Watercolor Play | Montessori Art Lesson

If you’re looking for a hands-off project that’s fun for kids, I have the perfect art lesson for you! Watercolor Play introduces young children to the basics of color and lets them explore their creativity. Because this project is process-based—meaning it’s about experimenting and experiencing the process of making art—it’s a perfect Montessori art lesson, since students can work independently.

Watercolor Play is a simple, natural way for kids to learn the basis of color. Students in Plane 1 or younger can’t really be sat down and taught color theory, so this activity is a way for them to be introduced to color in a way that meets their level of understanding. It teaches them how color behaves and mixes, which are things all artists need to learn, without getting into technical details and overwhelming them.

This lesson provides the building blocks of color theory so students are ready for more advanced work as they get more experience. This foundation will help them be more willing to experiment when they’re older, because they already have an introduction to art and the knowledge of how colors work together.

Watercolor Play is Ideal for Early Childhood

While this activity is ideal for early childhood, you can adapt aspects of it to work for older children too. You’ll see that I try to keep this art lesson very simple to start off with, but you can add in primary and secondary color concepts once students have a better understanding.

No matter how old your students are, mixing colors can be therapeutic. It’s soothing, relaxing, and can relieve stress. Giving children the opportunity to play like this also helps them develop the wiring in their minds.

I recommend setting up this art lesson on a regular basis—maybe once a month, or even once a week—so their understanding consistently grows and deepens.

Watercolor Play from Spramani Elaun on Vimeo.

Supplies

Kid-safe, non-toxic liquid paint (acrylic, tempera, or watercolor) that’s been watered down to be transparent
Bottles with adjustable caps OR clear plastic tubs
Bowls
Paintbrushes, sponges, stampers, drippers
Watercolor paper or thick/butcher paper (optional)
Aprons or old clothes

Steps:

Put all your materials out on a table
Let kids explore and play

That’s it! Watercolor Play is such a simple activity. You don’t want to direct it or try to teach anything if your students are at a young age. Let them play with the colors and mix things naturally, they’ll create their own colors and see things for themselves. If they’re old enough to ask about colors, then you can go ahead and start naming the general hues, and hint at what adding other colors might do to change the original color (i.e. make it lighter).

Watercolor Paints

You can start with whatever colors you want. You can start with primary colors, or set out just one color at a time, then add new or different colors the next time. I recommend sticking with limited color options to start out with, especially for children 24 months or younger. Once they’re older and have had more exposure to colors and the activity, they’ll be able to start experimenting more, and getting more excited about their experimentation.

With this art lesson, you’re not focusing on the outcome; do not expect kids to create an actual finished work. The watercolor paper is optional because older students may want to make their own artwork, if the choose to do so, make sure there’s a place to keep the paper out to dry. Seeing how the paint and color changes once their work is done is part of the experience as well.

You may also want to consider starting with lighter colors before introducing darker ones, since dark colors can “stain” the other ones by eventually turning everything a murky gray—which is less exciting.

While this project is relatively hands off, you may need to take the lead initially by squirting and mixing the paint in your own bowl or tub. Kids are so used to us telling them to be careful, and not to make messes, so this is a new experience for them.

NOTE: This project should be set up outdoors or somewhere that water can be splashed (i.e., not rugs or carpet). This project can get messy with younger children, since most toddlers and lower elementary students don’t yet have very developed fine motor skills to control what they’re doing.

For more activities and lessons on color theory, check out my book Kids Color Theory.

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The Phases of Art Development is a quick digital course that explains how art making can help students develop their creativity, fine-motor skills, and focus. More importantly, I share what types of projects students at every age are capable of completing safely, and without making a mess.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

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May 10, 2019February 1, 2020

Cosmic Rock Painting | Montessori Art Lesson

In my years of working with students, I’ve developed a few go-to art projects that are easy to put together and that kids LOVE. Cosmic Rock Painting is one of my favorite art projects for students. I think this project works especially well as a Montessori art project because it can be incorporated with the Great Lessons and cosmos. I find it a perfect fit for Lower L Montessori students, but with a few tweaks, it can be adapted for students at any age.

Cosmic Rock Painting | Montessori Art Lesson — Use any type of rocks!

I actually got my inspiration for this project from the book Born with a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story by Jennifer Morgan. It’s a very common book in the Montessori world—you may even already have it in your classroom! While you don’t need to read this story with your students, it makes a great foundation for jumping into this art activity.

Before you start this Cosmic Rock Painting project, make sure you go over the big bang, even if it’s only briefly. Show students photos of stars, constellations, and galaxies to serve as inspiration and give them ideas of what they can create.

Supplies:

Paintbrush
Paint (acrylic paint works best, tempera paint can also be used but may wash off)
Palette (egg cartons, paper plates, and small bowls also work)
Wash jar
Napkin
Rocks or stones (any will work, but river rocks are preferred)

Steps:

Paint the surface of the rock black, let dry
Using a variety of colors, paint on cosmic images (allow students to reference books and photos for inspiration)

Watch Cosmic Rock Painting Video

[In the video, I mention a tinting tutorial and brush stroke tutorial; to access these videos for free, register for my FREE online mini-course, Phases of Art Development. Each of these topics can be done as completely separate art lessons to help kids understand color tones and brush strokes.]

