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With blizzards, cold fronts and low temperatures blanketing much of the country, spring and its promise of warm days and flowers poking up through the ground seems far, far away. But with a simple art project, you can magically create spring inside, no matter how cold it is outside! Read on for a fun painting project and art history extension.

Supplies:

Table covering

Heavy paper (watercolor or cardstock)

Paint (I really like Biocolor paint)

Paper plate

Fresh flowers

Ruler

This project can get messy, so cover your work area with newspaper, butcher paper, or a disposable table cloth.

Squeeze blobs of paint onto the paper plate, leaving plenty of room to press the flowers down into the paint. Now it's time for flower painting fun! You are essentially replacing your paint brush with a fresh flower, so dip the flower into the paint, then gently press onto your paper.

Experiment with mixing paint colors and using differently shaped flowers as you cover your paper with flower prints.

Don't worry if petals or other parts of the flowers get stuck in the paint-that just adds fabulous texture! Show your child how to twirl the flower back and forth in a circular motion to create a different type of mark. Younger children may also enjoy brushing the flower across the page just like they would with a paint brush.

Once your masterpiece is complete, set aside to dry.

Extend the painting fun and enjoy an easy teachable moment by introducing your child to the Impressionist paintings of Claude Monet. Towards the end of his life, Monet focused almost entirely on painting the water lilies in his garden pond, creating paintings that make the viewer feel as if he or she is gazing down into the water. Read a picture book about the artist to learn more about his life and work. Some of my favorites include: Philippe in Monet's Garden by Lisa Jobe Carmack, Where is the Frog?: A Children's Book Inspired by Claude Monet by Geraldine Elschner, Katie and the Waterlily Pond by James Mayhew and The Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Laurence Anholt.

To transform your flower painting into a Monet-inspired work, you only need some blue paint and a ruler. Squeeze a line of blue paint along the far left edge of your painting. (Left-handed children might find it easier to manipulate the ruler if the paint is squeezed on the right edge of the painting).

Use the ruler as a scraper, and drag the blue paint across the paper.

If needed, add additional lines of paint in the middle of your artwork so that you can completely cover the paper with blue paint.

I love the effect the scraper makes, smearing the flowers and creating a beautiful impression of rippling water-just like Monet! Experiment with how wet or dry your flower prints are before scraping paint across them (in the above painting, my flowers were not that dry at all, and you can see in the upper right how much of the flower smeared).

For more Monet-inspired art-making ideas, take a look at this Pinterest board with suggestions suitable for toddlers to teens! Or, if you're ready to hang up your artist's smock, channel your inner scientist and use any leftover flowers for this fun Dissecting Flowers lesson.

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With blizzards, cold fronts and low temperatures blanketing much of the country, spring and its promise of warm days and flowers poking up through the ground seems far, far away. But with a simple art project, you can magically create spring inside, no matter how cold it is outside!

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We love foil painting. Last year, my three used monster trucks to paint on foil and this year, my three and 21 month old used q-tips to paint an ocean scene. They both really enjoyed painting and using ocean stickers to complete their ocean. You can view our other Letter O Activities by clicking the link. Here's what you need:

Cardboard Poster Board (I bought mine from The Dollar Tree and cut it into fourths)

Tinfoil

Tape (I used packing tape, but I'm sure any kind would work)

Paint (we used dark blue, light blue and white tempera paint)

Q-tips

Glitter (optional)

Ocean Stickers (or print ocean clipart to glue on)

1) Wrap a piece of tinfoil around your piece of cardboard. Tape the tinfoil (on the back side of the cardboard) into place.

2) Squeeze paint onto the foil and have your child(ren) swirl the paint around with a q-tip. My 21-month old decided to use his hands to paint (top left), which made the paint lift and chip off a bit when the paint dried. I'm guessing the oils from his hands had something to do with that. Once finished painting, shake glitter onto the paint at this point.

3) Once the paint is dried (we left ours out overnight), place ocean stickers onto your ocean scene.

4) Admire the finished projects! We taped ours onto a window, so we could enjoy them the entire week. I love this picture of my three admiring his ocean scene.

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We love foil painting. Last year, my three used monster trucks to paint on foil and this year, my three and 21 month old used q-tips to paint an ocean scene. They both really enjoyed painting and using ocean stickers to complete their ocean. You can view our other Letter O Activities by clicking the link.

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Growing up, my grandparents had a print of the Matisse Goldfish hanging in their breakfast area. The and many other prints and reproductions they hung in their home were my first exposure to art as a child. Thirty years later, having seen many great masterpieces in person in museums around the world, Goldfish are still one of my favorites. Its simple subject matter, along with Matisse's techniques, also make it a great piece to explore with preschoolers, breaking a masterpiece down into basic shapes and colors.

Before painting our Goldfish reproductions, the Ms and I read a great book by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace: Look! Look! Look! It offers a great way to breakdown a great work of art into basic parts even the youngest creative minds can understand: shapes, patterns and colors.

Using the techniques from Look! Look! Look! and a picture of on my iPad, we were ready to create our reproductions of this famous, Matisse masterpiece!

Re-Making The Goldfish

While Matisse's 1912 original was oil on canvas, with a 2 and 3 year old, I'm still sticking with washable paint for now!

Supplies
Canvas
Pencil
Crayola Washable Kids Paint
Crayola Assorted Brushes
Water cup
Paper towel (to dry brushes)

Cost: Less than $10
Prep Time: Less than 5 minutes
Clean-Up Time: Less than 5 minutes

Looking for Shapes

The mice in Look! Look! Look! simplify the painting they find by finding simple lines and shapes within it. Big M and I looked at Goldfish, and I asked her what shapes she saw. She quickly pointed out the 4 main circles that make up the patio table and cylindrical fish tank and water level. I helped her draw the 4 circles on her canvas lightly with pencil. Then, we sketched in the fish. Later, as she painted, she noticed more shapes - like the heart-shaped leaves - but the circles were a great place to start.

Selecting Paint Colors

Matisse works are highly attractive to preschoolers (and many grown-ups too!) because of his simple, but vibrant color palettes. He painted much like a child would! Big M picked out four colors to use to start: pink, light blue, green and orange. Later, we also added a little yellow and black.

Time to Paint!

