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Art Projects for Kids

Whale Art Project for Kids

This aquatic ocean art project for children is sure to be a huge hit in your classroom! Pair this fantastic beach side theme with your ocean animals unit study. Best of all this project is simple, and great for students of all ages. Students will build a variety of art skills as they work with mixed media (chalk pastels and glue), and learn to use blending and color hues to create visual interest.

Ocean Art Projects for Kids

It can be difficult to depict the ocean water, but with this exciting technique, your students will be able to create dimensions to really make those waves pop!

Just look at those colors! It make look like a difficult process, but chalk pastels are VERY forgiving and easy to blend. Students of all ages will love working with these fun vibrant colors and our unique glue technique.

Chalk Pastel Tutorial for Kids

Using chalk pastels can be a MESSY project! We’ll provide you with some tips and ideas for keeping the color on the canvas and not on your clothing. Chalk Pastel is NOT my favorite medium because it is so “chalky,” but it can be used to create some amazing colors and designs.

Whale’s Tail Art Project Materials:

Step 1:

The first step is to setup the composition of your paper. Use the Tail template to draw the whales tail near the center of your sheet. Remember you want to leave room below the tail for the ocean waves. Use a circle lid for a template to make the sun behind the tail. You don’t have to put it dead center, in fact, it looks a little more whimsical to place it a bit to the side of the tail.

Step 2:

Next, you’ll want to make your ocean waves. I’ve darkened the photo above so you can see my pencil sketches of the waves. Basically, you’ll want to make a variety of spiral waves and a few “peaks and valleys” to bring them all together. I have waves going in each direction and even a few water drop splashes near the tail.

Step 3:

Now, it’s time to get the glue outlines! I decided to use clear glue to outline my sun. I want the sunset to appear to radiate a bit, so my glue lines are bumpy, uneven, and I’ve made some radiating lines around the sun. Then, I outlined the whale’s tail with black glue.

Here is a closer look at how I’m putting down the black glue over the waves. Sometimes my sketched lines are too close for the glue, that is okay. I’m using my sketch as a guide, it doesn’t have to be exactly over your original lines.

Step 4:

I added some extra details like barnacles on the tail, and some texture on the top. I also went back with some more clear glue to add some texture inside the sun, and some more clear glue inbetween the waves (Pictured below)

Step 5:

It’s time to let your glue dry! This can take a while depending on how thick your glue is, at least a few hours. It’s important that your glue is completely dry before starting the project.

Step 6:

Once your glue is dry, it’s time to start filling in the different sections with chalk pastel. I started with the sun. The sun should go from light yellow in the center to orange at the edges. So, I picked a a few different hues of yellow. I used the lightest yellow in the center of the sun. Because the tail obstructs the exact center, I put a little above and below as pictured. Then, I took a bright yellow and make the next layer around. All layers should be done in a circle shape.

Step 7:

When I laid down my next darkest hue of yellow, you can see that I ran into some of the clear glue. Anywhere the clear glue is, the chalk will not be able to adhere to the page, so it will leave you with white areas. This is fantastic for adding some radiating highlight to the sun!

Step 8

Continue filling in the sun, with darker and darker yellows. Then add some orange, and finally line the border with red. Once the sun is completely filled in you can take a Q-tip or cotton swap to blend the colors inward so that you don’t have any sharp color changes. You want your sun to gradually go from light yellow to orange.

Once the inside of the sun is filled in, you’ll want to start on the sky a bit. Choose some light pinks and go sound the outside of the sun. Use your lightest pink first, then some medium pink or purple. Use the cotton swab to blend the colors around the sun. (NOTE: I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with the rest of the sky, so while I thought about that I moved onto the ocean. If you want to keep going on the sky, skip down a few steps, then come back for the ocean)

To start the ocean waves, choose a dark blue/purple color and make triangle shapes at the base of all your waves. We are just setting up some of the darker shadows of the waves. You’ll notice that wherever ther is clear glue that the chalk won’t set.

Now, choose a medium blue and outline the triangles and pull some of the color through the waves. You’ll want to follow the same lines as your glue. So the blue chalk is also swirling and curling like waves.

Repeat this process with lighter blues and even some sea green colors. Continue to fill in the rest of the waves with color. After you get the color down, take the Q-tip and start to blend the colors in the directions of each wave. You might want to “blow” off the remaining chalk as well.

Here is a close up of how my waves look after blending. The white areas are the spots of clear blue. You might notices that some of the chalk is sticking to the black glue. This is easily fixed by dipping a clean Q-tip into water and gently removing the chalk from the glue lines. This will help your picture POP as well.

It’s time to go back and finish out that sunset sky! So after laying down light pink, come back with some medium pink, and then some magenta. Continue to make circular strokes around the sun. See how I’m leaving some random white space in between some of the colors This will help solidify the radiance of the sun, so be sure to leave some white around the layers as you fill in the sky.

After you get your pink hues down, you’ll want to slowly get darker and darker as you get to the edges of your sky. With each color you want to make circluar strokes in the same shape as your sun. I chose the following color order: Purple, Dark Purple, Teal. Then I went back in and added a few strokes of blue to highlight the purle areas and a few strokes of yellow to highlight the link areas.

After you get your colors down, you’ll again want to blend them together. Use a few different Q-tips and blend in the same circle motion around the shape of the sun. Be sure to blend the colors but leave some white areas to add textures and dimension. Remember, we want the sun to look like it’s radiating outward. You might want to leave the tail completely white, because honestly it looks stunning and the contrast is beautiful! I contemplated stopping here, but decided to at least show a tutorial for how to color the tail in case you wanted to keep going too!

