As a Montessori teacher, you know it can be overwhelming to choose the best art activities for your students. That’s why I’m here with some guidance on which Montessori art activities for Big Bang lessons are most appropriate for your classroom.
Art activities related to the Big Bang are some of my favorites to teach. They allow children to explore their imaginations and get creative in a concrete, meaningful way. From drawing explosions to painting supernovas, students can visualize and understand such a big concept.
Integrating art with science helps kids express ideas creatively, stimulates their senses and provides tactile experiences. And when it comes to teaching the universe’s and the Big Bang, there is no shortage of art inspiration.
To get started, take a look at some of your books for visual inspiration. One of my favorites is “Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story” by Jennifer Morgan. The illustrations are sure to inspire your students to create.
And for more ideas, download my top 5 Montessori Big Bang Art Activities. These activities can easily be adjusted to fit early childhood, lower elementary, or upper elementary classrooms. Click here to get started!
The Big Bang Theory is a fascinating science topic that Montessori teachers can incorporate into their art projects to make the learning experience interactive and fun. Below are ten art projects that Montessori teachers can use to teach elementary kids about the Big Bang Theory.
10 Fun Big Bang Art
1. Create a Cosmic Painting: Take your students on a journey through the universe with a cosmic painting activity. Discuss the Big Bang and the creation of the universe with your students, then have them create a painting depicting the birth of the universe.
2. Constellations: Give your students a chance to create their own constellations using paint or clay. Educate them on how the Big Bang gave birth to stars and how stars are the building blocks of constellations.
3. Paper Mache Planets: Introduce the concept of planets and solar systems by having your students make paper mache planets. You can use this opportunity to discuss the origins of planets and how they were formed following the Big Bang.
4. Galaxy in a Bottle: Encourage your students to learn about galaxies by creating a galaxy in a bottle. This can be a great way to explore the vastness of space and how galaxies form after the Big Bang.
5. Moon Phases Art: Discuss the moon phases and how they are caused by the changing position of the moon. Have your students create art that depicts the different phases of the moon using paint or chalk.
6. Starry Night Sky: Teach your students about stars by creating a starry night sky mural. This activity can help them learn about the different types of stars and how they are formed.
7. Cosmic Collage: Give your students an opportunity to create a cosmic collage by cutting out pictures of planets, stars, and galaxies from magazines and newspapers. Discuss the Big Bang and how all these celestial bodies came into existence.
8. Sun Catchers: Discuss the origins of our solar system’s star, the sun, and have your students create sun catchers using colorful tissue paper. This can be a great way to explore the different colors of the sun and how they are visible to us.
9. Universe Mobile: Make a universe mobile to showcase the Big Bang and the creation of our universe. Students can create planets, stars, and galaxies to hang from the mobile.
10. Astronaut Art: Discuss space travel and astronauts’ role in exploring space. Let your students create astronaut art that depicts them exploring the galaxies and space beyond, giving them a glimpse into the vast universe beyond our planet.
By incorporating these art projects into your Montessori lessons, your students can learn about the Big Bang Theory and explore the vastness of space in a fun and interactive way.
Preparing a Montessori art curriculum might feel overwhelming. Especially if you don’t know what should come first when teaching Montessori students art. In this blog, I’m sharing why you should teach primary color mixing to Montessori students. I’ll give you my art teacher advice on what’s important to focus on first.
Primary color mixing should be on the top of your art curriculum scaffolding. Why is teaching it so essential? Because all visual arts are connected to color theory.
If you want to teach children how to paint, they will need to learn how to achieve the colors they need when those colors are not available in their palette. And when learning how to create realistic images you need to know how to control color values by mixing primary colors together. Artists also tint and shade by understanding basic primary and secondary mixing ideas. To create color pop in designs you need to understand warm, cool, and complementary color ideas as well.
So start with teaching the basics of color mixing, then move into more advanced color theory ideas. Be sure to check out my store for the art supplies you may need for this curriculum.
Good news!