With the basic shapes outlined and our color palette defined, all that was left to do was paint! She painted and painted and painted... for nearly an hour! She was very careful to rinse her brush and wipe it dry between colors. And she didn't mind sharing her colors with me either.

About Goldfish

In 1912, goldfish became a recurring theme in Matisse's work. Goldfish is part of a series that was painted between spring and early summer of 1912. It is believed the goldfish inspiration came from spending the winter of 1912 in Morocco, where locals would daydream while staring into fish bowls. To Matisse, they became symbolic of relaxation, contemplation and tranquility. The use of vibrant color, complementary blues and oranges which appear even brighter when placed next to each other, was a common technique of the Fauves, and common in Matisse's palette throughout his career.

An oil painting on canvas, Goldfish today can be seen at the Pushkin Museum of Art in Moscow.

Finding the basic shapes and colors within complex works of art can simplify them for reproduction by even the youngest of artists! I had fun making my own Goldfish reproduction as well. What is one masterpiece that stands out in your memory from your childhood? Where did you first see it? What stands out about it?

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out the rest of the Art History for Preschool series, including 40+ Books to help you get started. You can find all of these on our Art for Kids board on Pinterest too!

Looking for more painting projects? This is our contribution to Paint-a-thon: 101+ Painting Ideas for Kids! Be sure to check them all out!!

Next up in our series? Introducing your preschooler to Picasso, one of Matisse's rivals, friends and contemporaries.

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Matisse Goldfish - Exploring Masterpieces, Shapes and Colors

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Growing up, my grandparents had a print of the Matisse Goldfish hanging in their breakfast area. The and many other prints and reproductions they hung in their home were my first exposure to art as a child. Thirty years later, having seen many great masterpieces in person in museums around the world, Goldfish are still one of my favorites.

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How books can inspire artist studies in your classroom

In my previous post, I shared with you the book, "Perfect Square" by Michael Hall which we read aloud in our circletime. As another followup to our book, we explored the painting process by painting squares in the style (or influence) of Piet Mondrian ...

The children were invited to explore the painting process by painting inside the squares with any color of paint they liked...

The Process

For today, we added the tape to the squares of cardboard for the kids so they could just focus on the painting process. When we explore this process later in the school year, we will invite the children to create their own taped lines and not worry so much whether they make squares or not. Even we had a hard time making perfect squares but the children didn't seem to mind...

Painting with Colors of Choice

Each child chose the color or colors they wanted to use in their squares. Some children chose to paint every square the same color...

Other children chose to paint every square a different color...

Other children were very systematic in how they chose to paint in their squares while others just painted the squares without a plan in mind...

Reflections on the Experience

Mrs. Courtney and I planned to remove the tape from the squares after they paintings dried but they were so lovely with the tape left on that we decided perhaps to leave the tape on. This is why we chose to use cardboard, thinking the tape would remove more easily without tearing the paper. But we are still undecided and the paintings are still sitting in our drying rack waiting to go home...
Available on Amazon
Links to Grow On

Inspired by Mondrian: Art for Kids from The Imagination Tree

Painting with Scissors Like Henri Matisse from Little Running Teacher

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Painting up perfect squares (Piet Mondrian style)

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How books can inspire artist studies in your classroom In my previous post, I shared with you the book, "Perfect Square" by Michael Hall which we read aloud in our circletime. As another followup to our book, we explored the painting process by painting squares in the style (or influence) of Piet Mondrian...

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Origami is a Japanese paper folding art that originated hundreds of years ago.   Some origami sculptures are complex and intricate, while others are simple and whimsical.  To begin, we will focus on the simple and fun.
More-igami by Dori Kleber is the story of a boy who learns to make origami sculptures from paper.
At the end of the story is a diagram showing how to make an easy origami ladybug.  You will need a small square piece of paper.  Thin paper like notebook or copy paper is best.  For video instructions of the same ladybug, click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhpTJxKvuD0

Just like in the story, the real-life secret to origami is practice.  For more patterns and practice, visit

https://origami.me/diagrams/

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2. What Can you make from a plastic bag? 

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2. What Can you make from a plastic bag? 

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1. What can you make with one plastic bag?

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1. What can you make with one plastic bag?

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How could common items that are discarded be repurposed and useful?

Could these unexpected results influence the next steps taken by an inventor or innovator?

Thousands of plastic bags are discarded daily on our planet.  Where do they go?  Instead of discarding, or throwing them away, think about how you could repurpose it for something else.  Would it be useful?  Pretty to look at?  Something unexpected?

Experiment with ways that you could repurpose one plastic bag.

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DIY Howto! Plastic Bags into Friendship Bracelets!!

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Amazing Up cycling technique that's super easy and super fuuun!!!! (video for earrings being uploaded at the moment :) Tutorial for the EARRINGS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jFb5A-eThY Rosievainobsessions' entry for BeyondBracelets 40,000 Subscriber Contest

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Art JumpStart is a collection of easy art projects to try at home using materials from your recycling.

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Art JumpStart is a collection of easy art projects to try at home using materials from your recycling.

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Can you draw a soup can in the style Andy Warhol?

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Now that spring has finally sprung, consider taking your students outside to create new and exciting works of art. Switch up your routine, and get students collaborating in the great outdoors!

Simply follow the steps below to get started.

1. Reinforce the elements and principles with natural materials.

British artist, Andy Goldsworthy, is an excellent example of an artist who is not only inspired by nature but creates art using natural materials. His land art sculptures are intentionally temporary and left in their environment.

Begin by sharing images and video clips of Goldsworthy's work. Ask students to identify how the artist created lines and shapes using natural materials. Point out different examples of radial, symmetrical, and asymmetrical balance. Have students explain how the artist used contrasting colors or values to lead the eye around the artwork.

Explain Goldsworthy's process of leaving the finished work in nature. He knows his work is only temporary, later to be destroyed in its natural environment. Ask students how they feel about this quality of his work. Does the photograph become a work of art as a result? Have your students discuss this aesthetic question before creating temporary land art of their own.

2. Encourage students to collaborate to create their own land art.

Divide your students into small groups for this activity. They will act as collectors, sculptors, and photographers throughout the process. Students will need to gather materials from their environment to help demonstrate balance, contrast, line, shape, etc. They will work together to build their land art sculpture.
If you're not in an area with a variety of natural materials, consider collecting items beforehand. Take a relaxing hike and pick up potential materials for your students. Pine cones, sticks, rocks, leaves, etc. would all be useful for this project.

