor. I don't normally bust out the liquid watercolor but for this big scale, I knew my pan watercolors would just not do. 

 The following two art classes, we wrapped these bad boys up. The kids were THRILLED with their hard work! And so was I.

 But, like I said, this project would have worked out just as beautifully on a smaller scale. In fact, I'm so tempted to do the same lesson with my fourth grade students!

 Some of my students decided to leave their tables or vases unpainted and black and white. I loved their work no matter what they decided.

 These paintings were so much fun to create....we played loud music and even did a little dancing while painting. Who wouldn't be happy while working on these. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen my kiddos in action. 

 Our art show is now a little over a month away. I will be keeping you posted on our progress. These will be such a beautiful addition to our show!

 When working so large, my students really had to spread out. 

 Can we talk paper for a hot second? I LOVE tagboard, it can easily withstand the weight of the ink that we filled the bingo daubers with as well as the watercolor paint.

 As did the poster board. The only problem was that the shiny side of the poster board did not take to the paint as well as the matte side. Just something to keep in mind. 

 Of course, those kind of papers can be costly. So I would recommend 80lbs. paper. That's what I always order in reams of 500.

 As far as watercolor paint goes, I have found that the paint I get from Sax works just as well as the other brands...I've yet to find a favorite as each is very vibrant. How about y'all?

 I get A LOT of questions about the bingo daubers...y'all! They are my fave but are probably on backorder everywhere as I've told everyone to get some. Try just searching "bingo daubers"on The Google and see what pops up. I fill mine with diluted India ink...I have no favorite brand of ink, they all seem to be great. 

 LOVE to know if you are doing this lesson. Please be sure and tag me if you share on social media!

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