As a homeschool mom, artist, and art teacher I know how difficult it can be to create an art curriculum. I’ve spent the last five years developing an easy-to-follow sequential step-by-step curriculum for parents and school teachers…so you don’t have to!
It took me twenty years to create this method. I start my color theory curriculum modules first with primary colors into secondary color mixing, then move into more important color theory ideas with easy lessons. I can save you valuable time from trying to figure this all out, so check out my links below!
Painting With Primary Colors | What to start with?
Sometimes I get a lot of questions from teachers and parents wanting to know which colors they should first introduce to their students. So, I often recommend starting with primary colors red, yellow, and blue (water-soluble mediums).
Just start with these three primary colors if your student is new to painting. Learning to mix primary hues can teach lots of valuable secondary mixing lessons.
A book I published a couple of years back called Kids Color Theory is available in my store, and a recently designed Kids Color Theory Curriculum is now available too. You can order both in digital form or paperback copy here.
Kids Color Theory Book
Primary hues can come in lots of different mediums.
If you look at my pictures I have primary hues in all of these mediums which can be used to teach color theory:
Acrylic
Watercolor
Watercolor crayons
Watercolor pencils
As you can see, there are many options to choose from. Many are available in my store.
I review each one of these mediums in my book Kids Color Theory and how they work.
Painting with primary colors is a lot of fun. My book will show you how you can teach your students primaries. It will show how they can mix their own secondary colors, and fun value color mixing ideas. In my Montessori Color Mixing Curriculum, I have over 37 color mixing lessons you can follow. Check out my color mixing curriculum here.
Water tub color play evolved many years ago for me when introducing toddlers to primary color lessons. Watching the children, I noticed children getting transfixed on colors when pouring from bowl to bowl.
They became delighted when colors transformed into another different hue. Then, I even witnessed toddlers try to correct the colors by pouring other combinations of colors together.
Toddlers were no longer distracted by their surroundings and became totally absorbed by these color transformations. It was exciting to notice calmness and relaxation set in with the children as they painted. Although I knew they were not mixing colors intentionally, they were processing discovery. And, they knew something was happening because of their actions. Order my book Kids Color Theory Curriculum to help you teach your kids about primary colors while having fun!
A fun Montessori art activity: Paint paper like Eric Carle
Every summer, I host art camps in San Diego, and my students’ top favorite project to do with me is to paint papers! In this post, we will teach you how to paint paper and collage like artist and author Eric Carle.
So I thought I would share this fun Montessori art activity you could introduce to your students.
I like to give my students unusual tools, bright paint colors, different colored papers, and crazy things to make interesting textures and patterns.
This also prepares papers for future projects that can be cut and collaged into interesting shapes.
Teach the Elements and Principles of Design concepts
This is also a great way to teach the Elements and Principles of Design concepts texture and patterns, a vital art standard topic children should learn in Montessori art lessons.
The artist and author Eric Carle is famous for doing this fun and vibrant method in his book illustrations.
Eric Carle is famous for PAINTED PAPERS and collaging them into beautiful creatures featured in all his books.
Eric Carle, artist and children’s book author
How-to PAINT PAPER like Eric Carle | Montessori Art
What is paint paper?
Painted paper is basically paint applied onto paper.
You can paint plain white paper or colored paper.
Paper painting can be created with different mediums like watercolor, gel paints, tempera, or acrylic paints (any paint).
What can you do with painted paper?
Like Eric Carle, the famous artist, paint the papers first, let them dry second, then third cut them up into new collage artworks.
ColColl
Eric Carle’s famous painting papers created The Very Hungry Caterpillar book with this unique painted technique.
Interesting objects that make patterns and textures
Drying rack
Interesting tools
Painted papers can be taught in a process-based manner
Process-based painting is more about the experience rather than following directions.
When kids paint process-based, they are able to go in any direction they choose.
They can explore any texture, use any color, and have any outcome happen, but have very cool painted paper; they can later cut turn into another art piece.
Process-based art lessons and painted papers are a great way to start teaching Montessori art lessons.
No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreignlanguage without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.