Once the work is complete, students may take turns photographing their creation. Provide groups with digital cameras, phones, tablets, etc. to use. If your technology options are limited, you could allow groups to use a single camera or phone under your supervision. This would be a good opportunity to discuss composition, camera angles, and light source. Ask students to think about how to best represent their sculpture in a single image.

3. Be prepared for early finishers.

You may find some groups finish this activity rather quickly, while others take a lot of time and consideration in terms of how they place their materials. For early finishers, give students a variety of creative options. Students may create another land art sculpture, work independently, or help another group complete their work. These students may find inspiration from other groups by seeing different uses of materials or construction methods.

You could also have a few sketchbooks handy for students to take advantage of their time outside to draw from nature.

Have a list of drawing prompts like:

1. Create a still life of at least three natural items found in your environment.

2. Sketch your land art sculpture.

3. Draw a landscape of the environment around you.

4. Re-imagine the environment as a different season, climate, or planet.

5. Sketch a portrait of your classmate and include the environment in your composition.

4. Allow your students to reflect on their experience in nature.

Once each group has completed their land art sculptures and photographed the work, ask them to reflect on their experience. How was using natural materials different from using traditional art supplies? Was the construction of the land art more or less important to them than the photograph?

Ask students to select their best photograph or one for each person in the group. Prepare to have these images printed for their next art class. Then, continue the class discussion on Goldsworthy, temporary art, and photography. Ask students to title their work and write an artist statement.

Final Thoughts

The printed images and student responses can make for a great art installation in your school! The activity helps students apply their understanding of the elements and principles in a new and interesting way.

Spring can be a stressful time of year, as students are anxious to be outside after the long winter. By providing an opportunity to get outside, you let them release some of that pent up energy, while still directing it toward a creative art process!

Enjoy the fresh air with your students and watch as they work together to create and photograph land art inspired by the great Andy Goldsworthy!
How do you engage students with art and nature? Do you have any other outdoor activities to share?

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How to Inspire Your Students With Artist Andy Goldsworthy - The Art of Education University

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Now that spring has finally sprung, consider taking your students outside to create new and exciting works of art. Switch up your routine, and get students collaborating in the great outdoors! Simply follow the steps below to get started. 1. Reinforce the elements and principles with natural materials.

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Picasso has to be one of the most influential and well known artists of all time. Kids tend to gravitate to his art because it's different and 'weird' as one of my young students pointed out and they feel that they can create their own Picasso inspired art work quite successfully.

This art lesson was inspired by another lesson I saw somewhere online or in a magazine and I feel absolutely awful that I can't remember where... Has this ever happened to you? Apologies to the author and a big hug for the inspiration! Anyway, I always say it's ok to copy as long as you change it and make it your own so that is exactly what I have done with this lesson. Everyone will be a HUGE fan of Pablo Picasso by the end of your lesson.

Before you introduce our artist to your students, I suggest you Google 'Picasso' and build up a whole visual feast for the kids to see and get inspired from. has a ton of stuff so go there to find some great movie slideshows and documentaries. If you have some time, why not make one of your own? When you Google 'Picasso ' click on the images tab and you will literally be a click away from thousands of images you can use to create your own stunning slideshow or video adapting it to your needs. For this lesson, focus on art work that show his unique way to portray the human face. Take a look at this clever video to see all the many faces of Picasso.

If you prefer using books as your intros, there is a great series called Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists with cute books on a variety of artists. My students really enjoy these books because there are comics, cute little jokes and stories about the artist. This is what the book looks like:

Before showing and reading anything to your students, ask how many have heard of the name Picasso before. Ask them what they know, have they seen any artwork by him, where, do they know his full name, etc. Ask if anyone knows the meaning of the word abstract and have a bit of fun with this. This would be a good time to show your slideshow, book or the video link from above.

Then go ahead and explain that everyone will make their own Picasso inspired face using colored construction paper and paint for the final details.

Give everyone a 12x 18 colored paper for the background plus some white and black scrap paper.

Give each student two 9×12 pieces of construction paper -they should choose two very different colors- the brighter the better.

Have your students draw an oval on one of the papers. Place the other color under it and cut both papers at the same time.

Next, have your kids choose one color to draw a profile down the middle including the nose and chin. You might need to show them how to do this on the board. Your students should cut it out, glue this over the 12×18 background paper and add a neck with the remaining scrap paper.

From the white scrap paper, cut out one circle and one cone shape which will be the two eyes. The round eye will be the forward looking eye and the cone shape will be the profile view of the other eye. The black paper is for the pupils.

Have the students 'figure' out where each eye should be glued. Hint: the profile view of the eye goes on the paper with the nose. Some kids were a little confused so review profile and frontal view and demonstrate how different the eyes look. Since this is Picasso though-it doesn't really matter where they put it since this is abstract art right? Extra paper is for a closed mouth, big lips, open mouth, etc.. Let your kids go crazy here. They can add hair by cutting up or crimping the rest of the paper.

The background looks really nice with some painted lines, dots, zig-zags or anything else your students can come up with. I adore oil pastels so I would even add some designs over the dry paint, necklaces, etc..

Aren't these so gorgeous? Betcha Picasso would love them. What do you think?

Art Lessons for Kids is on Facebook and we are GROWING. Hit the " Like" button to show your LOVE and join the conversation. You can also follow my adventures on Twitter (@Ms_Alejandra) or see what I am pinning over at Pinterest.

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Picasso has to be one of the most influential and well known artists of all time. Kids tend to gravitate to his art because it's different and 'weird' as one of my young students pointed out and they feel that they can create their own Picasso inspired art work quite successfully.

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Kandinsky was an artist who combined colors, melodies and philosophy. Get inspired from this great artist with some Wassily Kandinsky art projects for kids.
"There is no must in art because art is free."

We've always learnt of each sense as a different one - smell is different from touch, sound is different from sight. Similarly, music is considered different from painting, but there's one common factor - they're both art, and they both touch the soul. It is exactly this point that Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian artist, tried to drive home with his work.

You'd think that a successful professor of law and economics at a reputed university would be satisfied in his career, but not Kandinsky. At age 30, he realized that he was drawn to color more than he could understand, and it eventually became his entire life. If you look at his famous works, you'll find that they're all bright and packed with colors - not unlike a child's painting!