Montessori cosmic rock painting art lesson

Notes: Depending on how you want to introduce this lesson, you can have students complete the whole project in one day or break it up over the course of several days. You can teach this lesson in chronological order, starting with the big bang, then how galaxies develop, and then go into mini lessons on the milky way, super novas, the sun, Earth, and other planets. Students can paint individual rocks to represent each of these cosmic ideas.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to easy art activities for Montessori students! After working in the art industry for more than three decades, I’ve amassed a TON of art project ideas for kids. I’ve also developed and created my very own art teaching method that introduces art literacy to students in a way that’s fun and that makes sense to them.

To explore some of the ways students learn art at each age level, and to fun and easy art project ideas, make sure you register for my FREE online mini-course, Phases of Art Development!

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April 25, 2019February 1, 2020

How Art Helps Develop Kids’ Fine Motor Skills

Teaching art has so many benefits for children. It helps them cultivate their creativity, sharpen their ability to problem solve, strengthen their ability to focus, and develop kids’ fine motor skills.

I’ve spent years observing how young students learn art, and in my experience I’ve seen how sensory art projects and art-making actions can help students achieve better control of their fine motor skills. When I teach my own classes or go into Montessori classrooms, I often teach clay play modeling and sensory painting, I’ve found that these types of activities—as well as others—can help students develop their skills quickly over a short period of time.

How Art Helps Develop Kids' Fine Motor Skills

Importance of Fine Motor Skills for Kids

It’s important to understand how fine motor development plays a role in a child’s daily life, both inside and outside of school.

They give kids the strength to press, push, pull, and squeeze so they can learn and be able to dress themselves, tie their own shoes, eat without assistance, and play outdoors safely. In the classroom, this translates to holding a pencil to write, using scissors safely, handling papers, opening lunch and supply boxes, and using art supplies (like glue) without a mess.

Fine motor development also helps with healthy cognitive processing at early ages.

Increasingly, over the years, preschoolers and kindergarteners are coming to my classes and workshops with little to no finger or hand-strength capabilities. Many Montessori teachers have also shared with me that students are entering their classrooms without the capabilities of completing simple tasks.

Because these basic skills are lacking, it’s slowing down student progression in the classrooms.

Importance of Fine Motor Skills for Kids

I’ve discovered, when working with upper elementary students who lack art making experience, 1 out of 5 of those students usually has sensory issues that prevent them from successfully manipulating art materials. They’re also deficient in spatial experience knowledge, which affects their ability to imagine conceptual ideas for planning. In other words, if a child has not physically built or created something using their own sensory system, they cannot understand how ideas come together and resist taking risks in exploring their creativity.

There hasn’t been any official research or studies into the causes of this decrease in motor development, but there are a number of reasons why it might be happening. For instance, students are spending more time indoors on tablet screens; infants are encouraged to lie on their backs more, rather than on their tummies to help lower the risk of SIDS, and parents simply doing more for their toddlers because they worry about safety or messes.

How Art Helps Develop Kids' Fine Motor Skill, montessori

Using Art to Develop Fine Motor Skills

Whatever the reasons, art activities are an excellent way to build those small fine motor muscles. Introducing art to students at a young age leads to healthy cognitive sensory development and developed fine motor muscles that they can use and create with as they age.

Some teachers might be worried that their students aren’t mature enough for independent art activities, like using scissors safely and painting, but there are several ways to help students strengthen their muscles without mess or injury.

Typically, I start my students out with clay modeling, paint brush stroking, and safety scissor activities which all help develop fine motor strength quickly.

Here are some great art projects that can be adapted for early childhood, lower elementary, and upper elementary students. These types of art making activities will help students develop fine motor control and small muscles in their fingers and hands.

Fine Motor Art Projects:

Beading and stringing
Beeswax forming
Bubble wrap stamping
Clay cookie cutter shapes
Clay modeling
Clay pressing sculptures
Crafting with string
Crayon rubbing
Cutting foam fabric
Dropper painting
Glue bottle art
Gluing sticks and recycled paper scraps
Lego building
Origami
Painting
Paper airplane making
Paper crafting
Popsicle structures
Potato stamping
Printmaking
Snowflake paper cutting
Sponge painting
Sponge stamping
Squeeze bottle painting
Stamping
Sticker collaging

If you would like to learn more about my natural art teaching methods, register for my FREE mini digital course, Phases of Art Development Video.

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April 11, 2019January 14, 2021

Ultimate Montessori Art Teaching Method Guide

I’ve worked with so many Montessori teachers who have never been taught art curriculum and have no idea how kids learn art. I’ve been in that boat before; it took me many years of working with children of all ages to really understand exactly how they learn art and what are skills they’re capable of at each age. I’m saving you from years of research and observation by creating and sharing the Ultimate Montessori Art Teaching Method Guide.

I designed this guide specifically for Montessori teachers. It covers the two Montessori planes, and each section in this guide is linked to a more detailed posts for each age.

This guide is the cumulation of more than three decades of experience working in the visual arts! I’m an artist turned mom, turned homeschool mom, turned art teacher and art manufacturer, and now I’m a Montessori art teacher trainer. My art teaching method has been taught to tens of thousands of children internationally, and now, I’m bringing the best of my knowledge and experience into the classroom of Montessori teachers.

My Art Teaching Method

I spent ten years observing children of all ages creating artworks so that I could understand recognizable cognitive patterns that revealed how children develop their skill sets. I’ve put this research on sensory art methods into studio-based practice and have seen success in many different environments.