This time of year is a special one. It gets a lot busier, but we also tend to make time for more special moments—even in the Montessori classroom. Kids’ holiday crafts, like painting ornaments, are a wonderful way to let kids work creatively and independently. I’ve painted ornaments with thousands of kids in classrooms and workshops during the holidays and they all love this holiday craft so much! And it’s something students and their families can keep for years to come! I have kids visit me every year to make a new ornament to add to their collection.
What makes this kids holiday craft great is that it’s simple to set up and you don’t need very many special items beyond a basic paint kit. I like using woodcraft ornaments because they’re better for the environment than plastic and safe to have around younger kids (versus glass ornaments).
Here are some tips for setting up this holiday art activity for your students (or kids at home too!).
Setting Up an Ornament Painting Station
Painting ornaments can seem like a messy project, but if you set up a special area for painting, it’s actually totally stress and mess-free—and really fun!
The space you set up should be in an area where children are allowed to get a little messy. I suggest using a drop cloth, especially if your students are painting inside. You should also provide smocks, aprons, or large old t-shirts for them to wear, so their clothes don’t get messy while they’re creating—some paints do not easily wash off clothes.
It’s much easier for kids to paint if their materials are at eye level and on a flat and sturdy surface (like a table). You may want to put a drop cloth or old newspaper on top of that too.
Ornament Painting Supplies
Here’s everything you need for this kids holiday craft of painting ornaments:
Wooden ornaments – while ‘holiday shapes’ are fun to use, any shape will work
Acrylic paint – you will get the best and longest-lasting results if you use acrylic paint
Paintbrushes – put out a few sizes, including very fine/tiny ones for details
Paint palette – any size palette will work for this holiday craft, even a paper plate
Glitter – you can use any color you choose, I personally love white glitter for painting ornaments
Smock – or another cover-up to protect kids’ clothes; acrylic will not come out of fabric
Napkins – for wiping paintbrushes between color changes
Jar – water jar to clean paintbrushes between colors
Hairdryer (optional) – for older kids or adults to speed up the drying process and work on details
A note on ornaments: You can find unfinished wood craft shapes at your local superstore or craft stores, or you can find them online as well. You can even use glass orb ornaments, I would just be very careful with younger children. It’s also a great idea to recycle old ornaments! Kids will love adding to the designs or completely “destroying” a design to create their own new one.
A note on paint: For this activity, you want to use acrylic paint, because it’s the most durable and it’ll last the longest. (I still have ornaments my kids painted when they were young and I pull them out every year during the holidays!) It’s very important to use kid-safe, non-toxic acrylic paint—you can buy some here.
Where to Start: Choose the Right Ornament Painting Color Palette
I really encourage you to allow children to paint whatever they want—they don’t have to stick with traditional holiday themes. However, more than likely, they will choose symbols of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other winter holidays. Most of the children I’ve worked with choose to paint shapes like stars, Christmas trees, Santas, and snowmen.
These are some great colors to start with:
Red
Black
White
Gold
Silver
Dark Green
Yellow
Orange
Pink
Purple
Brown
Burgundy deep red
If you don’t have all these colors, that’s okay; students will be able to make beautiful holiday ornaments with just three to four colors too!
Don’t forget, if students are using glitter for their ornaments, make sure they sprinkle it on their ornaments while the paint is still wet. If they wait until their ornament is completely dried, the glitter won’t stick and it’ll just fall off.
If you haven’t done very many painting activities with your students, you’re in for a real treat—kids love this craft! It’s so simple to set up, you can do this with your students a few times during the holiday season. Or, you can expand on this activity and do rock painting and just painting on paper. The materials stay the same, the images, paint colors, and canvases are the only things that may need to change.
With any painting project, as long as children have the right painting materials, they will learn and have fun! If you want a free downloadable version of the paint materials listed above (plus a few more), get my Kids Painting Materials Checklist now by clicking here.
A Short Cut Just for You
Once you see how much your students love painting, you’re going to want to include it as a regular part of your curriculum. My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that walk students through everything they need to know to be successful at painting, from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals!
