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Looking for some super simple art ideas to do with your class this holiday season? Ideas that you can implement right now? And don’t involve a heap of prep and mess? We’ve got you covered! With these 3 simple Christmas art ideas, your students will be busy for hours and they can be as messy or as clean as you like!
Christmas Reindeer Art Activity
Firstly, let me share with you my go to Christmas art activity that you can do with your class right now!
You will need:
– coloured paper/plain white paper
– lead pencils
– paint
– black textas
– glue
– scissors
– paint brushes
Give each of your kiddos a blank piece of paper. Have them decorate this piece of paper with a Christmas theme. In our examples we printed one with paint circles using a toilet roll, in another we just painted the background with a paint brush, in another we ripped red and green paper and glued the strips onto the background and in the other we simply drew Christmas symbols onto a coloured piece of paper. Use your imagination here. Really the possibilities for the background is endless!
Then, while their backgrounds are drying, head to this Art Hub for kids reindeer directed drawing . You can use any directed drawing, but this is the one we used in our example here. You will notice that we did ours with lead pencil rather than with crayon as they suggested but the materials you use to do the directed drawing doesn’t really matter.
After your kiddos have drawn their reindeer (or whatever the drawing is), have them cut it out and glue it onto their Christmas themed background they created earlier. For added effect, have your students draw over their pencil lines in black marker!
Christmas Bauble Art Activity
Basically this art activity is very similar to the reindeer art activity, however, we have included a bauble template in our Free Resource Library for you to use to keep this extra simple.
You will need:
– coloured paper/plain white paper
– Bauble Template (from our Free Resource Library)
– lead pencils
– paint
– black textas
– glue
– scissors
– paint brushes
Again, have your kiddos decorate a blank piece of paper in whatever means you feel you have the energy for that day. In our example we have just painted the background in red and green.
Then give each of your kiddos a blank bauble template from our Free Resource Library and get them to do some doodle art in each of the bauble sections. See our example for ideas.
Once your kiddos have finished their doodles, have them cut out the bauble and glue onto their prepared background.
Christmas Koala Art Activity
Finally, if you are looking for more of an Aussie Christmas themed activity, then this Koala art idea should tick all of the boxes. It will require a little more setup, but it uses materials you should readily have available in your classroom.
You will need:
– paints
– Koala template (from our Free Resource Library)
– sponges/paintbrushes
– blue tack
– pom poms
– black markers
– cartridge paper
– craft glue
– red paper
Give each of your students a koala template to cut out (note: we have actually included a few other Australian animals in the template pack in our Free Resource Library). Once cut out, have them place their koala in the middle of a piece of catridge paper (hint: have them place small pieces of blue tack to the back of the koala to help hold it in place while they paint).
With their koala in the middle of their page, have your students then dab paint around the outside of their koala to cover the background in red and green (tip: make sure your students have covered the entire outline of the koala with dabs of paint, otherwise when they peel the koala off their page, the silhouette won’t be as clear).
Once their paint has dried, have your student peel of their koala carefully (make sure you get the blue tack back off them!). They can then create a little santa hat with red paper and pom poms to put on the head of their koala. They can also draw a face on their koala if you like.
And there you have it! Three simple art ideas to keep your kiddos busy during this holiday season.
I love integrating art and maths! It is an awesome way to bring a difficult or more boring Maths topic to life.
When you are teaching your students how to measure angles to your upper primary students, art is the most fun way to get your kiddos excited about the topic.
Today I thought I would share with you one of my most favourite Maths + Art ideas!! The result is truly amazing and it ticks HEAPS of teaching and learning goals at the same time.
Curriculum links
But before I share with you what the activity is, let me explain what outcomes this unit can be ticking off (or at the very least contributing to the learning of!): Year 6 Maths
Identify the relationships between angles on a straight line, angles at a point and vertically opposite angles; use these to determine unknown angles, communicating reasoning (AC9M6M04) Year 6 Visual Arts
Use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to plan and create artworks that communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning (AC9AVA6C01).
Select and present documentation of visual arts practice, and display artworks in informal and/or formal settings (AC9AVA6O01). Year 5 Maths
Estimate, construct and measure angles in degrees, using appropriate tools including a protractor, and relate these measures to angle names (AC9M5M04) Year 5 Visual Arts
Use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to plan and create artworks that communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning (AC9AVA6C01).
Select and present documentation of visual arts practice, and display artworks in informal and/or formal settings (AC9AVA6O01). Year 4 Maths
estimate and compare angles using angle names including acute, obtuse, straight angle, reflex and revolution, and recognise their relationship to a right angle (AC9M4M04)
Year 4 Visual Arts
Experiment with a range of ways to use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials (AC9AVA4D01).
Use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to create artworks that communicate ideas, perspectives and/or meaning (AC9AVA4C01).