So, here is a photograph of how I laid down the colors of the whale’s tail. I used a light grey to color the areas with the barnacles, with a blue edge. Then blue again on the center of the belly. For the top of the tale I used a bit of sea green, and blue in the center. You’ll see that I left some of the borders white. I did this so as I blend I can make the shape look more rounded and 3-D.

After I blend this all in, I went over the remaining areas with the white chalk pastel color. This helped me cover up any mistakes too as some of the white areas had picked up some colored chalk dust from all the other sections of the page.

Did you try this project with your kiddos? Tag us on Instagram with your creations! If you are looking for more Ocean Art Projects for Kids try our

Jellyfish Art Project for Kids

Create this Simple Watercolor & Glue Jellyfish with your art students today! With our free step-by-step art tutorial, this stunning jellyfish can be created by students and adults of all ages and abilities. You’ll be amazed at how simple and easy this jellyfish watercolor art project is, and at how beautiful it looks hanging in your classroom! Imagine a full art wall of these gorgeous jellies!

Simple Watercolor Jellyfish

Jellyfish might seem like they are difficult to create, but because of their fluid shape, they are actually quite simple…..and fun! Best of all we’ve added in an amazingly, simple watercolor and glue technique that will bring textures and quality to your project!

Watercolor & Clear Glue Art Project

It’s hard to photograph the actual texture of this projects, so here is a closer look at the canvas. Prior to paining, a layer of clear glue is used to create a 3-D underlay, so that when paint is applied it creates a stunning and unique result every single time! In the photo above you can see these layers or dried glue as the raised elements on the canvas.

Jellyfish Craft for Kids

Glue is also used on the tentacles of the jellyfish to add some variety of textures and colors. You can see in the above photo that the watercolor absorbs differently into the glue and you can see almost transparent-like strings coming down. This is a wonderful technique for making jellies!

Watercolor Jellyfish

Jellyfish Template & Materials

If you’d like to provide your students with a template, you can use our free printable stencil for the main shape of the jellyfish’s body. It’s probably great for reference too if student’s want to look at it while drawing their own.

Either way, make sure to trace or draw the jellyfish body near the top of the page. That way there is lots of remaining room on you paper for all the colorful tentacles. However, before we get started painting, we need to lay down that texture layer of glue.

It turns out getting a picture of clear glue on white paper is really difficult, so I darkened this image a bit so you can see where I laid out the glue. Basically, you’ll want to go around the edges and then do some dots of glue in some of the corners. You can see on the edges I don’t have a perfect line, and sometimes it’s blotchy, or with gaps….this is ideal for a unique texture. You want areas of white in between the glue that will soak up the color different and help the whole thing POP!

Here is another close up of the tentacles. Basically you are doing lots of squiggly figure 8’s and randomness all the way down the tentacle. Before making each one, look at your page and decide which way they will go, and sort of where they will end up. Make them in varying sizes and shapes, but really fill up your page. The glue will take a while to dry, so set it aside for a few hours to harden.

Ocean Watercolor Art for Kids

After your glue has dried, you are ready to PAINT your watercolor jellyfish. So, you can use watercolor brush pens, or watercolor cakes to complete your project. I prefer the pens because they are less messy, and I find it easy to add lots of bold bright color without getting too much water on the paper. I tend to over-water my plants too, it’s a whole thing, but moving on….

Step 1:

The first step is to lay down some color in the body of your jellyfish. I like to use light blues and you can see in the photo where I’m adding them.

Step 2:

Next, add some yellow to the jellyfish body. Ad water as needed to blend the colors together. With watercolor pens, you’ll find dipping them directly in water helps sometimes as well.

Step 3:

Choose a few darker blues and purbles to go around the edges and add random bits of color through the project. Generally you want the darker colors near the edges and the lighter colors hear the middle. You’ll start to notice some of the glue soaking up color differently than the exposed paper. I noticed that sometimes the glue areas resisted the color and sometimes they turned darker.

Here is a look at the project so far. It’s looking good, and the glue is creating textures, so it’s time to work on those colorful tentacles!

Step 4:

Choose a nice bright WARM color for the tentacles. We used a lot of cool colors on the jelly body (blues, greens, purples) so we want to contrast that by using warm colors for the tentacles. Using the brushpen, or a very thin watercolor brush, make a bunch of figure 8 squiggles following the dried glue outline of the first tentacle. To get randomness, you might draw with the tip, then quickly press more of the brush down on the paper, then back up to the tip as you go….etc… You’ll want lots of loops!

Step 5:

Add a second color to the same tentacle, filling in some of the gaps and making the colors blend and overlaps in some areas. I choose a yellow color. Use the water brush, to make circles and blend some of the color together. You want a lot of the hard, fine lines to show through, so keep that in mind as you are blending.

Step 6:

Repeat these steps for your next set of tentacles. This time I used an orange and a darker red. You can see that the pen shape is moving in circles and random all the way down. Soemtimes it gets thicker or thinner in areas too, that is PERFECT! You don’t want it the same thickness, as jellyfish tentacles are not uniform in appearance.

Step 7:

Again, take the water brush and blend the colors. The water will pull the color out a bit, thickening up your tentacle and creating the effect of transparency. The strings of glue will start to show through, which looks amazing!!

Don’t worry if you feel like you made a mistake. Jellyfish are so unique that any special qualities your picture has will only enhance your work. You can use a paper towel to pick up any extra water along the way. Did I mention I always lay down too much water?

Step 8

When you come to the other side of the jellyfish, you can even him out by adding some smaller tentacles, or tentacles the appear to drift of in another direction. I decided to add another color pop of yellow to tie the whole thing together. Next, go back through your tentacles and make thsure theya re all fat and fluffy (use the water brush).

Once you get everything painted, take a step back and look for areas of improvement. I decided to add more color using a dark purple watercolor brush pen. First, I put more color to the edges of the jelly body, near the dots, and to add some shadow to the tentacles. Look at the center orange tentacle for example, you’ll see the darker areas on the edges.