This method is unlike any other way of teaching art. It’s designed to give children art skills that are aligned with their cognitive milestones—cognitive processing, visual perception, and fine-motor development. The goal is to wire implicit memory through all phases of development from early childhood through adolescence.

My art teaching method is extremely complementary to the Montessori way; it’s a natural progression for Montessori teachers and schools to enrich their programs and the enjoyment of the children they work with. This method connects visual art skill sets with creative thinking through sensorial experiences. Once you have an understanding of this Montessori art teaching method, you’ll be able to adapt your Montessori art curriculum to children’s three-part cognitive system (cognitive processing, visual perception, and fine-motor development), and help your students develop the necessary artistic high-order thinking needed to become artful.

How to Use This Guide

I invite you to read through this post to gain a high-level view of how this teaching method adapts to each Montessori plane. Then, click on each specific age range to find out how to effectively teach children based on their cognitive capabilities. As always, if you have questions, leave a comment, send me an email, or jump onto my exclusive Facebook page and let me know!

Early Childhood (Toddler)

Many people mistakenly think that toddlers cannot yet learn art, but that’s not the case. In early childhood, toddlers see art making as exploratory and a discovery-based experience. Young students in the Montessori art first plane do not yet understand the placement of visual arts, and are in a very curious state about mediums. At this age, children should explore art mediums without any expected outcome.

The best way to teach early childhood students is through process-based art. This means the focus on is on the experience and the process, not on the child’s final piece of artwork.

Teaching art to early childhood toddler students helps tremendously in improving their fine motor skills, which are essential to everyday tasks. To learn more about art teaching methods for this age group, read this blog.

Early Childhood (3-6 Years)

Students in early childhood should continue to learn primarily through process-based art. Children who are 3-6 years of age are quick learners and curious about art, so give them room to explore and experiment.

You want to allow students to make art in creative mode, using their own own imaginations, thoughts, and ideas for inspiration. At this age you can begin to introduce copy-mode, but limit your instruction to movement rather than copying an image.

For more information on exactly how to balance creative mode and copy mode for early childhood students, check out this post.

Lower Elementary

Children at the lower L age are able to come up with their own imaginative creations, plan with intention, and think their ideas through to completion, going through the four steps of the artistic process.

At this age, lower elementary students approach art making with lots of curiosity and enthusiasm for trying different techniques and mediums. You can start introducing line, shape, form, texture, color, and symmetrical balance ideas.

Art can be taught to students through process-based art, a continuation of creative mode, and very simplistic copy mode.

If you want a more detailed explanation of how to art teaching methods for lower L students, read this post.

Upper Elementary

Students in upper L can go through the artistic process, conjure up their own ideas, and see them through to completion. They’re able to do reflective work, bringing meaning to their creations and making connections to artworks in their community.

You can teach students Montessori art lessons through a combination of process-based art, creative mode, and copy mode.

By the time students are in upper elementary, they’re extremely competent when it comes to their fine-motor skills. Allow them to experiment with different mediums, techniques, and perspectives.

For more information on upper elementary art teaching methods, read this post.

Montessori Art Teaching Methods Resources

If you would like to understand more about which types of art projects children can work on, register for my free video course, Phases of Arts Development, which discusses teaching methods for Montessori students.

Montessori art book for teaching students

You can learn about Art Literacy Standards and the benefits of visual arts by reading Defining Visual Arts Paperback (paperback book).

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April 8, 2019January 14, 2021

Earth Day Activities for Montessori Students

Earth Day is one of my favorite holidays! Not only do I encourage teachers and schools to use eco-friendly art materials and supplies whenever possible, but I love incorporating natural elements into the art projects I share with children. That’s why Earth Day activities that involve art are my favorite to do with children and young artists.

Earth Day—held annually on April 22—marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement that started in 1970. Every year, nearly 1 billion people in more than 190 countries come together to protect our environment and celebrate everything Mother Nature provides us.

In honor of Earth Day, I’ve decided to share 5 earth-friendly art projects that Montessori students of all ages can do. These are some Earth Day activities I’ve done with children at some of the largest Earth Day celebrations on the West Coast.

Earth Day Activities for Montessori Students — The City of Trash up-cycled project below was on display for the community to view at the EarthWorks Earth Day Festival in San Diego.

Project 1: City of Trash

“City of Trash” is a collaborative recycle project that I designed for one of the largest annual Earth Day events held in Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif. It’s a way to show children how much trash and waste one household (or classroom) can produce in a week and to start instilling eco-friendly shopping habits.

This project should be planned a few days to a week in advance. Start by challenging students to save their trash throughout the week—everything that would normally go into the trash or recycle bin, minus perishable items. They can bring in a bag of trash from home, or you can set up a collection bin in your classroom.

Supplies:

Collected trash (i.e., cardboard, boxes, and anything that is non-biodegradable or that commonly goes into the recycle bin)
Strong scissors
Hot glue gun, set at a low temperature
Non-toxic paints
Paint brushes
Duct tape or a strong clear tape

How to:

After collecting a week’s worth of garbage, your class will be ready to start constructing City of Trash. Keep on the lookout for an extra-large cardboard box, you’ll recycle this to be a flat canvas to build onto. If you prefer, each student can use a smaller cardboard to create their own scene, rather than a large, collaborative, classroom-effort cityscape.
Guide students and offer simple ideas of building features usually found around city landscapes.
Allow them to construct the elements of their city using the collected materials.
Once everything is glued down to the cardboard, have students paint in details to finish the cityscape.