And that's the best part about Kandinsky. Many of his paintings may appear simplistic, but it actually conveys a lot of meaning, much like the man himself. He was deeply philosophical, and was drawn to the idea that "everything starts from a dot". Every single thing begins with that first tiny step - that's an encouraging and humbling thought rolled together in one.

So today, we're going to get some more inspiration from Kandinsky's works with some simple Wassily Kandinsky Art Projects for Kids. Most of these are about shapes and colors, and even little children can join in. They'll be pleased to see how basic things can come together to create masterpieces!

Kandinsky's concentric circles are probably his most iconic feature, and Art Projects for Kids turns this into a collage that looks quite frame worthy! For young kids, hand them ready cut shapes so they can assemble them in any pattern they like.

A good thing about art is that you can use any kind of medium to express yourself. Hello Wonderful uses felt scraps to recreate Kandinsky's concentric circles and squares painting - with an impressive result!

This project is a good one for watercolor beginners, and they'll have the extra challenge of keeping the circles distinct from each other. Good practice for those fine motor muscles!

Get festive with Kandinsky! That Artist Woman shows us how you can use this style in many ways - as a collaborative project, as individual crafts and as miniature ornaments.

Arty Crafty Kids shows us how to stretch our minds by turning Kandinsky's concentric circles into apples! This does give off a bit of an Andy Warhol vibe, especially when you go for quirky shapes!

Impress your Valentine the arty way with this Kandinsky style heart art from Arty Crafty Kids. You can even turn this into a fun quilling project if you're looking for a challenge!

This craft from The Pinterested Parent would make a fun Christmas ornament or gift for someone who loves studying famous artists!

We love how open ended this project from At Home with Ali is! If you have more than one child, have the kids cut up different shapes in different color paper. Then let them exchange the pieces and create their own composition!

The thing about Kandinsky's concentric circles is that it's such a simple project that you can experiment with different media, without worrying too much about the technicality. Get the instructions for this chalk pastel artwork at. Projects with Kids.

Love Elmer the elephant? Playground Parkbench gives us inspiration to convert our favorite book character or cartoon character into a Kandinsky-inspired work of art!

We love how the simplicity of Kandinsky's work hides so much depth in it. When the children create their own works of art, do show them how random shapes and colors seem to belong together in the final piece. It's a lot like us humans too - the more colorful, the better we look together!

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10 Wassily Kandinsky Art Projects for Kids

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Kandinsky was an artist who combined colors, melodies and philosophy. Get inspired from this great artist with some Wassily Kandinsky art projects for kids. "There is no must in art because art is free." We've always learnt of each sense as a different one - smell is different from touch, sound is different from sight.

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The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam houses the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) in the world. The permanent collection includes over 200 paintings by Vincent van Gogh, 500 drawings and more than 750 letters. The museum also presents exhibitions on various subjects from 19th-century art history.

For more information on Vincent van Gogh, please visit the section Vincent van Gogh's Life on the museum's website.

View the Van Gogh Museum YouTube Channel

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Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands - Google Arts & Culture

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The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam houses the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) in the world. The permanent collection includes ...

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For its fifth season, the Louvre's Petite Galerie-a space dedicated to art and cultural education- is holding an exhibition titled 'The Advent of the Artist'. Discover artworks from Delacroix, Rembrandt or Tintoretto.

Collections from the Pharaonic period are displayed on the east side of the Sully wing, on the ground floor and 1st floor.

The Louvre was originally a fortress built by the French king Philippe Auguste. It was intended to reinforce the defenses that the king had ordered to be built in 1190 to protect Paris from attack via the Seine. Today, visitors can walk around the original perimeter moat and view the piers that supported the drawbridge.

The Galerie d'Apollon, situated above the Petite Galerie, was destroyed by fire in 1661 and rebuilt by Le Vau. The ceiling, begun by Le Brun, is a homage to the Sun King, Louis XIV. The central panel, Apollo Slaying the Serpent Python, is by Delacroix (1851). The gallery was recently restored.

Thank you for your understanding.

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For its fifth season, the Louvre's Petite Galerie-a space dedicated to art and cultural education- is holding an exhibition titled 'The Advent of the Artist'. Discover artworks from Delacroix, Rembrandt or Tintoretto. Collections from the Pharaonic period are displayed on the east side of the Sully wing, on the ground floor and 1st floor.

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Virtual tours | Visiting | National Gallery, London

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Wherever you are in the world, take a tour of the National Gallery.

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Great activity booklets

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An amazing interactive map of the museum, beautifully illustrated too!

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum

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Explore The Met using the interactive #MetKids map.

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Games, and projects inspired by the Tate

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Play free games and quizzes, find art activities, explore homework help and share your art with Tate Kids. The best art website for kids.

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You can gather ideas from the virtual field trip above and also from the video below, “Secrets of the Rain Forest” to write down some animals you recognize.  Pick an animal or bird that you would like to sketch using your paper and pencil and share some of your ideas with others.  Have fun talking about rain forests with others.

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Secrets of the Rain Forest by Carron Brown

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Rain forests are forests that are extremely wet because of the large amounts of rainfall they receive.  These forests are important because of the large number of unique plants and animal species found there.  Rain forests also contain many unique bird species found nowhere else in our world.  Hundreds of rain forest plants are used in many medicines and many food sources have been discovered in rain forests as well.
Click below for a virtual field trip to the rainforest.

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Then follow the directions on the attachment "Seuss Style" above to create your own character.  Add a background to show what your character does and where he or she hides.  You can even write a rhyming poem about your character.  Don't forget to give it a name.

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Listen to a read-aloud version of Dr. Seuss'  There's a Wocket in my Pocket .

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Make with Tate Kids - Live - Drawing People

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10 favourite art activities for children

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10 favourite art activities for children

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The Artful Parent's favorite kids' art projects! These art ideas are easy, fun and work for a wide age range of children. Updated December 2023
For years now, we've had this list of favorite art ideas for kids. Every time we try a new art activity, or even revisit an old favorite, it gets measured against this list in our head.
To get included on our list of best art ideas, it needs to fit the following criteria:

The process is fun and open-ended.

It's easy to do.

It's the kind of activity that kids want to do over and over again.

Plus, the end result looks pretty great, too.