Ready for some more Ocean art projects for kids? Try this stunning Seahorse Craft Today! Students will work with bleeding tissue paper and paper cutting techniques to create these luminous creatures!

Wassily Kandinsky Art Project for Kids

Fun Abstract Art for Kids! We’ve created a simple, yet fun, Kandinsky art project for students learning about abstract art! With this low-prep art project, your kiddos will make a TON of Kandinsky circles. These addiciting concentric circles will soon take over your classroom! But don’t worry, they look amazing when displayed together in groups, you’ll have your own Kandinsky Mural by the time your kids are finished.

Abstract Art for Kids

Not only will your art room be filled with pops of vibrant color, but your students will be working on fine motor and key art techniques along the way! Best of all this low-prep project requires minimal supplies, and is a TON of fun!

Kandinsky Circles Art Project

Step 1:

This project requires multiple colors of soft craft foam. You can certainly use vibrant cardstock paper, or construction paper if that is what you have on hand. However, the foam adds a 3-D element to these projects and you’ll see that the thickness helps the layers stick together in the coming steps.

Step 2:

Have your student cut out a variety of circle shapes from all of the different colors. Cutting foam is FAN-diddly-TASTIC for young artists and budding fine motor skills. However, you can certainly cut these circles ahead of time (HINT: I’ve got an amazingly handy alternative tip for helping students get the correct sizes for the circles……keep reading……

Step 3:

So, once you have the foam circles all cut out, assembly couldn’t be easier. Your kiddos will take a small metal brad, and poke it through the center of the smallest circle they want on top. This again, is another fun fine motor skill for the younger crowd.

Step 4:

Now, choose the next color for the circle and POKE the brad through that layer. Can you see where this is headed here?

Check out those fabulous circles of color! I’m feeling a bit of a Willy Wonka vibe with these complementary colors! Show children how they can pair these complementary colors next to each other to make them pop!

Step 5:

Once you’ve added all your layers of circles, flip the entire project over and fold the brads to secure the layers. This will keep the circles tightly attached, and you’ll find you can even turn them and rearrange them slightly to get the effect you’re looking for.

Have fun with the color combinations and really try for some bright, abstract creations! Dont’ worry if the circles are not perfectly shaped….they actually look BETTER when they are organic.

Kandinsky Circles Have Never Been so SIMPLE!

Are you ready for that HANDY TIP I promised you! Well here it is. After you poke the first circle through, you can actually just poke the foam sheet itself. Then you can easily see the size of the circle that you want to cut for your next layer. GENIUS right? I didn’t realize it till the end….but I got there folks and I have a concept photo to prove it. This will be especially helpful for the younger kiddos to (NOT WASTE any of the FOAM) see the size they need next.

Check out those colors!

Because we used vibrant foam, the colors just POP right out of the photo……where is a school bulletin board when you need one?

Kandinsky Collage Anyone?

I’m even LOVING the scraps of rainbow foam! These could easily be used to create a 3-D Collage the next day. How beautiful would that look on a black background. You could even find a way to tie in some Matisse art projects with those paper cuttings.

If you want to finish the work with a more polished look, you can frame your circles by mounting them to more colored foam. You can even overlap some of the circles for a fun look. Choose background colors that complement your circles to really make them pop!

Looking for more Famous Artist Art Project for Kids?

George Washington Craft

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Did you know when George Washington was born? He was born Feb 22, 1732. That was a long time ago! He was the first president of the United States and was considered one of the reasons why we enjoy our freedom today. In celebration of America’s Birthday, here is a FREE George Washington Craft your kids will love to create.

Presidential Holidays

Did you know that we also celebrate famous presidents on President’s Day on the third Monday of February every year? In addition, there are some fun facts about George Washington.

Fun Facts about George Washington

He was the only president unanimously elected because all of the state representatives voted for him. In addition, chopping down the cherry tree and not telling a lie is supposed to be a fictional story.

Lastly, George Washington’s birthday was changed. When he was 20 years old, Britian converted their calendar to a new one called the Gregorian Calendar. Before this, it was called a Julian Calendar and his birthday landed on Feb 11, 1731. So, after the change, his birthday was now Feb 22, 1732! He got to rewind a year, lucky guy!

Now, let’s get to the George Washington Craft for kids. It’s easy to assemble with a step by step tutorial, along with close up images to help guide you.

George Washington Craft for Preschoolers

George Washington Supplies

  • Paper plate
  • Cotton balls
  • Crayons; blue, skin color and black
  • Google eyes
  • Scissors
  • Glue

George Washington Instructions

  1. To start the George Washington Paper plate, take the paper plate and color the top 3rd blue and the rest skin color.

2. Next cut two vertical lines going from the bottom of the plate up to the blue, you can use the center circle imprint on the plate as a guide.

3. Now fold those two pieces upwards and crease. Color the pieces blue.

4. To finish the hat, cut to round the two pointed pieces and glue them down.

5. Then cut the bottom of the plate in a curved shape to make the face. You can use the center circle imprint on the plate as a guide.

6. Complete the face by popping on the google eyes and drawing a nose and smile.

7. Lastly, glue on the cotton balls to each side of the face to create the classic George Washington hairstyle.

The preschool George Washington Craft is now complete!

Grab our affordable George Washington Unit Study for Kids just in time for the holiday! Kinder S.M.A.R.T. stands for Social Studies, Math, Art and Reading Theme pack! This thematic pack includes 20 pages of activities, games and worksheets to use in your kindergarten classroom this President’s Day or Fourth of July!

Hummingbird Art Project for Kids

Learning about hummingbirds can make a fantastic unit study for your homeschool classroom. Especially if you time your studies up with Spring & Summer when hummingbirds are likely to be out and about. Besides nature journaling, you might consider making some beautiful window art so you can enjoy hummingbirds year-round.