I probably wouldn’t try this activity with kiddos any younger than year 4. I’m not sure they would completely be able to visualise and implement the skills required to complete the artwork. The exploration of angles below year 3 is a lot simpler too, so other activities may be of more assistance with their learning at this age level.
The Process
Step 1 Trace a straight-edged outline of your animal onto white paper. Use a window or light box to help you see the image clearly.
Step 2 Place 3-5 dots within your image to become points of interest.
Step 3 Use a ruler and pencil to draw lines from the points of interests to the intersections and the outline of the body to create angles within your image.
Step 4 Go over your pencil lines with a fine liner and erase the pencil markings.
Step 5 Have your students then colour in each section they have created inside their animal outline. You can also then have the cut out their animal and glue it next to the original image onto a black piece of card.
Step 6 Have your students try to find all the different types of angles they have learnt about.
What do you reckon? Will you try this activity next time you are teaching angles to your upper primary students?
If you are looking for a quick and easy Easter craft idea you have come to the right place.
I’ll be honest with you, when I first started creating this Easter craft idea I really had no idea where I was going with it. I new I wanted to create some sort of shadow around the Easter egg template but apart from that I really had no plan for this. But I am super happy with how it turned out and how easy it was to create such an effective art piece using minimal materials.
Steps to create this Easter craft with your kiddos:
Cut out the Easter egg template
Place the template on top of the black card stock and starting from the inside of the template draw short lines with the coloured chalk from the template to the black card stock making sure the colour transfers onto the black card stock.
Repeat this with different coloured chalk until you have covered the outside of template with chalk marks.
Remove the template.
Allow your students to decorate their egg with glitter glue.
To stop the chalk from smudging you can use hairspray to keep it in place.
In Year 6 science, we have a unit called Reef Warriors. The children explore how the growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment. What better way to explore this concept than by looking at the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem! One that is in a constant battle of balance so that the plethora of species that call it home can continue to thrive and survive.
As part of this unit we encourage teachers to recreate the reef with their students using this fun Coral Reef Sculpture Art Idea.
And I thought it was just so fun that I couldn’t just keep it hidden in the unit. It had to be shared! So here it is… the steps we followed to create a Coral Reef Masterpiece!
What You Will Need:
Carboard from boxes
Alfoil
Cardstock
Collage paper
Recycled materials
Glue
Scissors
Crayola Model Magic clay
Hot glue gun (optional)
Instructions:
Step 1: To begin this project I cut out the sculpture bases 20cmx10cm (but you can use any sized base really – just remember though, whatever size you do choose to use, the larger the space your students will need to cover with their reef – so you probably don’t want your base to be too large!) and covered them with alfoil (you can get your students to do this part if you like).
Step 2: Then, after showing your students an example of one you have made up prior to class (which I find is best practice when doing art projects to help students see the bigger picture before they begin) have your students use the collage paper and cardstock to experiment with different folding techniques and arrangements on their alfoil base to come up with reef looking structures. Your students may like to try rolling their paper, folding their paper accordion style, and cutting their paper into a fringe and then rolling it. These techniques all work great from my experience. Maybe have them show you their structures before they glue them down but if you don’t have time for this encourage your students to at least place their pieces where they would like them to go before gluing so they can plan their layout.
Step 3: Allow your students to glue their paper structures to the base.
Step 4: Once they have these paper structures in place, your students can now begin using the Model Magic clay (this clay will air dry so is fantastic for simple projects like this). The clay can be used to create additional coral pieces or be used to help hold other things in place like their recycled materials (bottle caps, pipecleaners, straws, etc) that they would like to add to their reef to create different looking coral structures. If your students are feeling creative they may even like to add some animals living among their coral using the materials available to them.
And there you have it! A super simple art idea, that is delightfully open-ended and will result in not only some fantastic art sculptures but also some pretty happy students as well!
Given this a go? Please tell me all about it in the comments below!
There are a lot of different ANZAC Day Wreath ideas out there. This one is budget friendly and offers the opportunity to get your students involved as well!
You will need: – a large piece of foam board (or cardboard from a box) – at least two egg cartons (more if you want more poppies) – acrylic paint: red, black and green – scissors – stanley knife – string – skewer – lead pencil – craft glue – Lest We Forget template – paintbrushes – sponge dabber (optional)
Making your wreath: Make your wreath from foam board or cardboard. 1. This can be done by marking the centre of your cardboard with a pencil. Measure a piece of string from this centre point to the edge of your cardboard (leave a little extra before cutting. And from the centrepoint, move your string around to make sure the string doesn’t leave the cardboard – if it does make it slightly shorter).
Measure the string.
2. Tie one end of the string to a skewer and the other to a lead pencil. Stand the skewer on the centrepoint you created earlier and pull your string tight. The pencil should now be facing down towards the cardboard.