Earth Day Activities for Montessori Students, rock painting

Project 2: Sticks n’ Stones

This is my signature earth-friendly art activity; it made waves around San Diego communities and has traveled to major Green Festivals, Earth Day events, museums, and educational venues all over the world.

I was looking to create Earth Day activities that kids would enjoy and were also 100% sustainable for the environment. I searched for the most earth-friendly surfaces to paint, found natural elements like rocks and sticks, then searched for the most earth-friendly paints to paint them with. This art project was actually very instrumental in the founding of my non-toxic, kid-safe, earth-friendly art supply company, Nature of Art for Kids!

The idea for this earth-friendly art project is simple—use earth’s natural resources as a canvas for creating beautiful art!

Earth Day Painting Activities for Montessori Students

Supplies:

Kid-safe acrylic paint
Paint palette (paper plates or a cardboard egg carton will also work)
Paint brushes
Napkins
Water jar
Rocks (I prefer river rocks because they seem to have the flattest surface to paint an image on, but any shape will work)
Sticks

How to:

Brush dirt off sticks and wipe rocks clean by washing them in water (completely dry rock before painting).
Prepare a palette with a variety of paint colors.
Let students paint their rocks and sticks; remind them that painting one layer at a time will give them best results. Set aside their “canvas” for a few minutes to dry before they add a new layer of color.
Let their rocks and sticks dry overnight or until the end of class. They’ll dry best when left in direct sunlight.

Project 3: Paper Roll Shark

A simple recycled paper roll can transform into a shark art project kids can’t wait to sink their teeth into! It is a inexpensive Montessori art project that is easily manageable for students in both Plane 1 and Plane 2.

Best yet, this project meets all of my earth-friendly art criteria: recycled paper rolls are re-used, the project is easy for young kids to create, and many species of sharks are on the endangered animal list (which makes it a great topic to study).

Supplies:

Recycled Paper Rolls
Kid-safe paints (acrylic works best on paper rolls, giving a nice opaque coverage)
Googly eyes, fabric scraps, or buttons
Wide paint brush or sponge brush
Writing utensils for tracing (pencils, pens, markers, etc.)
Paint palette (paper plates or a cardboard egg carton will also work)
Water jar
Napkins
Scissors
Glue
Shark template

How to:

Cut out shark template pattern.
Place template on top of flattened paper roll and trace.
Cut along the tracing lines and unflatten the paper roll, popping it back into a roll shape.
Use scraps from the roll to make a fin shape.
Glue fins on with glue or a glue gun. (I’ve found that it’s easier and I get sturdier results if I cut a slit in the roll, place the fin inside, and glue around it to secure it in place.)
Paint and embellish the shapes to look like a shark or other swimming creature.
Cut small triangle shapes out of scraps from the roll or white paper for the teeth. Students can also paint or draw these onto their roll using white paint.
Glue buttons, fabric scraps, or googly eyes onto the roll for the eyes.

Note: If younger students will be completing this project, cut rolls out ahead of time.

Earth Day Activities for Montessori Students, art lessons ideas

Project 4: Recycle Cardboard Canvas

Did you know that one ton of recycled cardboard saves 390 kWh hours of electricity, 46 gallons of oil, 6.6 million Btu’s of energy, and 9 cubic yards of landfill space!?

Cardboard and paper waste make up 41% of the municipal solid waste stream. Recycling cardboard takes 24% less energy and produces 50% less sulfur dioxide than making cardboard from raw materials.

Painting on cardboard is earth-friendly and kids love it! I’ve hosted many community collaborative painting projects with large TV cardboard boxes with great creative results.

Besides using it as a canvas for flat painting, cardboard can be used for mixed media projects (like City of Trash) and dioramas.

Earth Day Activities for Montessori Students in the classroom

Supplies:

Cardboard (from paper rolls, egg cartons, any-sized boxes, etc.)
Kid-safe acrylic paint (tempera paint also works, but will not have an opaque finish)
Paint brushes (all sizes)
Paint palette (paper plates or a cardboard egg carton will also work)
Water jar
Napkins
Scissors
Decorative objects (glitter, fabric scraps, straws, string, bubble wrap, buttons, etc.)
Glue

How to:

Allow kids to experiment with how they want to use their cardboard as a canvas. Some may want to paint it as a 3D object others may want to cut open the boxes so that they can create their art on a flat canvas.
Fill the palette with different color paints.
Paint, cut out, and decorate the cardboard.
Because cardboard is so sturdy, students can revisit these art projects and paint over them or add to them at later dates.

Earth Day Activities for Montessori Students, natural organic paints

Project 5: Veggie Paint

Over the years of creating Montessori activities, many teachers and parents have asked me what the safest paint is for their young students. I always tell them the absolute safest is homemade veggie paint! It’s made straight from the vegetables found in your garden—or grocery store. This type of paint is especially safe for toddlers who are still in a phase of putting everything into their mouths.

Natural veggie paints are generally made with ingredients like fruits, vegetables, flowers, seeds, and leaves. Usually this means natural pigments are extracted from these types of vegetable plants. Natural, organic pigments have been used for thousands of years—even in cave drawings!