We’ve designed two different ways to make stunning window cling hummingbirds. The easier version is presented first and the more difficult version is second.

Hummingbird Art Material:

Hummingbird Template

Faux Stained Glass Paints

Laminating Sheets

Hummingbirds Field Guide

For either project, you’ll need the free hummingbird template along with some basic supplies. The reason you’ll need a laminating sheets is because that is how we’ll be making the plastic for the base. You’ll also need a laminator to run the blank laminating sheets through to strengthen the plastic. If you don’t own a laminator, you might consider just purchasing plastic sheets for crafting. However, I believe that the least expensive method is with the laminating sheets, especially if you’re doing this project with a large group.

Hummingbird Art Project 1

This first hummingbird art project tutorial creates a more modern stained glass looking bird. It’s also a bit easier so it might be better for younger children. A hummingbird art project for older children can be found below. However, the first few steps are the same as far as prepping so read through the next few steps before scrolling to the more realistic version.

Step 1:

Before starting the project, you’ll want to prepare your plastic. Basically, you’ll run your laminating sheets through the laminator wihout putting anything in between the sheets. The end result is a stick plastic sheeting you can use as the backdrop for your project. I always run a few extra so I have plastic sheets on hand. TIP: Purchasing laminating sheets is much less expensive online

Step 2:

Tape your plastic sheet on top of your hummingbird template. If you need to be able to move your project while it’s drying overnight, then tape them both to a piece of scrap cardboard as well.

Step 3:

Using black paint, outline the shape of the hummingbird. Set aside to dry. I set mine aside for about 40 minutes, and it wasn’t dry, but it had set enough that I could continue.

Here is how the bird will look when fully outlined. If you are doing this project with younger students, you might consider doing the outlining for them. That way there is no waiting and no frustration with outlining.

Step 4:

Once your outline is set enough, you can fill in the colors. Just be careful not to jab your paint nozzle into the black paint. The outline seems to help the paint settle into the unpainted areas, so don’t worry if you don’t get the paint right up to the edge as it will settle a bit and spread out as it dries. I started with a blue beak and a green head.

Step 5:

Continue to add colors to fill in the hummingbird’s body. I used Pink, orange, white, welly and green on the rest of the body. Then blue on the tail.

Step 6:

Using different hues is a good way to add colors to the bird’s tail. I added turquoise, light blue, and then violet.

Step 7:

Here is how I filled in the hummingbirds wings. I used blue, green and yellow for the top of the wings and then orange, pink and white for the underside of the feathers.

Step 8

Here is how the bird looked once completely painted in. You can fill your bird in any way you want though! The more color the better! When finished, set it aside to dry overnight

Step 9

Here is how the bird looked in the morning. The colors all seem to have darkened up a bit, but don’t worry…once the light shines through you’ll see those beautiful colors again!

Step 10

Use a pair of scissors to cut out around the hummingbird. I don’t know if you can see in the photo above, but I went about 1/3 of an inch all the way around the bird.

Once you’ve got your bird cut out, it’s time to hang it on the window! How stunning is that!? Mine stuck on either side, but the side with the paint did seem more secure. However, I’m not sure if the paint will transfer to the window on a hot sunny day so I’m going to leave it with the plastic side touching the window for now.

Hummingbird Art Project 2 (Realistic)

If you have older students, or maybe you want to create a hummingbird alongside your kiddos, you might appreciate these more realistic version. This tutorial is pretty much the same, however we won’t be outlining the bird, and we’ll be blending the colors as we go.

Step 1:

As mentioned above, there is no outline, so you’ll basically be painting on top of the plastic/template with the colors you want for each section. Here is a look at how I’ve painted my bird. I used purple then blue for the beak. Turquoise for the head, then a row of orange and pink. A section of white, yellow and green. Each time I’ve added a new color, I used the tip of the paint applicator to blend streaks into the previous color. I did so in a curved fashion to create the appearance of texture for the features. It sounds more difficult than it is, once you get going on it, it’s pretty simple to blend.

Step 2:

Here is an up close look at the blending. This was all created simply by dragging the tip of the paint applicator through different colors to create “movement” I’ve also used the purple and darker green to create depth where there should be shadow (at the base of the wings, and where the tail feathers meet the body, those areas should be naturally darker).

Step 3:

I actually used quite a bit of white for the center parts (the center of the body, and the center of the feathers). After the base of white, I blended in some greens and blues to help the appearance of individual wing feathers. I also pulled some orange up into the top of the turquoise head.

Step 4:

Here is how the bird looked when I was done painting. I set it aside to dry overnight.

Step 5:

This is how the bird looked in the morning. Again, it looks as if it has darkened up, but that is just because there isn’t any light shining through the colors.

Step 6:

Once I cut out the hummingbird and hung it on the window the colors brightened up nicely. A lot of the different colors and textures cam through very nicely. In the photo you can see the edges of the plastic, but from a distance, you really can’t see it at all, and it looks quite stunning on the window.

Step 7:

The only problem with this little guy is that he needs some friends! How pretty would it be to have multiple hummingbirds on the window?! This is definitely a project you can do alongside your kiddos. I’ve even recommended that my kiddos make some into Christmas gifts for family members. And this art technique can be used with a variety of different pictures. In fact, I’ll have some more tutorial and templates coming soon so stay tuned for those!

Fall Art Projects for Elementary Students

The first day of fall brings opportunity for all kinds of stunning art projects for your students. These fabulous fall leaves will look fantastic hanging on a hallway bulletin board, or adorning your classroom walls. This is a simple art project that students of all ages will love.