Who wouldn't want to do those art projects?!?

Here are our top 10 favorite kids' art ideas. If you're looking to kick the new year off in a creative way, try one of these!

Art Ideas for 2024

This is an all-time favorite that is loved by kids of all ages. Plus, it uses materials you already have! Glue, salt, and either liquid watercolor paint or food coloring. This activity is so fun for seasonal variations too!

Watercolor resist techniques are so fun for kids to explore! The simplest version is to draw with crayons on watercolor paper, then paint with watercolors to see how the wax resists the paint!
If your kids love this, be sure to try salt resist painting, tape resist art and alcohol resist painting.

Make beautiful tissue paper suncatchers to hang in the window! Or try a nature suncatcher by using flowers and leaves and a paper plate as the frame for a lovely spring or summer decoration.

This twist on watercolor painting uses Q-tips instead of paintbrushes, and is one of our standby, super-easy-yet-interesting activities. Kids love making dots with paint, and then connecting them and seeing how the colors blend. You'll find even more fun ways to make art with dots HERE!

The best, easiest, and cheapest DIY marbled paper is done with shaving cream marbling. It's fun and mesmerizing to watch paint swirl and transfer from the shaving cream to paper!
If your kids love this, be sure to try one of our 6 Easy Paper Marbling Techniques including Marbling with Oil + Food Coloring.

Blow painting with straws is simple and yet lots of fun for kids of all ages! Use a straw to blow liquid paint around on paper, creating interesting designs.

Here are some of our favorite creative playdough ideas for kids, including making fantastical creatures, using poke-ins, trying playdough mats, forming letters, and pretend play.
Here are our favorite recipes for no cook playdough and cooked playdough.
This is also known as symmetry painting, blotto painting, smush art, squish painting, and more.

Regardless of the name, kids of all ages love it. It's easy, fun, and the result is unique every time. Create butterflies, hearts, or just fold a piece of paper, drop a few blobs of paint and fold over the paper!

Spin painting is a favorite kids art activity that can be done with a salad spinner or with a kids spin art machine.

Splatter painting is exactly what it sounds like! This action art activity is a big-time favorite with all the kids we've known. Super easy, super fun, and super messy, you've got to try it!
How about you? What's on your list of top 10 all-time favorite art activities for kids?
By the way, if there are some art activities on the list above that you haven't tried yet, we promise you they are good ones that are worth exploring with your kiddos. And if there's something on that list that you have done, perhaps it's time to revisit it?

More Ideas for Creative Families
Want even more creative ideas? Pin It for Later

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Our list of our favorite kids art projects! These art ideas are easy, fun and work for a wide age range of children.

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Red Ted Art - Make crafting with kids easy & fun

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Introducing the Great Artist to my kids is something that has been on my agenda for a long long long time. My kids are only 4yrs and 2yrs old, so of course there is still plenty of time. However, this hasn't stopped me buying lots of wonderful art books for children (amongst our current favourites are Kate and the Mona Lisa and Anna's Art Adventure), as well as going on trips to art galleries (our most memorable trip being to the very welcoming Tate Britain, but also a couple of visits with Granny to the Royal Academy). Now I am keen to "up the ante". We have had a look at "real" paintings before and then had a go at painting our own (specifically we did a "Klimt" painting, that Red Ted LOVES), but I have never really approached "The Great Artists" formally with my kids and I wasn't sure how to write about it here for you.

My background is NOT in education and it is NOT in art. So, sometimes I am a little intimidated by those that do have a background in art or education and I worry "will I do it right?" and "what IS the right way?" and "If I talk about it here, will I get told, I am not doing it right?".

But when it comes to children, in particular young children, you cannot go wrong by:
* Simply exposing your children to art - whether it is going to a gallery or looking at a statue in your shopping centre. * Simply having a go - if you see something and it makes you want to have a go, in whatever form you choose - surely that is good and there is no real right or wrong. * Encourging an interest in art by asking your child lots of questions ("What colours do you like best?" "What do you think that is?" "What are they doing?" What is your favourite bit?" "How does it make you feel?").
So. What is the best way of helping your child create art that is inspired by the Great Artists? This is the beginning of our journey. I have a number of lovely teacher bloggy friends keen and willing to share their experiences with me (some of whose sites you will find linked below). I also have a number of educational art books stacked up to read. And I invite you to join our journey with us.

" Take your child's journey, as an opportunity to learn yourself ". A child doesn't mind if you don't know something and it is a great way to brush up on your own knowledge!

To begin with, I have pulled together a collection of posts for inspiration - from people with all sorts of backgrounds - some in education, some not. Some may have a formal approach, some do not.

What they have in common, is that they are sharing their interest and love for art with their children and that together they are being creative. No right. No wrong. Just having a go. Why don't you?

So. To the Great Artist Round Up!

I have always shown "originals" by the artist. Please visit the links to explore what the children created. The art activities listed are in no particular order. I am sure you will be impressed - without being intimidated! You will find lots of different approaches and techniques. Which goes to show that there are lots of different ways of exploring art with your children! Exploring artists, doesn't always mean, that the children "should" copy the style or painting, but for example could also mean making a puzzle out a print or acting out a story. The main thing is to enjoy the art and be inspired!

Matisse - Scrap Paper Master Piece by No Time for Flashcards

Andy Warhol's Headlines - by Child Art Retrospective (I also love the Hundertwasser houses)

Jackson Pollock for children by Sunny Day Today Mama (and more Van Gogh too)

David Hockney, Photo Montage

Banksy, Street Art - Stencils and Spray Paint

Mondrian - primary colours and paper strips by Thomas Elementary Art

Van Gogh - Study and Printable book by Deceptively Educational

Klimt - an art lesson by Mr Julies Art School

Pop Art PRINTS - Andy Warhol Styrofoam printing by The Seeds Network

Pop Art - Portraits - Andy Warhol Photograph block colouring by The Seeds Network (find Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg ideas too)

Picasso - A round up of child create art in the style of Great Artists by Teach Preschool

Ted Harrison - By That Artist Woman

Klimt - Lesson Plan 4-6 yrs olds by Kinder Art

Jackson Pollock - large scale collaborative (fun fun fun!) by 52 Brand New

Picasso - Faces - Art Lessons for Kids

Turner - Sea Monsters by Red Ted Art (& Tate Britain)