Supplies:

Bunch of dark, pigment-rich veggies (e.g. kale, beets, carrots, etc.)
Food processor, juicer, or blender
Water
Strainer
Cornstarch (optional)
Jar or paint container
Paint brushes
Paper (watercolor paper works best for paint with a thin consistency)

How to:

Blend your choice of vegetable with water in a food processor or blender—three parts water, to one part vegetables. If you’re using a juicer, you can skip adding water.
Strain the juice so you have only liquid, removing thick lumpy parts.
If you want a thicker paint, add cornstarch until it reaches your desired consistency.
Paint away!

Note: Veggie paint can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

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April 4, 2019July 26, 2021

Teaching Process-Based Art in the Montessori Classroom

When I first visit a Montessori school and meet with Montessori teachers—especially those in Plane 1 and early childhood—so many of them dismiss the idea of teaching young children art.

They’re right and wrong about this. That may sound confusing, but stay with me!

When it comes to teaching art to toddlers and students aged 3-6, you really don’t actually have to teach them anything. Why not? Kids need to experience the process art making before they can “learn about” art.

I’ve worked closely with young children for nearly 20 years, and I’ve observed how children exercise their creativity and build their imagination through art. Art is extremely valuable to the healthy development of a creative child, and it all starts with the concept of process art.

It can be confusing for teachers to understand and identify process-based art if they haven’t had their own experience with it. My goal for this blog post is to help you get some clarity on what process art means for early childhood students. Here’s what process focused art experiences should look like in the Montessori classroom.

What is Process-Based Art?

Process art is all about the process; the focus is on experiencing art—that’s it. With process art, you’re not worrying about what a finished artwork is going to look like. Young students are not yet ready to make realistic pictures or aesthetically pleasing finished artworks; they’ll be able to learn more advanced skills later in their adolescent years, at this age, they’re simply at a stage of exploration.

Discovery and experimentation are key to process art making for toddler and early childhood kids. Their learning and development of problem solving skills come from spending time making process art.

When you give young students the opportunity to discover, explore, and make mistakes, unique and creative artworks will start to flow out of them. When kids get to freely play and express themselves, they’re gaining the ability to think creatively. Process art also strengthens their fine motor skills, spatial intelligence, and cognitive thinking.

For early childhood students, it’s far more important to go through the artistic process through process-based art making projects—it’s how kids truly learn.

Teaching Process-Based Art

Process-based art is all about giving students room to explore their own art-making techniques. However, there should be a light, very simplistic introductory instructions on how mediums can work or be used. (This helps mitigate any messes and empowers children with the confidence to create.) I recommend showing early childhood students how mediums might turn out and the different techniques that can be achieved with each.

When teaching process art making, encourage students to experiment. Inspire them to be unique and original. Make sure they know that any type of exploration is great, and there is no wrong way to use mediums and attempt whatever they choose to create.

With process-based art, time is irrelevant, meaning they can go back and add to an older project during a different art-making session.

Most Common Process-Based Art Mistakes

As well-intentioned as teachers may be when it comes to art instruction, if teaching process-based art is new to them, they’re prone to making a few mistakes. Here are five some dos and don’ts for giving your students process art experiences.

Don’t introduce art lessons as step-by-step instructions (this is known as copy mode, and can be shared with students at an older age). Instead, do give children the freedom to create outside of specific instruction.
Don’t tell children that their project has a right way and wrong way to be created. Do encourage them to explore and assure them that anything they make is accepted.
Don’t expect a child’s finished art to look the same as a sample, or even be a recognizable image. Do remember that in early childhood, students are still grasping artistic mediums and techniques; what they create will be completely unique to their imagination.
Don’t discourage a student from exploring mediums in ways you haven’t introduced. Do give them space to experiment and be unique.
Don’t feel compelled to correct a child or guide them to fix their project to look more like the example. Do remember that process art is about the process, not the finished product.

Free Mini Digital Video Course!

I hope this help gives you a understanding of how process-based art can work in the Montessori classroom. If you would like to learn more how to nurture children in the visual arts, register for my FREE mini digital course, Phases of Art Development Video.

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Early Childhood Art Guide

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old

This book includes:
✅ My proprietary art teaching method
✅ The proper and complete list of art materials
✅ A guide for staging and setting up a successful art environment
✅ Tips and art lesson ideas for early childhood
✅ A convenient three-ring binder presentation

Buy Guide Now!

March 14, 2019January 14, 2021

Upper Elementary Montessori Art Teach Method

I’ve spent years and years researching and observing how children learn art, and what I’ve found is that children are able to grasp different artistic skills at different planes. In this new blog series, I’ll be sharing my insight on the art teaching methods that work for each age group of Montessori students.

Children of all ages can be taught visual arts and be guided through the artistic process. Each developmental phase requires different teaching styles and approaches.

Below you’ll find a general arts literacy guide for Montessori Early Childhood ages following the International Standards for the Arts Education & Sensory Visual Arts method that aligns with a child’s growth.

Montessori Upper Elementary Art Teaching Methods Resources

You can learn about Art Literacy Standards and the benefits of visual arts by reading Defining Visual Arts (paperback book).

If you would like to understand more about the phases of art development, register for this free mini digital course

Upper Elementary, Ages 10-12, Montessori Visual Arts Teaching Curriculum

Students in upper L can go through the artistic process, conjure up their own ideas and see them through to completion. They’re able to do reflective work, bringing meaning to their creations and making connections to artworks in their community.