Fall Leaf Art Project Materials:

Fall Leaf Template

Chalk Pastels

Black Construction Paper

First Day of Fall Art Projects

Step 1:

Cut out your leaf template very carefully. If you are using this project with younger students you might cut out the templates beforehand as they are a bit of a challenge. Tape the leaf in the upper right-hand corner as shown in the photo, with the edge of the stem almost off the paper.

Step 2:

Starting with your red chalk pastel, press the flat edge on the end of the leaf and drag it forward away from the leaf and onto the black paper. Continue this stroke always starting on the leaf and pressing away from the leaf.

Step 3:

Choose another warm color like orange and repeat the steps. It is a bit more difficult to get the color into the smaller curves, so using the narrow end of the chalk pastel might help with those areas. Overlap the orange over the red to blend in the color.

Step 4:

Continue this method around the leaf, using colors like cream, yellow, light green, brown, and more fall colors. If younger students have difficulty getting the chalk into the curved areas, it’s okay to just color those sections in. Just emphasize pulling the color in an outwards direction.

Step 5:

Even though we are using mostly Warm colors for this fall leaf, it’s good to bring in a couple of splashes of cool colors for contrast. Use purple and blue to make narrow streaks randomly around the leaf. Also, make sure that the leaf template is completely covered in colors as we’ll be using it for the next part of the project.

Step 6:

Once you have your colors how you like them, carefully lift up the leaf to reveal the shadow. If you have any mistakes you can use a Q-tip and a dab of water to remove any chalk mistakes or to tidy up the edges.

Step 7:

Crumple up the leaf a bit so that it looks like a dried-up fall leaf. Then, tape it near the bottom of the page so that it hangs off the edges and looks like it has fallen. Use the white chalk pastel to draw dashed lines to show the movement of the leaf.

If you like, you can have students add the word “FALL” by cutting colored construction paper, or from some extra Fall themed scrapbook paper. If your having a classroom full of students doing this project, be sure to hang them up on the bulletin board! You can even have each child put a word of a fall poem on their project so that the final display has a special message for people to read as they walk by.

If you find your students like this project, you might try our other Fall Leaf Art Projects or our Chalk Pastel Butterfly Craft. Both are great for learning new art techniques while having fun.

4 Easy and Frugal Homeschool Art Projects

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I don’t know about you, but the homeschool day goes really fast! And, it can be hard fitting in the time-consuming, clean up-consuming subject of art. To help my fellow homeschool moms, I’ve come up with a simple, yet SUPER engaging list of easy and frugal homeschool art projects.

Kids LOVE art — getting messy is fun! And, any creations they concoct can be proudly displayed or shown lovingly to their Grandma on FaceTime.

However, for Moms — crafts can be exhausting! The time suckers and messy materials can be somewhat daunting for our busy days! Yet, we also know our children’s joy and creativity soars with art. It’s an important subject NOT to skip.

That’s why these fast, simple, and frugal art activities are perfect to use as boredom busters for any preschoolers, kindergartners, and elementary school aged kids.

Are you looking for simple items you can purchase to keep your Homeschool Art Supply Closet full?  We’ve compiled our favorite, frugal products and brands to make it easy for you to keep your art cabinet stocked.   All of these products are tried and tested in our own homeschool classroom, and are well loved by the kiddos.  We’ve picked these specific items because of the price and the quality, this is a list you don’t want to miss!  Click Here

On a budget? No problem! Most craft materials can be found at the Dollar tree or on Amazon at a great price (and shipped right to your door!). These art crafts are also wonderful time fillers and distractors for after school, on weekends, playdates, and gift giving!

Popsicle Stick Crafts

The possibilities are endless with popsicle stick crafts but when you’re in a hurry, here are some exciting ideas. Remember, kids have vivid imaginations and giving them materials only will get their creative juices flowing! Grab some glue sticks, washable markers or paint and ask the kids to get creative.

Here are some ideas to use for Popsicle Stick crafts:

  • Build Tic Tac Toe Grids, glue together, and cut out 9 pieces of paper to fit inside boxes. Write ‘X’ and ‘O’s using markers on pieces of paper with different colors.
  • Make a star using 2 triangle shapes. One will be upside down on top of the other. The kids can paint or color them with markers.
  • Create a frame with sticks shaped as a square. The kids can write “family” or any words they wish or paint with favorite colors.

Beads

Beads are wonderful materials to make gorgeous designs, bracelets, necklaces, and much more! These innovative ideas may require a purchase of a bead kit for a low price. Using beads strengthen hand eye coordination, focus, creativity and fine motor skills!

Please note: We wouldn’t recommend attempting beads until your child is about 5 years old or any child who puts things in their mouths.

Pipe Cleaners

Pipe cleaners are one of the most versatile and simple craft materials you can use for tons of kid activity! They come in a variety of colors, they’re inexpensive, and easy to manipulate into any shape!

Here are some ideas to get you started with your creative kid:

  • Make a flower arrangement: draw and color a flower, cut it out, and pull stem through. Put it in a pretty vase or cup and pass it onto a neighbor!
  • Bend and twist 2 favorite colors to make a bracelet or necklace.
  • Cut pipe cleaner in half, add a wonderful array of colorful beads, and twist the end.

Playdough

Playdough is SO easy to make! Here is a step-by-step recipe and tutorial.  Just combine 2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ cup salt, and 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. Then, start adding 1 to 1 ½ cups of boiling water in increments to determine best consistency. Food coloring is also an option for a variety of colors.

Give each child a ball of dough, and the sky’s the limit! If you see some inactivity, throw some cookie cutters on the table for a little help. You’ll be amazed at what your child can create with his/her imagination!

Now, if you just don’t have the time or prefer commercial play dough, check out this colorful Play dough package.