Alma Woodsey, by We Heart Art

Kandinsky - Marker art by No Time for Flashcards (find lots more inspiration more from No Time For Flashcards here)

Van Gogh (& Others) - tracing outlines by Practical Pages

Helen Frankenthaler - by Dilly Daly Art (and more from Dilly Dally Art here)

Faith Ringgold - Tar Beach series by Pink and Green Mama

Alexander Calder- Mobile by Deceptively Educational

(More) Kandinsky - this time Water Colours by Artsy Craftsy Mom

Kuitca - a Sense of Place collages by Child Art Retrospective

Monet - Tissue paper collage by Here Come the Girls

Mondrian - Lego (!) though not created by children, I HAD To share this "Lego" Mondrian over at Walker Zanger Blog

Georgia O'keeffe - Flowers by Pink and Green Mama (also find some Henri Rousseau)

Giotto - mix your own tempura paint by Mama Scouts

Monet - a collaborative art project by Explore Education

Aelita Andre - Prodigy of Color - by Angelique Felix

Mondrian - Cardboard Box Murial - by Art Play Explore (and find more Monet here)

(More) Kandinski - Felt (ooh lovely) squares by Art Projects for Kids

Escher, LOTS of wonderful ideas by se7en (love this site!)

Dali, again lots of ides by se7en and her kids!

Alexander Calder, sculpture by MaryAnn Kohl

Van Gogh, oil pastels by Patch of Puddles

Collaborative Jasper Johns Flag Art Project!

Other Arty Sites/ Posts you may like:

* Deep Space Sparkle

* Act in Art For some fabulous videos on children exploring Picasso, Klee and Klimt

* Montessori Inspired Art Appreciation

And remember to just let them look!

We also have a great set of 25 Art Projects for Toddlers and Preschool

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Exploring The Great Artists - 30+ Art Projects for Kids - Red Ted Art - Make crafting with kids easy & fun

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Introducing the Great Artist to my kids is something that has been on my agenda for a long long long time. My kids are only 4yrs and 2yrs old, so of course there is still plenty of time. However, this hasn't stopped me buying lots of wonderful art books for children (amongst our current favourites [...]

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Distance learning is not new. Colleges have been doing it for years. And there are even online schools for elementary and secondary students in place of tradition brick and mortar schools.

Yet, many art teachers around the globe will have to deliver instruction this way for the very first time due to inclement weather, school closures, or other extenuating circumstances. And whether your school calls it remote learning, e-learning, or online learning, likely you're quickly figuring out how challenging it can be.

Home-based learning requires not only a broad sense of technology (internet, video conferencing, Google Classroom), but a new skill set for delivering instruction. Ever watch yourself on video give a demonstration? Every breath, twitch, eye roll, and mispronounced word feels like the longest moment in time. If you've recorded yourself for a teaching portfolio, you know what I mean! But for art teachers who deal with physical materials, teaching via distance learning can be downright difficult.

It leads to practical questions like, "How do I relay content to my students?" And "How am I supposed to take attendance and grade them?" to "What the heck am I supposed to teach them?"

Art Teachers Are Adaptive

And yet, art teachers are the most adept at creating amazing art projects on the fly with little or no resources available. I think it's the nature of what we do. We're creative beings. We see art in everything because everything is art to us. Scraps normally thrown in the trash are our treasure. And nature provides a heaping amount of tools, materials, and inspiration, too.

As artists, we're also used to restrictions. Any teacher who went to art college can relate to being given an assignment on short notice with few or no materials. Or even strict requirements for a project that while constraining, helps bring out amazing ideas due to those constraints. So while distance learning might seem like a high bridge to cross, it's not impossible. With some tools, tips, and advice, anything is possible.

Best Practices for Distance Learning

Before I get into some of the ideas for actual art projects, I'd like to address some best practices for distance learning. These tips are meant to make your journey into remote learning more successful.

Art Materials

Art teachers should be writing lessons assuming that some children will have nothing but a pencil. That doesn't mean you should only provide pencil and paper ideas, because some will have more. It just means you need to think about the lowest common denominator in terms of available materials and work from that point forward.

Some of the ideas below will work for many teachers and students and some won't. Your students might live in an apartment building in a city and can't get ahold of found objects in nature. Other students could be in a situation where they're living between two homes. What's available at one home isn't at the other. The idea here is to know your students and what items they can find for art projects.

A word about equity. When considering projects that require the use of food, avoid making those art projects required. You will no doubt have a student whose family struggles financially. Using food as a required source for lessons sets up some students for failure. Be sure to encourage your students to ask permission to use any food items.

Workload for Art Projects

Keep your lessons simple. The easier they are, the greater the chance students will do them. Remember: they're at home. Think about how you are at home. Do you want to be all cozy in your pjs, curled up on the couch, and have to think about a huge pile of work that's due?

Be realistic about your expectations. The longer they are in a remote learning situation, the less you should expect of them. If your school is closed for a couple snow days, reduce the work a little. If you're out for a whole month or more? Even more so. What you might accomplish in a once a week art class, you should expect it to take 2 - 3 times as long depending on the complexity of the assignment.

Low Tech is Best

I'd like to state that now isn't the time to teach students about new technologies your students don't already use. Yes, you as the art teacher might be learning some new instructional technology to deliver your art projects, like designing a virtual Bitmoji classroom. You might need to pick up some basic video editing skills using phone apps. Or how to mount a phone camera to shoot overhead video. You may even be told you have to get on learning about Google Classroom (and actually use it!). But don't expect students to spend time learning new technologies while distance learning. Your focus should be getting content to them.

Some art museums have opened their virtual doors to teachers, students, and parents. And you should absolutely take them up on these learning opportunities. Just don't make it required. You will have students who have to share their device with a sibling and likely a parent(s), too. They may not even have a good internet connection (or one at all). In these instances, refer to your school district's distance learning policy. You may have to deliver packets or make pre-recorded phone calls to get the instruction to them. Some schools have robocalling software like Honeywell that may be a viable option for you.

Consistency is Key

Whatever means you decide to deliver instruction, whether that be via unlisted YouTube videos, Zoom meetings, or paper packets, be consistent. Kids need to know where to find your assignments and how you'll engage with them. Your school district likely has guidelines on instructional delivery and you should absolutely follow them precisely. Just be consistent about it so kids can be successful in this new learning environment. The last thing you want is a parent emailing you stating that their child didn't hand the work in because they didn't know where to locate your assignments.