Children in this phase of art development should have different opportunities to explore different artist techniques. They can now work independently and follow guided instructions. Projects can be spread out over the course of a few days and should include a variety of concepts, such as line, shape, value, form, texture, color, symmetry, 3D and composition.

Continue to help students develop their art literacy by using art language in the classroom.

You can also continue to teach student Montessori art lessons through a combination of process-based art, creative mode, and simple copy mode.

Strengthen and Develop Upper Elementary Students’ Art Skills

By the time students are in upper elementary, they’re extremely competent when it comes to their fine-motor skills; in large part, this is due to the day-to-day activities they’re completing as part of their Montessori curriculum. Their muscles—both large and small—have been developed through school work and art creating, which gives them improved control over their movements. This means drawing and painting can be done in more detail.

At this age, students still need lots of exploratory sessions and opportunities to experiment with different mediums and techniques. Children are now drawing and painting with a 2D perspective, and can be introduced to simple 3D concepts—like value, shading, and basic three-point perspective ideas—as well. Again, keep lessons simple, easy to follow, and easy to understand.

Some upper elementary students might also be interested in learning realistic drawing and painting skills. However, not all children at this level will be developmentally ready for these types of advanced concepts.

Provide connections to The Elements and Principles of Design, introduction to three dimension 1 point perspective ideas, value shading, and composition relationships.

Upper Elementary Montessori Art Activities & Mediums

Here are some great Montessori Upper Elementary art projects for your students who are 10 – 12 ages in the elementary grades. These types of art activities will help develop their fine motor control and small muscles in fingers and hands while teaching the Elements & Principles of Design. (You can find non-toxic, kid-friendly art supplies needed for these art activities at Nature of Art for Kids.)

Drawing: crayons, color pencils, graphite pencil, and oil pastels, soft pastels etc.
Painting: watercolor paints, acrylic paints, watercolor crayons, watercolor pencils etc.
Color Theory: primary to secondary color mixing, tints & Shades, dropper color mixing, etc.
Clay Modeling: earth clay, non-harden plasticine clay, air-dry modeling clay, polymer bake clay
Crafts: Paper folding, origami, nature and paper collage, mosaic arrangement, sewing, wool felting, string weaving, nature crafting, 3D constructing etc.

Learn more about how to teach a in a Montessori curriculum by registering for my FREE mini digital course, Phases of Art Development Video. I get more into detail on upper elementary Montessori art lessons and provide fun and exciting art project ideas.

Sign-up to receive video course & Montessori art teaching e-newsletter.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

March 7, 2019January 14, 2021

Lower Elementary Montessori Art Teach Method

Children of all ages can be taught visual arts and be guided through the artistic process. Each developmental phase requires different teaching styles and approaches.

Below you’ll find a general arts literacy guide for Montessori Lower Elementary ages following the International Standards for the Arts Education & Sensory Visual Arts method that aligns with a child’s growth – Nature of Art®.

Montessori Lower Elementary Art Teaching Methods Resources

You can learn about Art Literacy Standards and the benefits of visual arts by reading Defining Visual Arts (paperback book).

Get more information on how to bring art lessons into the Montessori classroom by reading Introducing Visual Arts into the Montessori Classroom (paperback book).

If you would like to understand more about the phases of art development, register for this free mini digital course.

Lower Elementary, Ages 7-9, Montessori Visual Arts Teaching Curriculum

Children at the lower L, age can do a number of different types of art projects. They can conjure up their own ideas and imaginative creations. Montessori lower elementary students can now plan with intention and think their ideas through to completion, going through the four steps of the artistic process.

At this age, students love to explore and discover what results different art mediums can produce. They encounter visual arts and Montessori art projects with lots of curiosity and a willingness to try different techniques.

Stretching Students’ Art Skills

Children can follow simple guided-art instructions and remain focused on their work for up to 1.5 hours. However, it’s still important to keep projects simple, with just a few un-complicated steps. Montessori art projects should start to introduce line, shape, form, texture, color, and symmetrical balance ideas.

You can also start introducing your lower elementary Montessori students to art language and the Elements & Principles of Design. For more information, reference Defining Visual Arts to better understand art language for young children.

Students’ fine-motor skills are becoming more controlled due to all the activities in their day-to-day Montessori curriculum and academic studies. Drawing and painting can be done with higher levels of control. The most important thing to focus on is giving children tasks that will continue to develop their fine-motor skills.

Children in lower elementary also need lots of exploratory sessions that allow them to experiment with varied mediums and techniques. Children are now drawing and painting with a 2D perspective and can be introduced to texture.

Art-Teaching Methods for Lower Elementary

Based on my proprietary sensory art method, I recommend teaching Montessori art through a combination of three methods: process-based art, creative-mode, and simple copy-mode.

Process-based art is about exploring and using their own imagination; it’s not necessarily focused on the child’s final piece of artwork.
Creative mode gives children the opportunity to explore mediums and conjure up creative images based on their own imaginations, thoughts, and ideas.
Copy mode refers to a systematic, step-by-step art instruction. Copy-mode should not be copy what you see in the image type lessons.

Lower Elementary Montessori Art Activities & Mediums

Here are some great Montessori Lower Elementary art projects for your students who are 7-9 years old, in the elementary grades. These types of art activities will help develop their fine motor control and small muscles in fingers and hands while teaching the Elements & Principles of Design. (You can find non-toxic, kid-friendly art supplies needed for these art activities at Nature of Art for Kids.)

