“Rainbow Fish,” Celery Stamping, Kindergarten Student
Picture books in the art classroom provide: examples of beautiful art, inspiration for projects, comparisons of art techniques (like collage vs. watercolor), age-appropriate introductions to master artists, and evidence of illustration as a career. I also use picture book projects to help teach character traits to my kindergarten and first grade students.
Kindergarten: The Rainbow Fish
Project: Rainbow Fish – Celery stamping and crayon resist (I expanded on this pin.)
Materials: 12″ x 18″ paper, black and white crayons, celery, tempera paint, celery
Character Concepts: We usually watch this Rainbow Fish Video and discuss kindness, friendship and sharing. (I also relate this to art as a way of sharing beauty and that we have to share art supplies!)
Project Tips: I fold the papers in half (“the hot dog way”) before giving them to students. (If you look closely at the fish example below, you can see the fold.) Students start towards the front on the fold and draw a “hill” that leaves room for the top fin and finishes above the fold, “a hand’s width” from the end. They open up the paper, and draw a U, connecting the front of the fish and finishing below the fold and the previous line. They connect the back lines with the triangle tail, and then we add the details. We outline the fish in black and add white bubbles in the background. Kindergartners think the bubbles are “magic” as they appear when they are painted.
Rainbow Fish, Celery Stamping, Kindergarten Art
First Grade: A Color of His Own
Project: A Color of His Own ~ Crayon Resist Chameleons. I got the idea for this project from this Deep Space Sparkle pin. I adapted the project by having students add backgrounds as well as patterns within the chameleon’s stripes.
Materials: 12″ x 18″ Paper (I use watercolor paper), pencils, crayons (I like black, but have done multi-colored outlines, too), watercolor paints and brushes
Character Concepts: We usually watch A Color of His Own YouTube video and discuss uniqueness: that although every child will be drawing a chameleon, each chameleon will look different and wonderful. Since we were each created uniquely (Psalm 139:14) we each have a “color of our own” and so does our art.
Crayon Resist Chameleon, First Grade Student
A Color of His Own Chameleon, First Grade Student
First Grade Art, “A Color of His Own” Chameleons
I
also use The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires in first grade. We make robots and talk about invention needing patience and tenacity. I posted the robot project here.
If you use a picture book in art that also reinforces character traits, I would love to hear about it in the comments!