Relax Deadlines

I'm going to say something a tad controversial here. Not every school administrator will understand what it's like to be a "specials" teacher with 700+ students or have to work in two or three school buildings. They don't walk in your amazing shoes every day. You'll receive lofty guidelines and expectations to follow. They might tell you to check for work every week, count that as attendance, and update your weekly grades with online grading software.

But can I just say? It's more important for you to be flexible in tough times than it is to follow some of those well-intentioned "rules." Now, you might feel uncomfortable because I just basically told you to look the other way. But really, I'm asking you to think about what's best for your students and advocate for them. Not every child is living in a scenario where their parent is going to care if they did all your art projects. I'm not saying don't eventually mark a student as not having handed it in. But be flexible with assignments, deadlines, and quality of work. And expect a lot of stick figures and corner suns.

19 Distance Learning Art Projects for Kids

One approach which I highly recommend is to create a choice board or menu where students can pick from different activities. On that choice board, at least half should be simple drawing activities where students have the opportunity to embellish with crayons, colored pencils, or markers if they have those things available. The directions that accompany your menu or choice board should clearly state this.

Other projects for your distance learning choice board should be based on found objects and recycled materials. I think this is a great opportunity to highlight artists from the past, like Marcel DuChamp, as well as modern artists like Rebecca Louise Law who is a floral artist.

Famous Laundry Art

Students can use clothes - old t-shirts, sweatshirts, pants - to compose a famous painting! The best part is that nothing is cut and therefore nothing gets wasted. The first step is for students to do a bit of research on famous, recognizable paintings. I recommend they pick ones with bold shapes and basic colors. This is a great opportunity to send them through a virtual museum tour. Many art museums have online tours students can take.

Homemade Scratch Drawings

This was one of my favorite things to do as a kid! And this is a great idea for parents who have a lot of old crayons that are down to stubs. Basically, they just have to apply the crayon heavily so it builds up a waxy layer. Any sharp object can be used to scratch with. I recommend the large sized paperclips as they're a little more sturdy than the smaller ones. But tacks and very small screwdrivers work, too! The best part is that if they do something they don't like, they can color over it with black and try again.

Marker Painting

I love marker painting! I first discovered it many years and quite by accident. Since then, I've used it for many art projects. Basically, kids can draw a picture and outline their shapes with markers. Then, they dip a brush into water and smudge it into the marker strokes and it makes paint!

Shadow Puppets

This is a great opportunity to teach students about the element of art called shape, as well as some basic photography composition. Kids can use any type of paper they want. The best for this would be black construction paper. But if they don't have that, the front or back cover of a magazine or even condensed cardboard cereal boxes will work. First, cut out and design some kind of creature. Then tape it to a string or a pencil. Shine a lamp or flashlight to the creature against a wall and snap a picture.

Found Objects Color Wheel

If your student's parents are clamoring for ideas to keep them occupied, this will do the trick! The idea here is kids will search the house and gather items that fit into each color on the color wheel. Objects don't have to be completely one color to fit into a color family. But they should be mostly that one color.

Nature Imitating Art

If your students are able to get outside and have access to trees, dirt, leaves, sticks, and anything else nature provides freely, then they can create art! Kids are inherently great at this. Out of boredom they'll start drawing in the dirt with a stick, or build a snowman, or even create a fort from old branches. Have students gather whatever natural materials they can find and compose a picture. Encourage them to look at the shapes and see what's unique about them. Or have them do a leaf rubbing. They can use leftover copy paper and crayon stubs.

Creativity Warm-Up Drawings

Here's a great activity for students to do if all they have is paper and pencil! It really challenges students to use their creativity to figure out what the marks in the box remind them of and make a drawing based on it. You can grab a copy in my free resource library.

Homemade Paint

There are so many ways kids can make paint including coffee, tea, fruit juices, spices, food coloring, old markers, and even mud! Have kids test out mixing some of these materials with a little water to see what results they get. The first week's activity could be to make a chart followed up by a simple picture of an object like an apple or a boat.

Dont' have paintbrushes? Improvise! Your students can use q-tips, cotton balls, old makeup brushes, toothbrushes, toothpicks, feathers, skewers, and even grass. This is a great opportunity to teach them about mark making. Anything can make a mark and can be used as a tool to make art. Cutting up scraps of cardboard to make a comb or using old sponges. Really, anything can make art. Your lesson can be based on forging tools for art making!

Cartoons with Props

Here's a basic project that uses an everyday object as a prop. It can be anything small like a penny, a pencil stub, a tack, dried pasta or beans, or a paperclip. Students can draw a series of drawings using that small object. This would work well for 2nd grade and up.

Cardboard Robot Sculptures

Cardboard is one of those materials that families easily have on hand. Why not turn it into fun art? Kids can make low relief and free-standing sculptures easily. Parents can cut cardboard into manageable strips so kids can cut them to size.

Digital Art Portfolios

If you teach middle school, making digital portfolios is a great activity that requires no art materials! Many middle schoolers already know how to use Google Slides because they use it in other classes. And if you already have students taking pictures of their artwork and uploading to Google Classroom, why not have them document what they're creating and why. These templates make creating art portfolios easy.

Newspaper and Magazine Collages

Design a fantasy world, crazy creatures, or whatever comes to mind. They will need to ask permission to cut up magazines and newspapers, first. Give them creative permission to include any other art materials they wish. They can even cut some things out and free draw other parts and collage them together!

Meme That!

Take a famous painting, upload it to Padlet (which can be connected to your Google Classroom) and have students caption it. Include a link to a site where they can read more about the painting.

Alternatively, you could provide them with a painting and have them use a free online meme generator and hand it in via Google Classroom. Your students will love out-doing each other for the funniest meme.

Isometric Drawings

Your upper elementary and middle school students will love making isometric drawings! You can find free isometric drawing grid paper online. Have students practice making cubes, rectangular prisms, alphabet letters, etc. If all they have is a pencil, that will work. Crayons, markers, and colored pencils are great for embellishing. Use it as a lesson to teach upper elementary students about value using stippling, hatching, and cross-hatching.