Each lesson is part of a sequence and includes all the components, tips, materials lists, and instructions you need to ensure you will be able to actually teach your students to become skilled painters. All you have to do is simply follow the instructions and easily present the activities to your students.
Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum sets the foundation for their art education and will help them transform into little artists! To purchase the curriculum, click here.
Let’s start this blog off with a fun fact: I have probably painted thousands of rocks with kids throughout San Diego! It’s one of my go-to art activities because it’s fun for kids, easy to set up, and leads to really diverse artworks. For example, now that we’re heading into the Halloween season, I love changing things up and doing this Halloween rock painting Montessori kids art project.
Here are my tips for setting up this art activity so your students have the best experience (and you have the least amount of mess and stress!).
Halloween Rock Painting in the Classroom or Home
When you’re setting up this Montessori Halloween rock painting project, you really only need three things: rocks for painting, kid-safe painting supplies, and a painting space.
Collecting Rocks
Kids love collecting rocks outside! You can find rocks everywhere, they’re a free resource that helps make this project really affordable. However, if your class is unable to go out and collect rocks, you can always find bags of them at craft or garden stores. If you are using collected rocks, make sure you clean and dry them before painting.
Natural rocks come in different sizes and shapes. Have your students imagine what they would like to paint, then look for rocks similar in shape. The best rocks for this project will have a nice, flat surface to paint.
Setting Up a Rock Painting Space
The space you set up should be in an area where children can get messy. If you want to protect your floor, use a drop cloth. Make sure your students are also prepared for a little mess; they should be dressed in clothes that can get messy, some paints do not easily wash off clothes.
It’s much easier for kids to paint if their materials are at eye level and on a flat and sturdy surface (like a table). You may want to put a drop cloth or old newspaper on top of that too.
Rock Painting Supplies
Here’s everything you need for this Halloween rock painting Montessori kids art project:
Acrylic Paint – safe, non-toxic acrylic or thick craft paint will work great
Paintbrushes – very small brushes for making details and medium brushes to paint the full surface of rocks
Water Jar – to clean paint off paintbrushes between colors
Napkins – for wiping water and paint off paintbrushes
Palette – if you don’t have small palettes you can use paper plates or recycled egg cartons to hold your paint
Newspaper – to protect the working surface and catch paint
Smock, apron, or old clothes – to protect child’s clothes from getting paint on them
Halloween Rock Painting Colors
Acrylic paint is the best option for painting natural rocks; it will adhere to them long term. Just make sure you are only using kid-safe, non-toxic acrylic paint brands, especially when working with children under 12 years old.
You can make lots of fun Halloween designs on rocks using just a few colors of paint. These can be simple designs for kids to mimic.
White – ghosts, mummies, skulls, eyeballs, spider webs
Black – jack-o’-lantern, black cats, bats
Orange – pumpkins, jack-o’-lanterns
Red – eyeballs, drops of blood
Green – witches, monsters, Frankenstein
Purple – monsters, spiders, witches’ hats
Yellow – candy corn, scary eyes
Remember, the final artwork will depend on your students’ ages and the time they’ve been exposed to painting before this activity.
Where to Start: Follow My Halloween Rock Painting Tips
This Montessori Halloween rock painting activity is actually really simple. All you really have to do is demonstrate how to properly use the materials—paintbrushes, water jar, napkins—and then let kids work independently to create their artworks. Here are three quick tips to help make the project go smoothly.
Tip 1: Rocks are not paper; they don’t absorb paint as easily.
When kids are cleaning their paintbrushes in between colors, make sure they wipe all the water off the paintbrush before they dip it back into paint. You don’t want runny paint when painting rocks, the paint is harder to control with precision and the image won’t be as clear.
Tip 2: Paint the background color first and let it dry completely before adding more paint.
If you want rock to have a solid background color, paint that first. Then, let the paint dry before painting anything else on it. This will help the image come out nice and clear, and keep the paint colors from smearing together.