Finding ways to give your kids creativity time fosters mental growth, stimulates new ideas, and encourages new pathways of thinking and problem-solving! Take time today to give your children these wonderful opportunities to grow and learn exponentially!

Looking for more easy and frugal ideas on homeschool art projects? Check out these crafts, activities, and printables here!

Thanksgiving Math & Literacy, Art, Science & More….

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Do you ever wish someone would just plan out your entire homeschool year for you….then maybe bundle it all up and email it to your inbox on Monday morning?
Yeah….me too.
Well, I don’t have an entire YEAR of curriculum to send you, but I do have something that will make your homeschool planning super easy this November.
SMART: Science, Math, Art, Reading & Take Home activities for Thanksgiving!  This helpful set is filled with a week’s worth of fun, educational math games, hands-on activities, science experiments, art projects, early readers, writing prompts and a Bible memory verse.  Everything you need to add a little holiday fun to your kindergarten classroom this year!
Thanksgiving Science: This set includes five simple science experiments and challenges.  Each thematic activity guides students through a fun, hands-on science exploration with very little prep-work.  Students work their way through the scientific method using the step-by-step science journals.  Each experiment includes a follow-up activity for added learning.
Thanksgiving Math: Each day students will play a fun game or activity then follow up their learning with a lesson sheet to show mastery. Games focus on learning to frame numbers to ten, basic addition, counting to 100, and counting by 10’s.
Thanksgiving ART: We include five stunning autumn art projects that are perfect for Thanksgiving.  Each project comes with a full photo tutorial, printable templates and easy to follow materials list.  Students work with oil pastels, paint, textures, blending and more.  
Thanksgiving Reading (and Writing): This set includes three early readers covering social studies and history.  Each story includes a carefully controlled word list and incorporates key vocabulary for extended learning.  Students are provided narrative and comparison writing prompts that are not only simple to follow, but would make wonderful educational keepsakes. 
Take Home/Review Work: T is for Take Home Review Sheets.  These sheets can be used as review work in the homeschool classroom or as homework in a standard classroom.  Each page features reading, writing, vocabulary, and scripture memorization activities. Character thinking points are available instead of Bible memory for those using this resource in a public school setting.
SMART: Science, Math, Art, Reading & Take Home activities for Thanksgiving!  This helpful set is filled with a week’s worth of fun, educational math games, hands-on activities, science experiments, art projects, early readers, writing prompts and a Bible memory verse.  Everything you need to add a little holiday fun to your kindergarten classroom this year!
 

Salt Painting for Summer Art Projects

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KoiArtProject10

Recently I was introduced to a new form of textured painting called salt painting.  Basically, you take glue cover it with salt, then drop watercolors on top to absorb the color.  Well, can I just say, “Wowza!”  This is such a fun technique and it creates beautiful art work that children can really be proud of.

A quick pinterest search for Salt Painting is sure to inspire you to try this out, but today I wanted to share our own Salt Painting Project: Koi Fish Watercolor

I created a Step-by-Step photo tutorial you can follow to make this project with your own children.

Of course they will want to make their own creations as well, so after you show them this technique, give them the supplies and let them spend their Summer day creating!

Tip: Use Foam Core Board or Poster Board for this project.  The weight of the glue and salt overwhelms carstock, and you’ll need something a little sturdier.  (Construction paper glued to cardboard would work well too.)

Here is an example of another project my daughter made with this technique:

SaltPainting

 

SaltPaintingTutorialIsn’t that beautiful!  This would be a fun way for a Tween or Teen to add some custom art to their bedroom!

Check out the full tutorial here: Salt Painting fo Kids

Find more Japanese Art Projects for Kids Here

Find more Ocean Art Projects for Kids Here

 

Koi Watercolor Art Project for Kids

KoiArtProjectPinKoi fish are beautiful carp that hold special symoblism in Japanes culture.  Koi ponds are placed in beatiful, tranquil settings and japanese gardens.  Encourage children to learn more facts about Koi before you create this stunning project.

Materials:

Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:

japanesecelebrations tokyo      japan     japancrafts

Art Project Tutorial:

Step 1

Choose an inspiration photo for your project. Using a pencil lightly sketch a drawing on your poster board.

Step 2

Using glue and a paintbrush fill in the shapes you just drew.

Step 3

Cover the glue with table salt. Let dry for a minute then turn your board over so the extra salt falls off. If you wait to long to do this the glue will flatten out under the weight of the salt and your shape will be distorted a bit.

Step 4

Using a water dropper, fill your water color paints with water. Mix well then used the dropper to slurp up some colors.

Step 5

Drop the watercolor over the salt and watch it spread out and blend.

Step 6

Use your photo reference as a guide, but don't feel you need to stick with it exactly

Step 7

Finish dropping colors on your board until you're happy with how your project looks! Let dry and give this project to a friend!

Ocean Crafts for Kids

These ocean craft and art projects for kids are fantastic when paired alongside some hands-on learning. Children love to see all the amazing creatures that God has placed in the sea.  Be sure to enhance your Ocean unit studies with a fun trip to a local aquarium, or natural tide pool.

Our Ocean Crafts for kids are developed for students of all ages!. With our beach craft tutorials, children will work with a variety of mediums including oil pastels, chalk pastels, watercolor, bleeding tissue paper and more. We provide introduction to different art techniques as well. Children will learn blending, hues, warm and cool colors paper piecing, glue-resist, etching, printing, textures with mixed media and so much more! Come create a spiky sea urchin, a sandpaper starfish, a sea creature fan book and a sparkly sea anemone!

Seahorse Art Project for Kids

Try this stunning Seahorse Craft Today! Students will work with bleeding tissue paper and paper cutting techniques to create these luminous creatures! You’ll be surprise how simple and fun these seahorse art projects are for students of all ages. Even young students will create aquatic masterpieces with this simple tutorial.

