While not necessarily a Mexican-inspired project, this lesson is a great way to scale the EASY MARIGOLD lesson for older kids. Whereas the individual marigolds are stunning, older children can... Learn More

The Otomi Indians in San Pablito, Mexico use the bark of the Jonote tree (similar to a Ficus) to make Papel Amate (Amate Bark). This tree grows in mountainous regions of Mexico.... Learn More

The Liberty is a bronze bell that symbolizes freedom in the United States. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The bell was made in 1752 in London, England for the... Learn More

The bald eagle is one of America’s most iconic symbols. This lesson includes some fun facts about the American bald eagle, steps to create a patriotic work of art, plus... Learn More

Simple. Cute. Fun. What more could you want from a primary grade art lesson? This lesson features a farmyard favorite that your students will enjoy drawing. Tempera paints with a black... Learn More

I love this lesson because it covers so many important skills for kinders. Your students will be drawing or tracing apples, cutting, pasting and painting. Simple color mixing is sure... Learn More

These beautiful, glowing pumpkins have a lot going on: drawing from observations and sequence, primary color mixing, adding highlights, cutting and pasting skills and composition. Though this is a multi-step... Learn More

This is a great project to do before or after your kids visit your local pumpkin patch. No doubt the local farmer will have shown your kids more than just... Learn More

Many folk art calendars offer great visual references for barns with either summer or winter landscapes. I have a collection that I have curated over the years. In addition to... Learn More

Inspired by the works of Abstract/Folk Art artist, Karla Gerard (http://karlagerard.blogspot.com/), fourth graders delved into a world of color, pattern and whimsy. This project takes a bit more time than... Learn More

Farm animals are generally a big hit with any aged child. There is something familiar yet strange about farm animals in terms of behavior, appearance and purpose! Speckled hens offer... Learn More

I used a few of my favorite techniques to help my kinders create these adorable (and quite impressive) self-portraits. We used a template to trace the face and used a... Learn More

Using a template or a starter when teaching little kids about the process of making portraits helps the child considerably. Don’t worry that you are stifling creativity. As long as... Learn More

This is a lesson that not only teaches portrait techniques but also engages the imagination. A perfect combination. Photocopy the “Imagination Portrait” handout and give one to each child. Discuss... Learn More

folk art stylings, African art is colorful, dynamic and easily adaptable to most age levels. This lesson takes two 1⁄2 40-minute class sessions. For the first class, we painted the... Learn More

Some of my favorite lessons to teach in the art room originate from a book. Searching through old and recently published children’s books is both inspiring to me as a... Learn More

Sometimes it’s fun to draw with a paint brush. That’s exactly what my fourth graders did as they studied various tree shapes for an upcoming project. They also learned that... Learn More

Drawing a giraffe can look intimidating to a young student but if you demonstration a rather pathetic looking giraffe on the white board, they will begin to settle down. My... Learn More