Drawing: crayons, color pencils, graphite pencil, oil pastels, etc.
Painting: watercolor paints, tempera paints, acrylic paints, watercolor crayons, watercolor pencils etc.
Color Theory: primary color mixing, dropper color mixing, etc.
Clay Modeling: earth clay, non-harden plasticine clay, air-dry modeling clay, beeswax forming, etc.
Crafts: paper folding, nature and paper collage, mosaic arrangements, sewing basics, wool felting, string weaving, nature crafting, 3D constructing, etc.

Learn more about Montessori art teaching methods for lower elementary and get some Montessori art projects ideas by registering for my FREE mini digital course, Phases of Art Development Video.

Sign-up to receive video course & Montessori art teaching e-newsletter.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

February 21, 2019January 14, 2021

Early Childhood Montessori Art Teaching Method (3-6 Years)

Sensory Cognitive Child Art Method, montessori

Children of all ages can be taught visual arts and be guided through the artistic process. Each developmental phase requires different teaching styles and approaches.

Below you’ll find a general arts literacy guide for Montessori Early Childhood ages 3-6, which follows the International Standards for the Arts Education & Sensory Visual Arts method that aligns with a child’s growth™.

Montessori Early Childhood Art Teaching Methods Resources

Sign-up to receive video course & Montessori art teaching e-newsletter.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

You can learn about Art Literacy Standards and the benefits of visual arts by reading Defining Visual Arts Paperback (paperback book).

Get more information on how to bring art lessons into the Montessori classroom by reading Introducing Visual Arts into the Montessori Classroom (paperback book).

If you would like to understand more about the phases of art development, register for this free mini digital course.

Early Childhood Art Teaching: 3 to 6 Years

For young children, art making is an exploratory- and discovery-based experience. Students in the Montessori first plane and who are aged 3 to 6 years are ready for simple art making tasks. They’re now able to make connections to their own imagination.

Learning Through Process-Based Art

The best instruction method to introducing art lessons is through process-based art, creative-mode, and copy-mode, with the goal of building implicit memory.

Process-based art is about the experience and the process; it’s not focused on the child’s final piece of artwork or whether it resembles art adults can recognize, but rather, it’s about exploring and using their own imagination.

When teaching by process art, you should give a brief introductory instruction on how mediums work and can be used. Children who are 3-6 years of age are very curious about art mediums and their results. They’re also quick learners. Montessori early childhood art lessons should allow students to explore art mediums without any expected outcome. Give students opportunities to focus on experimentation.

By providing specific activities in your Montessori art classroom, you can actually help young students develop and refine their small motor muscles. Creating art helps develop both large and small muscles, which improves young students’ controlled movements. I will usually start young students off with clay modeling, paint brush stroking, and activities using safety scissors—each of these help them strengthen their fine motor skills more quickly.

Continuing with Creative-Mode

Creative-mode is how children first learn to create art. It is the basis of process-based art learning. In creative mode, you should refrain from giving students a point of reference or image to copy. The child creates art by exploring the medium and conjuring up their own creative images from their own imaginations, thoughts, and ideas.

Introducing Copy-Mode

Copy-mode refers to a systematic, step-by-step art instruction. But in early childhood, you don’t want to yet introduce copy what you see in the image-type lessons. At this stage, children love to mimic easy task the see adults do, such as sweeping, cleaning, sewing, painting, cutting, and gardening. Bring this into your art lessons, and allow them to copy your movements.

Introduce copy-mode by having students copy a simple design (one that only involves one to two steps). Once they have the basic design complete, let them continue on in creative-mode and finish their projects however they want.

Early Childhood Art Activities & Mediums

Here are some great Montessori Early Childhood art projects for your students who are ages 3 to 6. These types of art activities will help develop their fine motor control and small muscles in fingers and hands; they also allow room to utilize creative-mode and copy-mode during activities. (You can find non-toxic, kid-friendly art supplies needed for these art projects at Nature of Art for Kids.)

Doodling: crayons, color pencils, tempera sticks, etc.
Painting: watercolor paints, tempera paints, finger paints, homemade veggie dyes, etc.
Color Theory Play: watercolor painting, dropper painting, squeeze bottle painting, etc.
Clay Modeling: earth clay, homemade play dough, pressing sculptures, beeswax forming, non-hardening plastine clay, etc.
Simple Crafts: cutting paper, weaving string, glueing, building with blocks, large popsicle-stick structures, etc.

A Short Cut Just for You

Having the right art material for your early childhood classroom is just the first step. If you want more information on how to use each material, how to set up an art shelf with the materials, and how to teach lessons that actually help early childhood students learn art (YES, they can learn art at that early of an age!) then I have some good news for you!

I’m currently selling my brand new, Early Childhood Art Guide. It includes everything you need to know to successfully bring art lessons into your early childhood classroom—without the stress. I go into more detail about art materials (such as how to use them and where to find them), give you step-by-step art presentations, and a ton of other valuable information that makes teaching art and setting up your shelf so much easier. And, right now, you can order yours today!, so don’t miss out!

Early Childhood Art Guide

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old

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February 14, 2019January 14, 2021

Early Childhood (Toddler) Montessori Art Teaching Methods

Children of all ages can be taught visual arts and be guided through the artistic process. Each developmental phase requires different teaching styles and approaches.