Whale Tail Art Project for Kids

This aquatic ocean art project for children is sure to be a huge hit in your classroom! Pair this fantastic beach side theme with your ocean animals unit study. Best of all this project is simple, and great for students of all ages. Students will build a variety of art skills as they work with mixed media (chalk pastels and glue), and learn to use blending and color hues to create visual interest.

Jellyfish Art Project for Kids

Create this Simple Watercolor & Glue Jellyfish with your art students today! With our free step-by-step art tutorial, this stunning jellyfish can be created by students and adults of all ages and abilities. You’ll be amazed at how simple and easy this jellyfish watercolor art project is, and at how beautiful it looks hanging in your classroom! Imagine a full art wall of these gorgeous jellies!

Spiky Sea Urchin Craft

Careful, these little fella's are very spiky! These make your Ocean diorama's really pop!

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Ocean Waves Oil Pastel

This beautiful oil pastel introduces children to warm and cool color combinations, line, overlaping, depth, highlighting, shadows and more. With a few easy tips and tricks children can make stunning beach art during your Ocean unit study.

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Sandpaper Starfish Art Project

This is a great way for chidlren to learn about starfish, while adding a bit of texture to their creations. Children draw directly on sandpaper with crayons or oil pastels for a vivid and tactile experience.

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Sea Creature Art Prints

Using this simple printing method you can make an array of amazing sea creature art prints. This project is not only fun to learn but children are left with lasting impressions of their Ocean Animal Unit Study. Not to mention that these prints can be gifted to friends and family members for gifts.

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Seashell Identification Cards

Children can identify and sort through their seashells with these full color photo cards. We purchased a bag of shells and used these as sorting mats to keep the little hands busy during lessons.

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Sea Creature Fan Book

Children can make this interactive sea creature fan book to remember all of their favorite ocean animals!

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Aquarium Notebooking Pages

Free 75 page aquarium notebook for The Crafty Classroom Subscribers. These notebooking pages include a full color photo and basic fact file for different aquatic creatures children can visit at the aquarium.

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Coral Reef Collage

These vibrant coral reef collages are wonderful to make after learning about the different creatures that live there! Use Oil Pastels and a reference photo and encourage children to work slowly blending colors, highlighting with white as they go.

Coral Craft for Kids

This craft teaches children to make some sparkly sea creatures to add to their ocean dioramas! Use a piece of Styrofoam (we cut a Styrofoam ball in half) and some glitter pipe cleaners. Wrap the pipe cleaners around a pencil then remove them for a perfect spiral spring shape. Poke them into the Styrofoam to make your creature.

Ocean Animal ABC Photos

Children can work their way through the alphabet with these aquatic creatures. For each letter there is a corresponding animal. Older children can cut apart the photo from the name and use these cards as a matching game.

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Ocean Animal Coloring Pages

A set of 26 different ocean animal coloring pages, one for each letter of the alphabet. Children can color and cut out their pictures to form a wall sized quilt.

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Sea Shell Coloring & Clipart

We have some free seashell coloring pages and clipart you can use to make your own homeschool resources. Even if you live miles from the ocean you can provide children the opportunity to find a collect shells using a small sandbox and purchased shells. Children can then color the shells with the markings and patterns of the ones they found.

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OceanEncy

Children’s Encyclopedia of Ocean Life

This series of encyclopedias for children are amazing!  With over 200 pages, this book is filled with full color photos and vivid illustrations of aquatic creatures from the world’s oceans.  This is book you can keep on your shelves for years to come, we personally own quite a few of these thematic encyclopedias.  I would say they are best used with children 3rd grade and below.

India Crafts for Kids

Learning about the different countries of the world can be lots of fun! Use our country themed crafts and activities to enhance your geography unit studies on India. Children can make their own beautiful oil pastel creations, Indian textiles, Lotus flower sand paintings, Taj Mahal watercolor and more.  If you’re feeling adventurous you can round out your India unit with the art of henna, it lasts only a week or two but is fun for all ages.  If you want something easier, you could try the Henna tattoos (temporary) below:

Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:

India    India2  IndiaDrum   IndiaHenna

Taj Mahal Art Project

This Taj Mahal art project is so simple yet the results are beautiful! Children use bleeding tissue paper to create a vivid backdrop, and watercolor pencils to outline their shapes.

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India Textile Painting

Using fabric scraps, school glue and some paint children can create beautiful representations of Indian textiles.

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Draw Your Own Mandala

Paisleys, mandalas and other symmetrical designs can be found on walls, fabrics, and even displayed in the temporary staining of skin with henna. This project teaches children how to draw their own mandala using radial symmetry.

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India Elephant Coloring Page

In India the elephant is a revered animal. They are often painted with bright colors and intricate designs for festivals and celebrations. Here is a coloring page you can give children to decorate their own elephant.

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India Tiger Oil Pastel

The tiger is India's national animal. It's strikenly beautiful with the contrasting markings of black, white and orange. This oil pastel project is just right for your studies on India. Children will be amazed with the work they can do when given small amounts of instruction.

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India Peacock Craft

The peacock is the National bird of India. It's certainly one of God's most beautiful creatures, and even young children can make these wonderful pictures. We provide you with step by step drawing tutorials, as well as instruction on using oil pastels to bring your peacock to color.

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Paisley Coloring Pages

This is a small collection of beautiful paisley coloring pages for children to decorate. Use these coloring pages as decorative covers for your India notebook or as free time fillers for children who finish their work early.

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India Design Transfer Craft

Textiles and art of India features some of the most beautiful and intricate designs. Use this simple method to transfer an Indian design to a handmade card or art project.