Example: If painting a ghost rock, paint white first, let it dry, then paint black eyes and mouth once the white has dried.
Tip 3: If possible, paint rocks in direct sunlight.
Acrylic will dry quicker if it’s under a heat source. Rocks will take much longer to dry if they are being painted in a cold or cool temperature. Once your students have finished painting their rocks, lay them in direct sunlight to dry.
Like I said earlier, students can do rock painting in so many different ways and themes! The general idea and materials stay the same, the images and paint colors are the only things that may need to change.
With any painting project, as long as children have the right painting materials, they will learn and have fun! If you want a free downloadable version of the paint materials listed above (plus a few more), get my Kids Painting Materials Checklist now by clicking here.
A Short Cut Just for You
Painting—whether it’s rocks or on paper—is always such a fun activity for kids. I encourage you to set up painting projects and lessons for your class on a regular basis. My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that take kids from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals! Each lesson is featured as part of a sequence and includes all the information—materials, demonstration technique, and direct and indirect aims—so you can simply follow the instructions and easily present the activity to your students.
Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum sets the foundation for their art education and will help them transform into little artists! To purchase the curriculum, click here.
It’s finally autumn! Hopefully where you are the leaves are turning beautiful hues and you’re enjoying the season! To me, nothing says autumn more than being surrounded by pumpkins! And, based on experience, I think a lot of Montessori students would agree! This pumpkin painting Montessori art project is a favorite among children (and teachers) every year!
Pumpkins add a festive touch during the fall holiday season, and this art activity gives you the chance to talk about plant life cycle or a number of other Montessori topics!
What I love most about this pumpkin painting Montessori art activity for kids is how easy it is! It’s a great alternative to carving pumpkins, which can be difficult or even dangerous to do with Early Childhood and Lower Elementary students. This project is very safe and lots of fun children of all ages.
Pumpkin Painting in the Classroom or Home
When you’re setting up this pumpkin painting project, you really only need three things: a pumpkin, painting supplies, and a painting space.
Picking a Pumpkin
First, your pumpkin. Any size pumpkin will work but try to choose one that has little to no blemishes—this will make painting easier and actually make the pumpkin last longer. Once your child picks the pumpkin they want, clean its surface gently with soap and water or a wipe. Then allow the pumpkin to air-dry or dry it with a cloth before painting.
Setting Up a Painting Space
The space you set up should be in an area where children can get messy. If you want to protect your floor, use a drop cloth. Make sure your students are also prepared for a little mess; they should be dressed in clothes that can get messy, some paints do not easily wash off clothes.
It’s much easier for kids to paint if the pumpkins are at eye level and on a flat and sturdy surface (like a table). You may want to put a drop cloth or old newspaper on top of that too.
Pumpkin Painting Supplies
Here’s everything you need for this art project:
Clothes to get messy in; artist smocks and aprons work too
Paint brushes – small ones for little pumpkins and large ones for bigger pumpkins (kids can paint with sponges and their fingers too!)
Water jar – for washing brushes between paint colors
Napkins – for paintbrushes and paint spills
Baby wipes (optional) – I love having these around for quick clean-ups, they get all types of paint off kids’ skin, even acrylic
Palette – to hold paints (paper plates and egg cartons work too)
Remember, this is a seasonal project and will only last the life of the pumpkin. So safe, non-toxic paints will work perfectly. I recommended using water-based paints like mineral paint, milk paint, acrylic paint or tempera when working with young kids.
You can choose whatever paint colors you have in your classroom, but I suggest using a mix of fall colors like green, white, red, orange, yellow, brown, and purple, which all stand out on a pumpkin.
Note: I recommend leaving black paint out of young children’s paint palettes. The smallest amount of black will turn all colors gray. Your child’s pumpkins will still look wonderful without black paint.
How To Present a Pumpkin Painting Lesson
The best part about this project is that it’s so simple! Kids can have fun and their pumpkins will look fantastic no matter what! There aren’t any complicated instructions, just three steps.
