art

Fall Leaf Art Projects for Kids

Fall is a great time to start new art projects with your children. With all the colorful leaves and foliage there is plenty of inspiration to be found. These Fall leaf art projects are designed to teach children new ways they can color, shade and create texture with different art mediums. Templates are provided as an option for younger children, those who become frustrated with drawing or struggle with perfectionism, that way children can focus on learning with the medium and technique instead.

Zentangle Fall Leaf Art Project for Kids

This Fall leaf art project for children combines zentangle with oil pastels and watercolor for a stunning look. Great for children in late elementary or Middle School.

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Texture & Patterned Fall Leaf Art

This is a Fall Leaf Art project for children of all ages. Using simple techniques, children can design a leaf with multiple colors and textures for a vibrant outcome.

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Printable Fall Leaf Art Cards

This set includes five different leaves each with different shapes, colors and textures for your little artists to explore. These are super simple to print out and lay on the table for some quick art projects this Fall!

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Colorful Watercolor Fall Leaves

Hand draw with a ruler, these fall leaves are full of character. Children use simple coloring and shading techniques to fill in their design giving the final product an authentic look.

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Parts of a Leaf Science Notebook

Free parts of a leaf science notebook printables. A great set including a chart, labeling worksheet, cut and paste activity, notebooking and coloring page.

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Fall Leaf Printables

A great set of free fall leaf preschool printables, games, worksheets, activities and resources.

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Homeschool Art Supplies

Over the years we’ve had the opportunity to try out MANY different arts and crafts supplies. Often we’ve been surprised that an off brand has a better quality product then some of the more popular, well known brands.And with other products we’re happy to make the investmentfor a quality product that will last. Read about our favorite art supplies and where to find the best price. Find more of our favorite Homeschool Tools and Machines. Read about our Favorite Homeschool Curriculum Here

Simply Art Watercolor Cakes

I was surprised at the value of this watercolor set. Normally, I stay away from off brand watercolors but this set can't be beat! The colors are bright, and vivid and because these are cakes they last much longer then traditional watercolor packs. We have used this set through many art projects over the years, It took almost 5 years to run out of yellow so we finally bought a second set....but for the price....AMAZING!

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Crayola Oil Pastels

Pastels were one of my favorite mediums when I was a kid. I used to love drawing on the paper, then blending the colors with my fingertip....the possibilities were endless for the colors I could create and I felt like a young and undiscovered Picasso. That's why I keep pastels in my classroom for my children to work with....I love the ease of color blending with them and we work on shading with them

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Sunworks Construction Paper

Again, another deal you can get online is this heavy weight construction paper from SunWorks. One pack keeps your classroom stocked up for almost the entire year

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Pro Art Chalk Pastels

Chalk pastels are fun to have on hand as well. We've recently started to use them with this curriculum and this set really gave us a wide varitey of colors for a good price. Another deal that is better online then in store

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Caran d'Ache Watercolor Crayons

This was one of our more expensive craft room purchases, but they have held up quite nicely over the years. Watercolor crayons are a great way for children to experiment, and this set comes with a handy tin for storage. (the tin is one of the reason I believe this set has held up so well)

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Melissa and Doug Triangle Crayons

I usually don't purchase much Melisa and Doug unless I can find a coupon or an online deal, but these triangle crayons have been a blessing in our house. My three year old love them, it feels like his own art set he can use and they don't roll away!

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Fiskars Gel Pens

If you can't stand glitter in your house, you might take a peek at these glitter pens! We purchased this set for my daughters birthday, and I had a hard time keeping my hands off of them. This is a good deal online and you get over 48 pens!

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Dixon #2 Pencils

If there were a World's Greatest Pencil Award, we would give it to Dixon Ticonderoga hands down! After years of dealing with broken tips and erasers that pop off (or worse leave streaks across your paper instead of erasing) I've decided that the investment in Dixon is well worth it

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Glitter Shakers

Glitter shakers are much easier for younger children to use, as you don't end up with the dreaded pile of glitter on your table. The lids come off so you can pour back the excess.

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Our Favorite Homeschool Tools

Have you ever wondered what a laminator is? Or how about a binding machine. Are you on your seventh pencil sharpener of the year? Come on in and read about our favorite homeschool tools. We'll show you how we use them, why you'd need them and where we found the best price.

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USA State Birds Art Pack

February 23, 2015 By Valerie Mcclintick Leave a Comment

I’m so excited to share our newest eBook!

This one has been a while in the making and I couldn’t be more happy with how it turned out.

USA State Birds Realistic Art Cards sample
Children can color their way through our Nation’s state birds with these fun and realistic art cards. Each bird is shown with it’s unique markings for children to copy and color their own. Each bird features a coloring card, visual fact card for children to fill in, and memory matching cards. This set include 27 different birds as many states have the same state bird.