Found Object Art Names

This one is as simple as it looks. Ask students to gather small items from around the house to compose a picture of their name. The longer the name, the more space they will have to prepare for it. This can lead to a project where students draw out a whole alphabet - or their initials - using everyday objects that they love.

Digital Photography

Here's another project that doesn't require any art materials. Students can use a phone, tablet, or digital camera to shoot pictures using the rule of thirds. Teach them the basics of lighting, and how to compose a picture, placing an emphasis on the elements and principles of design. Stick to basic topics like pets, family, toys, and nature so all students can be successful. If you're concerned students will submit pictures they've found online, you could require them to submit a second picture in the same setting that shows them there.

Wire Sculptures

All they need are a pair of pliers and some old wire hangers. Kids love tinkering around with tools and this is a great activity for them to create something they might otherwise make in an art room!

Styrofoam Prints

All your students need is a c lean styrofoam tray from the supermarket, markers, a pencil, a damp rag or sponge, and a piece of paper. They can draw a design into the styrofoam using a blunt pencil, then color it in using markers. Just be sure not to lean into the wet marker strokes. Dampen the paper with the rag or sponge and then rub the paper over the styrofoam and pull it off.

Zentangle Drawings

Middle schoolers love making zentangles! I think it's their love of permanent markers. I found my students appreciated being given graph paper to keep some of the more geometric patterns in order. Zentangle patterns and printable graph paper can be found everywhere online. Coloring materials are great for embellishing, but I've also seen students do these with just pencil and paper and they come out great, too.

Conclusion on Distance Learning

Distance learning is for art teachers. Tough, but impossible. It just requires a little more thought and flexibility on your part for planning art projects. If this is your first time experiencing it, give yourself some room to make mistakes. If you're a veteran teacher, it's going to feel like you're a first year teacher all over again. I say that because it will be a whole new way of teaching you're not accustomed to. And like anything else, it will be hard at first but become easier over time.

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19 Distance Learning Art Projects & Resources

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Distance learning is tough for art teachers. Tough, but not impossible. It just requires a little more thought and flexibility on your part for planning art projects. If this is your first time experiencing it, give yourself some room to make mistakes.

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Teaching art is very much a hands-on process. Distance learning and virtual classrooms make that process a bit more challenging. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can help kids explore art techniques and styles during online learning. These distance learning art projects require only basic supplies like crayons, colored pencils, scissors, and watercolors, which most kids already have on hand. It's time to get creative!

1. Go on a color scavenger hunt

Introduce young students to the wide array of colors in the world around them. Have them scribble a colored square from a selection of crayons or markers. Then, send them off to find items that match!

Learn more: I Heart Crafty Things

2. Assemble a found objects color wheel

Older kids can take color exploration one step further by putting together their own color wheel from objects around their house. (Be sure they put everything back when they're done!)

Learn more: The Crayon Lab

3. Experiment with grid drawing

Grid drawing is one of those distance learning art projects that can be differentiated for various ages and skill levels. Little ones can start with free printables like these to learn the process. Older kids can apply the grid method to more complicated images of their choice.

Learn more: The Three Little Pigs Story

4. Photograph a conceptual self-portrait

Ask kids to draw a self-portrait, and many will say "that's too hard!" so try this conceptual portrait project instead. Students assemble and arrange objects to represent themselves, then take a photograph to share.

Learn more: She Teaches Art

5. Shade name art with colored pencils

Have kids grab their colored pencils while you teach an online lesson on shading. Have them outline the letters of their name, then shade and color to make graffiti-like creations.

Learn more: That Art Teacher

6. Turn shapes into art

This easy idea lets students experiment with color, texture, and creativity. Get the free printables at the link.

Learn more: A Girl and a Glue Gun

7. DIY some scratch art paper

Kids make their own scratch art paper with this cool project. First, they use crayons to color a piece of paper randomly. For the black layer, they paint over the color with black acrylic paint and allow it to dry. No paint? Black crayons will work pretty well as a substitute. To create their masterpieces, kids use a sharp object like a toothpick to scratch out patterns and pictures to see the colors underneath.

Learn more: That Artist Woman

8. Color a cubist autumn tree

Learn about cubism and play with color in this whimsical project. The tree trunk is made of a piece of black construction paper, but if students don't have any on hand, they can simply color it black instead.

9. Cut out Fibonacci circles

We love distance learning art projects that bring a little math into the mix. Delve into Fibonacci sequences and cut out circles to represent them. Everyone will start with the same circles, but each arrangement will be different.

Learn more: What We Do All Day

10. Sketch an eye self-portrait

All students need is a pencil and paper for this art lesson. First, they learn to draw a human eye. Then, they add personalizing details and patterns around it. The video at the link walks you through the project.

Learn more: That Art Teacher/YouTube

11. Add doodles to everyday objects

Whimsy is the rule of the day when kids add doodles to objects from around the house. This quick and easy idea really brings out the creativity!

12. Paint crayon resist art

Break out that seldom-used white crayon and use it to create resist art. Students draw a picture or write a message in crayon, then paint over it with watercolors to reveal the secret.

Learn more: Entertain Your Toddler

13. Snip paper snowflakes

One of the best things about this idea is it only requires printer paper and scissors. Instead of cutting randomly, challenge kids to plan their snowflake designs and sketch them first. They'll be impressed by their frosty creations!

14. Sculpt Giacometti figures from foil

Grab a sheet of aluminum foil from the kitchen and learn how to plan and sculpt figures like Giacometti's. We love that there's some art history tied into this project.

Learn more: NurtureStore

15. Trace toy shadows

Show kids how to set up a lamp to cast a shadow of their favorite toys. Once they've made their tracing, they can add details to complete the picture.

16. Fold and color paper birds

Origami is an ancient and often complex art, but these birds are simple enough you can show kids how to make them via Zoom. Once the folds are done, they can use markers, crayons, or other supplies to supply the personality!
Want more distance learning art ideas? Inspire Kids' Creativity With These 12 Online Art Resources. Plus, 8 Art Therapy Activities to Help Kids Identify and Manage Their Feelings.

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16 Distance Learning Art Projects That Only Require Basic Supplies

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Teaching art is very much a hands-on process. Distance learning and virtual classrooms make that process a bit more challenging. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can help kids explore art techniques and styles during online learning. These distance learning art projects require only basic supplies like crayons, colored pencils, scissors, and watercolors, which most kids already have on hand.