Below you’ll find a general arts literacy guide for Montessori Early Childhood, following the International Standards for the Arts Education & Sensory Visual Arts method that aligns with a child’s growth™.

Montessori Early Childhood Art Teaching Methods Resources

You can learn about Art Literacy Standards and the benefits of visual arts by reading Defining Visual Arts Paperback (paperback book).

Get more information on how to bring art lessons into the Montessori classroom by reading Introducing Visual Arts into the Montessori Classroom (paperback book).

If you would like to understand more about the phases of art development, register for this free mini digital course.

Early Childhood (Toddler) Montessori Art Teaching Methods

Early Childhood, Toddler Art Teaching: 15 months to 3 years

For young children, art making is an exploratory- and discovery-based experience. Students in the Montessori art first plane do not yet understand the placement of visual arts, and are in a very curious state about mediums. At this age, children should explore art mediums without any expected outcome.

Learning Through Process-Based Art

The best instruction method to introducing art lessons is through process-based art. Process-based art is about the experience and the process; it’s not focused on the child’s final piece of artwork or whether it resembles art adults can recognize, but rather, it’s about exploring and using their own imagination.

When teaching by process art, you should give a brief introductory instruction on how mediums work and can be used. Give a few examples so kids can see different techniques for using the mediums.

That’s it though!

From there, allow Early Childhood students to explore their own techniques and ideas. Assure them that there is no right or wrong way to use the medium to create their artwork. Let them go back and add to previous projects and (reasonably) experiment with unique ways to finish their project using the medium you’ve introduced. Remember, process-based art is all about experimenting and discovering!

Developing Fine-Motor Skills

An important thing you want to focus on is giving children tasks that encourage fine-motor skill development. Creating art helps develop both large and small muscles, which improves young students’ controlled movements. Be sure to provide plenty of opportunities to practice these skills.

Typically, children who are in preschool to kindergarten have little to no finger or hand strength capabilities. It’s important to understand how fine-motor development plays a huge role in a child’s daily life—dressing themselves, tying their own shoes, eating without assistance, writing, even playing outdoors. They also help with healthy cognitive processing at early ages.

By providing specific activities in your Montessori art classroom, you can actually help young students develop and refine their small motor muscles. I will usually start young students off with clay modeling, paint brush stroking, and activities using safety scissors—each of these help them strengthen their fine motor skills more quickly.

Early Childhood Art Activities & Mediums

Here are some great Montessori early childhood art projects for your students who are at a toddler age up through primary grades. These types of art activities will help develop their fine motor control and small muscles in fingers and hands. (You can find non-toxic, kid-friendly art supplies needed for these art activities at Nature of Art for Kids.)

Doodling: crayons, color pencils, tempera sticks, etc.
Painting: watercolor paints, tempera paints, finger paints, homemade veggie dyes, etc.
Color Theory Play: watercolor painting, dropper painting, squeeze bottle painting, etc.
Clay Modeling: earth clay, homemade play dough, pressing sculptures, beeswax forming, etc.
Simple Crafts: cutting paper, weaving string, glueing, building with giant/jumbo Legos, large popsicle-stick structures, etc. (I recommend holding off on any crafts involving small parts until after your students are older than 3.)

A Short Cut Just for You: Buy Early Childhood Guide

Early Childhood Art Guide

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Buy Guide Now!

Watercolor Play is Ideal for Early Childhood

Supplies

Watercolor Paints

Watch Cosmic Rock Painting Video

My Art Teaching Method

How to Use This Guide

Early Childhood (Toddler)

Early Childhood (3-6 Years)

Lower Elementary

Upper Elementary

Montessori Art Teaching Methods Resources

What is Process-Based Art?

Teaching Process-Based Art

Most Common Process-Based Art Mistakes

Free Mini Digital Video Course!

Visual Arts Teaching Guidefor 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Montessori Upper Elementary Art Teaching Methods Resources﻿

Upper Elementary, Ages 10-12, Montessori Visual Arts Teaching Curriculum

Strengthen and Develop Upper Elementary Students’ Art Skills

Upper Elementary Montessori Art Activities & Mediums

Montessori Lower Elementary Art Teaching Methods Resources﻿

Lower Elementary, Ages 7-9, Montessori Visual Arts Teaching Curriculum

Stretching Students’ Art Skills﻿

Art-Teaching Methods for Lower Elementary﻿

Lower Elementary Montessori Art Activities & Mediums

Montessori Early Childhood Art Teaching Methods Resources﻿

Early Childhood Art Teaching: 3 to 6 Years

Learning Through Process-Based Art

Continuing with Creative-Mode

Introducing Copy-Mode

Early Childhood Art Activities & Mediums

A Short Cut Just for You

Visual Arts Teaching Guidefor 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Montessori Early Childhood Art Teaching Methods Resources

Early Childhood, Toddler Art Teaching: 15 months to 3 years

Learning Through Process-Based Art

Developing Fine-Motor Skills

Early Childhood Art Activities & Mediums

A Short Cut Just for You: Buy Early Childhood Guide

Visual Arts Teaching Guidefor 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Montessori Upper Elementary Art Teaching Methods Resources

Montessori Lower Elementary Art Teaching Methods Resources

Stretching Students’ Art Skills

Art-Teaching Methods for Lower Elementary

Montessori Early Childhood Art Teaching Methods Resources

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old