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Temporary Henna Tatoo

I don't know about you buy my children LOVE to draw on themselves and learning about India is a great time to introduce children to Henna. This natural pigment temporarily stains the skin, leaving you with a lasting reminder of your studies of Indian culture. If you've never experimented with Henna before I recommend checking out this introductory book for step by step instructions:

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Lotus Flower Sand Painting

Use our lotus flower template to guide children in the art of designing with sand. This is a simple introduction to sand painting great for beginners.

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India Elephant Craft

This craft uses glue, sand and sequins to make a beautiful Indian elephant.

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India Coloring Pages

Children can learn about India with these beautiful coloring pages. Add these to an India lapbook or notebooking journal, or simply color and hang on the wall.

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Top Secret Travel Adventures

The bundle includes the following seven countries: India, Egypt, China, Greece, Italy, Japan, and Mexico. Each country kit includes:A puzzle book A colorful guidebook Six (6) silly villain cards A sturdy case file to keep everything organized and more!

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Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:

MissionIndiaAmy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems

Driven by love and compassion, and sustained by faith and determination, Amy Carmichael defied the cruel barriers of India’s caste system. The story of this young woman from Northern Ireland is a brilliant, sparkling example of God’s love generously poured out to “the least of these among us.”

 

 

Anatomy Crafts for Kids

Learning about Human Anatomy provides children with ample opportunity to get hands-on in the classroom.  Children of all ages enjoy learning about their bodies and the amazing intricacies that make them work.  The design of mankind is such a beautiful reflection of our creator and provides us with insight into the inner-workings of life down to the microscopic details.  We’ve collected and provided crafts, projects and activities you can add to your thematic unit studies below.

Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:

HumanBody51sjpfsrkIL._SL160_  HumanBody2       51CE2Krc+NL._SL160_

The Brain & Nervous System

This is a collection of crafts and activities you can use alongside your studies on the human brain. There are a few spinal cord, and nerve crafts to go along with a broader Nervous System unit study.

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The Human Eye

Here are some fun hands on activities and printables you can use for teaching children about the human eye. This can be a really fun topic as children love to explore different visual tricks.

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Our Skin

We've put together some activities and resources that will enliven your unit studies with lots of "hands on" fun!

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Cell Color and Label Sheets

Animal and Plant Cell coloring pages for kids. These are perfect for science notebooks and this set includes a reference chart, labeling worksheet, notebooking page and coloring page.

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Anatomy Clipart for Teachers

We have a great selection of free anatomy clipart for teachers and home educators. You'll find a human brain, heart, lungs, neurons, cells and more. This is a great way to design your own learning resources for your students

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Famous Artist Crafts for Kids

Learning about famous artists can be lots of fun and a great opportunity for children to explore different techniques and mediums.  Follow along with us as we explore the different masterpieces and create ourown artistic interpretations!  For each famous artist we include a suggest reading as well as a printable reference guide for the back of your child’s art.  We suggest framing your creations with black construction paper for a finished look.  Paste the famous artist reference card on the back of your project

What Makes a…..Series is published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  They are perfect for grades 6-8, or as a read aloud with late elementary students. I would recommend this set as a purchase for your classroom, it will last for years to come.  We personally own these and they are filled with information about each artist and feature many colorful photographs and explanations of their work.

Monet Art Project for Kids

Claude Monet is well known for his beautiful water scenes! This is a fun (and messy) finger painting craft that will leave children with beautiful results. Students of all ages can participate in this impressionist art project which is a fantastic introduction to process-art.

Van Gogh Art Project for Kids

Van Gogh is the name every young child knows, and Starry Night is the title they remember! Uses this fun technique to create movement on your canvas! This project requires a little bit of glue and some oil pastels so be sure to plan enough time for the glue to try. You’re students will be thrilled to present their starry night art projects to their friends and family.

Warhol Art Projects for Kids

Learn about POP Art with these fun and free Andy Warhol art projects for kids. These activities are great for students of all ages, with multiple levels and adaptations you can adjust for your teaching style. Students will work on process art, and can color in our free printable Warhol art templates or design their own graphics with this simple technique.

Kandinsky Art Project for Kids

Wassily Kandinsky was known for his abstract art, especially his work with concentric circles. We’ve created a simple, yet fun art project for students learning about abstract art! Your kiddos will make a TON of Kandinsky circles with this free famous art project for kids. Best of all this low-prep project requires minimal supplies, and builds key fine motor skills with young students.

Cubism Art Project for Kids

Are your students learning about Pablo Picasso? Here is a simplistic art project in the style of Cubism that will make a great introduction to this colorful art style. Older students can apply this technique to their own drawings, and younger students can participate by filling in our free cubism art template.

Miro Art Project

Miro has an amazing surrealist quality to his work, making him a fun artist to study. Children can get creative with their doodles and have fun with this easy project. Give children a black sharpie marker and encourage them to explore lines and shapes. Show them how to make shapes inside of shapes and color block.

Piet Mondrian

Here are three different ways your children can create beautiful representations of Mondrian's artwork. This is a great beginner craft for young children.

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Georges Seurat Art Project

Pointillism is a fun artistic technique for any age level! Children enjoy making these representational pieces of artwork. This is a great craft for children who like to work on details. arranged on canvas to create

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Jackson Pollock Art Project

Okay, what kid doesn't love to splatter paint? We're using a bit of splatter and a bit of blowing to make our Action Jackson paintings!

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Henri Matisse Art Project

Matisse had a very colorful style to his artwork, and in his later years he used paper cut-out arranged on canvas to create

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Van Gogh Art Project

The Potato Eaters is not only a great painting to study context but also to study light and shawdows. Children can recreate this hanging oil lamp with oil pastels.

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Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists is a great series for younger children. Each book features a different artist, showcasing their work, their life, and sometimes their quirkiness!  There is just enough here to give children a good idea of who the artist was and some ways to identify their work.