Pull the string tight. Skewer should be on the centre point and the lead pencil facing down towards the cardboard.
3. Keeping the string pulled tight move the pencil around the skewer. Your pencil should be creating a circle on the cardboard.
Keep the pencil pulled tight and draw a circle around the skewer.
4. After you have completed this large circle. Draw a smaller circle inside the large one by using the same technique (just make sure you make the string shorter.
Do the same to make a smaller circle inside the larger one.
5. Use a stanley knife to cut along both circle lines that you have created. You should now have a wreath shape.
Use a stanley knife to cut out the wreath.
Create your poppies. 6. Take your egg cartons and cut away the lid and any extra parts. Leaving you with the egg cup tray (note: don’t through away the extra pieces and lid – you will use those to create your leaves).
Cut all parts off the egg cartons except for the egg cups.
7. Use a stanley knife to cut out each individual cup and then use scissors to tidy up any excess from the cups to make them look neater and more uniform.
Cut out each egg cup.
Tidy them up with scissors to make them look neater.
8. Paint each egg cup with the red paint and then use your sponge dabber (or a paint brush) to paint the centre of each egg cup black.
Paint the egg cups red.
Paint the centre of each egg cup black.
Create your leaves. 9. Put the poppies aside and take the lids and excess pieces from your egg cartons. Paint the green all over. Leave to dry and then cut out leaf shapes from them.
Paint the extra parts from your egg cartons green.
Cut out leaf shapes from the green egg carton pieces once they have dried.
Bring it all together. 10. Take your cardboard wreath shape and glue the Lest We Forget banner to the bottom of it.
Glue the Lest We Forget Banner to the bottom of your wreath.
11. Using craft glue, adhere the poppies to the cardboard wreath.
Secure the poppies to the wreath using craft glue.
12. Use the craft glue to attach the leaves to the wreath as well.
Use craft glue to attach the leaves.
And you are done! Well done 🙂
The finished product.
Don’t forget to share your wreaths with me on your social media posts! Just use the tag @ridgydidgeresources to grab my attention so I can give your post a little love.
At the beginning of the year, within the first week of school, I like to get something up in the classroom that personalises the classroom for the new cohort of students I am teaching. This usually takes the form of some sort of art, whether it be a self-portrait, name art or some sort of personal goal pop art exercise, these little touches from the students themselves really bring the classroom to life!
So today I thought I would share with you a fun name art exercise which as always can be modified to suit any age level. The way I have designed this particular exercise to share with you today, will allow your students to explore mixing primary colours to make new colours. And for the lower primary grades, it also gives your students a fun way to practise writing their name.
So to get started you will need: – table salt – Edicol dyes (blue, red, yellow) – paintbrushes/pipettes (I prefer paintbrushes for this as the amount of paint added can be better controlled for littlies with a paintbrush but up to you) – craft glue (in squeezy bottles) – A3/A4 cartridge paper (this paper is thicker than normal printer A3 paper, therefore withstanding higher volumes of liquid without tearing) – lead pencils – plastic or baking tray
Here’s how to make your very own salt name art: 1. Give each student an A3/A4 piece of paper. Have them write their name on the piece of paper using their lead pencil and then go over the pencil lines with craft glue – demonstrate squeezing the glue to follow the lines before letting your students loose with the glue!
I used Aquadhere because that is all I had but any child friendly craft glue will work fine.
2. After their name has been fully written with glue, give students some salt to shake over their paper (students will need a lot of salt to ensure it is all covered). Demonstrate to students how to gently lift the paper and tip any excess into a tray at their table (alternatively a teacher or teacher aide may like to assist younger students).
Shake on salt – ensuring coverage of the whole name.
Have a tray on hand for students to shake off excess into.
3. Once the excess salt has been removed, introduce your students to the Edicol dyes. Demonstrate the following to the students: dip just the tip of your paintbrush into the dye (they won’t need a lot of paint to make this work). Wipe off any excess on the sides of the dye container. Touch the salt gently with the paintbrush tip. The dye will transfer to the salt and the salt will spread the colour along the letter.
Encourage students to touch the salt gently – they don’t need to wipe the brush along, the salt will carry the colour along the letter.
4. Using the same technique as described above, encourage your students to use more of the colours to cover the letters of their name. What do they observe? The colours will mix with the other colours, creating new colours. This should prompt a great discussion about mixing primary colours.
Finished product!
Annd you are done! Well done!! I hope you and your students enjoy decorating your classroom with these masterpieces this year. Don’t forget you can send me photos to share on social media either by tagging me in your Instagram posts @ridgydidgeresources or by sending them to my email: ridgydidgeresources@gmail.com
For more free Back to School resources, don’t forget to head to our Free Resource Library!!
Wishing you all the best at the start of this new school year!
