Silly Monkeys Homeschool Art Lessons

Overall Theme: Exploring Our Artistic World

Goal: To introduce foundational art concepts and encourage creative expression through hands-on activities, progressing in complexity from Kindergarten to 5th grade.

Kindergarten: Line Explorers

Concept: Introduction to Line

Art Standard Alignment: Recognizing and using basic art elements (line). Creating art.

Materials: Large paper, crayons, markers, pencils, string, glue

Lesson:

1. Silly Warm-up: "Wiggly Line Dance!" - Have students stand up and use their bodies to make different kinds of lines in the air (straight, curvy, zig-zag, spiral).

2. Line Hunt: Look around the room (or outside) for examples of lines in objects (e.g., table legs are straight, a cord is curvy). Discuss different types of lines.

3. Drawing Activity: "Line Monster Mural" - Give each student a large piece of paper. Instruct them to draw as many different kinds of lines as they can all over the paper. Encourage them to use different colors and thicknesses.

4. Sensory Line: Provide string and glue. Have students glue string onto their paper to create raised lines.

5. Share & Celebrate: Have students share their "Line Monster Mural" and point out their favorite lines.

1st Grade: Shape Shifters

Concept: Introduction to Shape (Geometric & Organic)

Art Standard Alignment: Identifying and using basic art elements (shape). Understanding geometric and organic shapes.

Materials: Construction paper (various colors), scissors (child-safe), glue sticks, magazines/newspapers

Lesson:

1. Silly Warm-up: "Shape Detective" - Call out a shape (circle, square, triangle, rectangle) and have students find objects in the room that are that shape. Introduce the idea of "blobby" shapes (organic).

2. Geometric Shapes: Review basic geometric shapes. Have students cut out large geometric shapes from construction paper.

3. Organic Shapes: Discuss how some shapes are more free-form and don't have straight lines (like clouds, puddles, or a blob of paint). Have students draw and cut out some "silly" organic shapes.

4. Collage Creation: "Shape Creature Collage" - Using their cut-out geometric and organic shapes, students will create an imaginary creature or scene by gluing the shapes onto another piece of paper. Encourage them to overlap shapes.

5. Share & Celebrate: Students share their "Shape Creature Collages" and describe the different shapes they used.

2nd Grade: Color Wizards

Concept: Primary and Secondary Colors, Warm and Cool Colors

Art Standard Alignment: Understanding color theory (primary, secondary, warm, cool). Mixing colors.

Materials: Tempera paint (red, yellow, blue, white), paintbrushes, mixing palettes (or paper plates), water cups, paper

Lesson:

1. Silly Warm-up: "Color Story" - Read a short story that mentions various colors. Discuss how colors make us feel.

2. Primary Power: Introduce primary colors (red, yellow, blue). Explain they are the "parent" colors. Have students paint swatches of each primary color on their paper.

3. Mixing Magic (Secondary Colors): Demonstrate how to mix two primary colors to make a secondary color (red + yellow = orange, yellow + blue = green, blue + red = purple). Have students experiment and paint swatches of the secondary colors they create.

4. Warm & Cool Colors: Discuss the feeling of warm colors (red, orange, yellow - like fire or sun) and cool colors (blue, green, purple - like water or ice). Have students divide their paper and create a "Warm Color Scene" on one side and a "Cool Color Scene" on the other (e.g., a fiery sun vs. a cool ocean).

5. Share & Celebrate: Discuss the different feelings the warm and cool colors evoke in their artwork.

3rd Grade: Texture Explorers

Concept: Real and Implied Texture

Art Standard Alignment: Identifying and using texture (real and implied). Creating art with texture.

Materials: Various textured items (fabric scraps, sandpaper, corrugated cardboard, leaves, bubble wrap), drawing paper, crayons, pencils, oil pastels, glue

Lesson:

1. Silly Warm-up: "Touchy-Feely Box" - Put various textured items in a box and have students reach in and describe what they feel without looking.

2. Real Texture: Discuss what "real texture" means (something you can actually feel). Have students create crayon rubbings of different textured items by placing paper over the item and rubbing with the side of a crayon.

3. Implied Texture: Explain that "implied texture" is when an artist draws something to make it look like it has texture, even if you can't feel it. Show examples in books or printouts.

4. Drawing Activity: "Texture Zoo" - Students will draw an imaginary animal on their paper. They must use different drawing techniques (lines, dots, scribbles, cross-hatching) with crayons, pencils, or oil pastels to show different implied textures on their animal's fur, scales, feathers, etc.

5. Share & Celebrate: Students share their "Texture Zoo" animals and describe the different implied textures they created.

4th Grade: Space Invaders (and Creators!)

Concept: Positive and Negative Space, Foreground/Middle Ground/Background

Art Standard Alignment: Understanding and utilizing space (positive/negative). Arranging elements to create depth.

Materials: Drawing paper, pencils, erasers, black construction paper, scissors, glue

Lesson:

1. Silly Warm-up: "Space Game" - Have students stand in a room and identify what is "in front" (foreground), "in the middle" (middle ground), and "in the back" (background).

2. Positive & Negative Space: Explain that positive space is the main subject of the artwork, and negative space is the empty space around and within it. Show examples (e.g., a tree, then the sky around it).

3. Figure-Ground Reversal: Demonstrate how to cut a silhouette (e.g., a hand, a vase) from black paper. Then show how the cut-out piece is the positive space, and the remaining paper is the negative space. Have students glue both pieces onto a contrasting background paper, demonstrating how they both have a shape.

4. Creating Depth: Discuss how artists make things look closer or farther away (larger = closer, smaller = farther; overlapping objects; placing things lower on the page = closer).

5. Drawing Activity: "Deep Space Landscape" - Students will draw a landscape (real or imaginary). They must include elements in the foreground (close up), middle ground, and background (far away). Emphasize using size and overlapping to create depth.

6. Share & Celebrate: Students share their "Deep Space Landscapes" and point out their foreground, middle ground, and background elements, as well as positive and negative spaces.

5th Grade: Principle Power! (Emphasis on Balance & Contrast)

Concept: Introduction to Principles of Art (Balance & Contrast)

Art Standard Alignment: Understanding and applying principles of design (balance, contrast). Developing compositions.

Materials: Drawing paper, pencils, markers, colored pencils, magazines/newspapers, glue sticks

Lesson:

1. Silly Warm-up: "Balancing Act" - Have students try to balance objects (e.g., a ruler on their finger). Discuss how balance feels even. Then show examples of unbalanced things.

2. Balance (Symmetrical & Asymmetrical): Explain that balance in art means elements are arranged so they feel stable. Show examples of symmetrical balance (same on both sides, like a butterfly) and asymmetrical balance (different on both sides, but still feels stable, like rocks of different sizes).

3. Contrast: Discuss contrast as the difference between elements (light/dark, big/small, rough/smooth, bright/dull). Show examples where contrast makes things stand out.

4. Composition Challenge: "Opposites Attract (or Repel!)" -

   • Part A: Balance Drawing: Have students fold their paper in half. On one side, they will draw a symmetrical composition (e.g., a face, a mandala). On the other side, they will create an asymmetrical composition using abstract shapes that still feel balanced.

   • Part B: Contrast Collage: Using magazines, students will cut out images and words that demonstrate strong contrast (e.g., a very light object next to a very dark one, a huge object next to a tiny one, a smooth texture next to a bumpy one). They will glue these onto their paper to create a dynamic composition.

5. Share & Celebrate: Students present their work, identifying where they used symmetrical and asymmetrical balance and how they created contrast. Discuss how these principles make their artwork more interesting.