Every child is an artist. -Pablo Picasso
My teacher resources include a binder of fine art pictures I have collected over years. I find these in calendars, postcards, used Good and Beautiful workbooks and picture study packets. I remember ordering postcard sized sets from Christianbook.com .
I love a book called The Art of Teaching Art to Children at Home and at School, By Nancy Beal. I like the materials she recommends and the mediums she uses.
We incorporate art by Tinker Sketch, Art Lessons, Picture Study and Handwork.
Tinker Sketch is part of a monthly art challenge from Rachelle at TinkerLab.
Each day of the month there is a word to spark a bit of creativity. I have a variety of art materials available for diverse options. We have various paper, mediums, stickers, stamps, scissors and tape. We can daily sketch whatever we choose or follow along with the prompt.
Art Lessons I integrate principles and elements of art. We investigate a variety of artists for inspiration and examples. My mother is an artist and is currently living near me. She has been teaching the children art and how to follow directions and adding depth to our study of the principles and elements of art. Our art lessons have matched the nature readings for each month this year. I included two lesson plans on texture and figure drawing.
The principles of art and design are balance, rhythm, pattern, emphasis, contrast, repetition, unity and movement.
Elements of art and design – line, shape/form/proportion, space, value, color and texture – to create a composition as a whole.
"Every child is an artist." -Pablo Picasso
Texture Lesson
We create a piece of artwork for our portfolio each month. The subject matter for this project is a giraffe and the art element explored is pattern or texture.
Texture applies to the senses of sight and touch. There are four types of texture in art:
actual (natural)
simulated (visual)
abstract (real but simplified)
invented (man made pattern) texture.
Part 1. Draw a giraffe
Following a tutorial we sketch a large giraffe head and neck step by step using basic shapes.
Part 2. Texture treasure hunt: actual texture
We take crayons and 8 x 11 paper cut in 4 pieces and go explore textures in our home and backyard. We do rubbings of backsplash tile, seashells, a woven baskets, brick, sidewalk, trunk of a tree, cooling rack, rocks, and the bottom of shoes. We cut out shapes from our rubbings and glue them into some of the spots on our giraffe.
Part 3. Simulated texture with patterns
To create simulated texture we use pens and markers to create line patterns such as dots, grid, wavy lines, zigzag, circles, straight lines or spirals. We fill in the empty spots. Here is another artist's example.
Part 4. Fill in the background of the neck and head.
To finish our project we add background texture on the parts of the giraffe that are not spots.
Figure Drawing Lesson
Do you prefer stick figures or sausage figures? This lesson uses both to look at the movement and figure drawing.
Proportion is the art element focus. Proportion is the principle of art that refers to size and how parts relate to the whole.
The art principle is motion. Artists imply movement by placing objects in ways that only make sense if moving. Positions imply motion.
"There's nothing like drawing a thing to make you really see it." Margaret Atwood
Step 1: Stick Figures
Draw stick figures of different positions using proportion. We use a head as the unit of measurement. Positions could be sitting, standing, running, ballet positions, kicking, sleeping, throwing. How to Draw for kids stick figures with proportion according to age.
Step 2: Ovals and Circles
Add ovals or sausage shapes over the stick drawings to make muscles.
Step 3: Add Details
Add clothes, hair and details to the sausage forms.
Step 4: Draw people in a scene
You could use these sketching skills to create a parade of people or a family playing at the park, or whatever context you want.
Youtube Tutorials by Paul Priestley (for older children)
Draw a standing man and a small child
2020-2021 Plans and Resources for Term Art Units
Next year we will simplify and instead of monthly units we will try three term units.
Fall Term: Watercolor Nature
Winter Term: Folk art with mixed media
Spring Term: Architecture Art
We practice sketching and watercolor with our nature journals.
Picture Study
Each term we study the artwork of an artist. Each painting is used for two weeks and displayed for the rest of the term. We use the Artful Thinking Habits to observe, discuss, question and write. We sketch the main elements to commit the image to memory.
I use the Picture Study Plans by Emily Kiser. The lesson plans include why we do picture study--to help children recognize beauty and enjoy it. How do we do picture study--get to know the picture by reading it, not about it. Give a little background, tell how big the actual picture is, have the children look silently at it for a few minutes, ask the children to describe it as much as they can from memory. Then, talk about the picture, disclose the title. What did you feel? What is the story the picture is telling? The Artful Thinking Habit observation prompts are options. Display the picture for the rest of the term.
A Charlotte Mason Plenary has a few Picture Study Units. I have used two and loved them.
"We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the child's sense of beauty, upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sights of life; he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture." -Charlotte Mason, Home Education p. 309
Handwork
Each term we have a new focus for handwork instruction. Children have time to work on their projects during read aloud and afternoon time.
The three categories of handwork:
modeling: clay, play dough, sand, putty
paper: making paper, origami, cardboard, book binding
fiber: needlework, weaving, crochet, sewing
My Pinterest has boards with links and I use books for ideas.
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