$5.00

I recommend using United Tweets of America as a reference book but it is not required. The book has information on each of the state birds, but is done is a colorful and child friendly format. There is joking and silliness throughout the entire book. My daughter was laughing along as she read and constantly brought the funny parts to my attention. Alternatively, you can find many birding websites online for kids to find their facts.

While there are 50 states, many of them share a state bird so there ends up being 27 different state birds.

Our Art Pack includes pages for each of these 27 birds.

Each page features a fact card with coloring visual, a blank coloring page square, and memory matching cards.

I recommend printing on cardstock and using colored pencils for the art cards. (these woodless pencils are my favorite!)

Once children fill out the fact card and color the bird, each section is cut out to be used on a final project.

The coloring squares can be mounted to poster board, a classroom wall or even in a classroom quilt. Keeping a visual in the classroom is a great way to reinforce and build on knowledge.

Children love to see their work displayed and you can use the display as review before handing your child their next art card.

If you are using this within a traditional classroom setting, this is a great way for each child to contribute art work to a group project.

Fact Cards can be treated like flash cards or pasted into notebooking journals.

In a traditional classroom setting these cards also look great on the wall, and provide students the opportunity to read about the other birds.

Memory Cards are a simple tool that can be used as a fun way to reinforce the key facts.

They can be played individually as a match and label game, or collectively as a game of concentration.

In a traditional classroom setting, you can turn these into out of your seat activities, passing out one card to each child and requiring them to find their match!

(Do this after you have your classroom art boards set up so children have a reference)

USA State Birds Realistic Art Cards details sample
Children can color their way through our Nation’s state birds with these fun and realistic art cards. Each bird is shown with it’s unique markings for children to copy and color their own. Each bird features a coloring card, visual fact card for children to fill in, and memory matching cards. This set include 27 different birds as many states have the same state bird.

$5.00

USA State Activity Notebook sample
5o State Activity Pages: For each of the fifty states children map the location, capitol, landmarks, abbreviation, nickname, state flower, and state bird. Children color the state flag as well as the state flower and state bird with ample room to add interesting facts and notes. This activity pack includes two games to finish out your unit: USA Bingo & Roll Across America

$5.00

Shop ALL our Homeschool eBooks Here

How to Draw a Mandala

Art and textile in India often features intricate designs and patterns. 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.

Materials:

Compass
Cardstock or Computer Paper
Oil Pastels
Pencil and Eraser
Optional (Mandala Template)

Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:

Art Project Tutorial:

Step 1

Using a compass trace a few different sized circles in the center of your page.

Step 2

Use a ruler to make a horizontal and vertical line through the origin of the circles. Then make diagonal lines through those. (Like you would slice a pizza)

Step 3

Now that you've set up your page you can begin to draw in your design. Take note that whatever you draw across the lines you want to mirror on the other slice of your pizza.

Step 4

You will begin to see your pattern take shape. You can use the arcs of your circles as design elements.

Step 5

Continue to build shapes using your circles and guide line to keep your pattern symmetrical.

Step 6

You don't have to reflect your shapes over every straight line. Here I'm only adding this design to four of the lines. I will add something different to the other four.

Step 7

Continue to build your mandala. Take your time, this is a project that requires a bit of patience, but the results will be stunning and unique.

Step 8

When you mandala is finished, trace over your work with a black pen. You can copy or scan it at this point to save it on your computer. Mandalas are fun to color in and you can create different images with the same design.

Step 9

Color your mandala with bright colors. You might even use oil pastels or bright markers for a bold statement.

All Done

When you're finished coloring your mandala you'll see that your patience is well rewarded! This is a stunning piece of art that you can hang in your classroom or gift to your friends and family. If you enjoy making these try adding a bit of personality to them such as writing your name or your favorite animal.

Sumi-e Painting for Kids

Sumi-e is a form of Japanese painting involving a bamboo brush, ink, and rice paper. Even young children can learn the different techniques and brush strokes of this ancient, and still modern art form.

Materials:

Sumi-e Ink
Paintbrush
Rice Paper
Practice Material:
Watercolor Paint
Construction Paper

Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:

Sumi-e is the timeless art of Japanese brush painting. Sumi-e works are typically made up of just a few brushstrokes, but the graceful birds, fish, and plant life they depict seem to move on the page. This portable kit contains all the materials youll need to get started, plus an instructional booklet covering the history of sumi-e and step-by-step techniques to master the four basic strokes necessary to complete any painting Click Here

Art Project Tutorial:

Purchasing Supplies

This portable kit contains all the materials youll need to get started, plus an instructional booklet covering the history of sumi-e and step-by-step techniques to master the four basic strokes necessary to complete any painting. With young children you'll find you run out of paper quickly. I have them practice strokes on chalkboard with just water, or a paper towel, then when they are ready to do their final work we move to the rice paper.

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