The following lesson is a printing lesson that uses koosh balls to print chicks for a spring lesson. You can find koosh balls at any dollar store in the children's section. This lesson is appropriate for children as young as two and uses tempera paint.
Vocabulary to Introduce:
printing tempera
Materials:
-paper plates
-yellow, blue, black, and orange tempera paint
-koosh ball
Preparation:
Water down blue tempera paint and mix well. You can place this on the table for the children to start with. Place yellow paint on plates with koosh balls in the center. You could place the orange and black on a plate by themselves off to the side until needed.
This is a winter potato printing lesson. I do currently teach a two to three year old class. My children completed this lesson with amazing results, although we limited it to one penguin. Some variations of this you could do depending on the level of difficulty your children may need would be to include a background (snow/water).
Vocabulary to Introduce:
printing acyrlic
Materials:
paper plates
school glue
potatoes
acrylic paint (black, white, and orange)
google eyes
Preparation:
Slice potatoes in half and pair them on plates making sure that one is smaller than the other to fit inside the body for a white belly. Put white and black paint on the plates, spreading them to correct size with the potato intended for each. Either place the orange on separate plates or save until the children begin to finish with their penguins.
This lesson was developed for a 2's/3's class. Printing is an excellent fine motor practice for children of this age group. With this lesson a sponge and stencil brushes are used to create ladybugs in grass with dandelions. Vocabulary to Introduce:
printing
Materials:
-white paper
-tempera paint (red, black, green, yellow)
-sponge (cut into a circle)
-stencil sponges
-paint brush
Preparation:
Beforehand hot glue or glue the details of the dandelion petals on the circular cut sponge and allow to dry completely. Place the green and yellow paint on separate plates. Red and black paint because of the small volume can be used on the same plate.
Modifications for Older Students:
If you know the skill level of the students that you work with, you can allow them to paint the grass with a paint brush themselves. In addition, details can be added to the ladybugs such as legs.
The following lesson is inspired by Dr. Seuss' story "The Lorax." With Earth Day and Arbor Day both in April I thought this would be an appropriate story to base a lesson on. Using koosh balls that you can find at any dollar store, children will enjoy the novelty of painting a scene from a familiar and well-loved story. Vocabulary to Introduce:
-koosh balls (one for each color if you don't want to have to wash in between colors)
-paint brush
Preparation:
Give each child a sheet of blue paper for their background, a half sheet of green and half sheet of white. Place each paint color on a plate with a koosh but don't forget to include a plate that shares a small amount of black and white for the tree trunks.
For Older Children:
You can make the picture more complicated by using found twigs for tree trunks painted with white and black paint and using small pieces of bright colored yarn.
After painting a background of yellow and blue, students will use a sponge brush and their fingers to create a field of flowers. This lesson can be used to tie in with Impressionist painting and the portrayl of overall visual effects versus detail. Vocabulary to Introduce: Impressionism
Materials:
-tempera paint
-sponge brush
-brush
Preparation:
Pour a small amount of blue, yellow, and green paint on separate ends of a paper plate for the sky, ground, and stems. Place small dots of various bright colors of tempera paint on another plate for children to dip their fingers in when making flowers. It is okay to layer the colors on their finger.
In this lesson children will use thinned tempera paint and a straw to blow the paint across the paper and create the branches of a cherry tree. Thinning the paint gives it the look of sume-i ink painting. The blossoms are created by using paint dipped on the tips of their fingers and printed in a cluster of five petals. You can also use this as an opportunity to discuss tints by demonstrating that by adding white to red you create pink. Vocabulary to Introduce: printing sume-i tint
Materials:
-white paper
-black and pink (red and white) tempera paint
-water for thinning the black paint
-straw
Preparation:
Thin the black paint beforehand with just enough water to give it some transparency and fluidity when using the straw. Place red and white paint on a plate together but mix it in front of the students to demonstrate creating a tint. Cut the straw down to a length that is more manageable for the children. It may also help in keeping the mess down to have baby wipes or wet paper towels to immediately wipe fingers after printing.
This lesson is inspired by the jungle paintings of Henri Rousseau. The child can use leaves found either through a nature walk or in the backyard to use for printing. The student can experiment adding blue or yellow to green. Vocabulary to Introduce:
printing
Materials:
-tempera paint (blue, green, yellow, red) -leaves (magnolia leaves work exceptionally well) -paint brush -white paper
Preparation:
Place paint on paper plates in a triangle (green, blue and green, and yellow and green) but allow the child to mix the colors as this is an enjoyable part of the lesson for them.
Create a field of poppies using string glued to either a paper towel roll or flat water bottle and sponge cut flowers. This lesson is an excellent practice for young three and four year olds. Vocabulary to Introduce: printing
Materials:
-white paper
-string
-a paper towel cardboard roll or flat water bottle
-white school glue
-tape
-newspaper
-tempera paint (green, red, and black)
-sponges cut in the shape of poppies (two or three different size flowers and one or two circles for the center)
Preparation:
This is a two part lesson. Allow the students to spread glue and taping the string to one end of the paper towel roll/water bottle, let them wrap it around the object several times. Tape the other end down and set aside to dry. To speed the process you can use a hair dryer to dry the glue. Place one plate of green paint on each table along with one piece of newspaper. Set aside one plate per table of red and black paint, placing the flower shape in the red and the circle center in the black.
Age Modification:
Older
students can paint the flowers themselves rather than printing with sponges.
Children love this lesson! Store bought bubble solution works best. Be aware that if the dish soap you use has color in it, it will mix with the color of the paint you are using. Using colored dish soap could be a great opportunity, however, to explain secondary colors.
Vocabulary:
printing
Materials:
-white copier or construction paper
-bubble solution
-tempera paint
-drinking straws
-shallow bowls or circular aluminum pans
-paint brush for mixing
-a pin
Preparation:
Cover the area of the lesson with a tablecloth or newspaper. Mix 1 cup of bubble solution for 1/2 cup of tempera paint. For younger children pierce a hole halfway up the straw with the pin. This will prevent them from accidentally swallowing the solution if they inhale but without interfering with the bubble making process. Do let the children blow the bubbles themselves. This is an incredibly enjoyable part of the lesson for them! Our YouTube Video demonstrating the process:
Kandinsky was a Russian law professor that gave up a successful career to devote himself to painting after seeing Monet's "Haystacks." This lesson is inspired by his picture, "Farbstudie Quadrate." Vocabulary to Introduce: circle concentric circles printing expressionism
Materials:
-watercolor/mixed media paper
-tempera paint
-bottle or jar caps of various sizes
-sharpie or black marker
-ruler
-paintbrush
Preparation:
For young children draw the squares using a ruler and black marker. Place tempera paint on paper plates or in bowls and place caps with desired colors.
Age Modifications:
Older students can complete the lesson by folding their paper in order to create the squares. This lesson can be completed using watercolor or water soluble oil pastels.