Squeeze out just a quarter-size dollop of paint, you can add more as you go along
Demonstrate how to do simple strokes so children have an understanding of how to use the paintbrushes and other materials (like the water jars and napkins for cleaning their brushes)
Leave the rest to them!
Where to Start: Pumpkin Painting Montessori Art Project Ideas
It’s important to let your kids explore and work independently with this project. Process-based learning is especially important for Early Childhood and Lower Elementary students.
However, it is okay to give them inspiration. Here are a few ideas:
Purple paint for Dracula, monsters, or bats
Green paint for witches, goblins, or aliens
White paint for ghosts and spider webs
With older children, you can include black paint for spiders and bats
While this is a painting project, you can also put out other art materials for students to use, such as googly eyes, recycled scraps, and raw or dried veggies to make funny faces.
I see so many teachers overcomplicate painting lessons. It really is simple though! As long as children have the right painting materials, they will learn! If you want a free downloadable version of the paint materials listed above (plus a few more), get my Kids Painting Materials Checklist now by clicking here.
A Short Cut Just for You
Once you see how much your students love this project, you’re going to want to include even more painting activities in your classroom! Students should be given ample time to just discover and experiment, but structured lessons can help them really improve their skills and become better artists! My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that take kids from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals! Each lesson is featured as part of a sequence and includes all the information—materials, demonstration technique, and direct and indirect aims—so you can simply follow the instructions and easily present the activity to your students.
Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum sets the foundation for their art education and will help them transform into little artists! To purchase the curriculum, click here.
No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreignlanguage without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.
This blog post is a part of a three-month series: Montessori Art in the Natural World: Kids Nature Journal Color Lessons. This series is about growing kids’ knowledge about the natural world by taking them outside their home or classroom and challenging them to create focused art, based on the nature around them. Every aspect of nature—seasons, layers of the earth’s soil, energy, rocks and minerals, fossils, landforms, water, flora, fauna, the atmosphere—can all be represented and expressed through art lessons. The water texture art techniques in this blog will help your students learn how to paint water to use in their nature art projects. Drawing and painting water is an excellent way to teach students more about nature and our world’s waters!
With 71 percent of the earth’s surface being covered with water, chances are, your kids will encounter drawing or painting some kind of water feature in their artworks or biome field notes. Luckily, there are a ton of water texture techniques that can be explored for learning about our ocean salt water, fresh water, frozen ice formations, and water within our atmosphere. Focusing on our planet’s natural water systems is also a great way to connect them to nature! Another fun way to engage students in studying zoology is to draw or paint whales, sharks, rainbow fish, crocodiles, eels, and algae in the water they live in.
Teaching students a unique way to express water images will make learning about the science aspects of lessons a lot more fun. Drawing and painting water textures open up childrens’ curiosities and will lead to interesting and enriching conversations within your Montessori classroom.
Fun Water Art Learning Prompts:
You can continue to guide your students’ interests and curiosities by exploring the questions:
Why is the ocean blue?
Why do some parts of the ocean (or large lakes) look darker or lighter? (This is also a great question to help them explore color values and color tones!)
What is a coastline?
What causes waves in the ocean? Why aren’t there waves in lakes?
How much water covers our planet?
Why is the largest body of water salty?
What kind of animals live in the different depths of the ocean?
How do freshwater biomes and saltwater biomes differ?
How are sea mammals and fish different?
Why is water so important to human life?
How can we protect our planet’s water systems?
Learning About Nature By Painting Water Texture
Kids learn by connecting information through the process of expressing, which leads to meaningful learning. As a teacher, you can lead students through many engaging water texture art lessons which will help them make their artworks unique and personal. Rather than students slapping down blue paint to represent oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, or streams, they can look closer to the natural patterns found in water and try to replicate the movements and textures in their artworks.
Water texture drawing or painting can be explored in primary and elementary grades. Younger students will need more hands-on assistance and need to work process-based, giving them more time to discover and explore. Lower and upper elementary children will be able to do the projects completely independently by following demonstrations and steps. There are many techniques to create water texture art with interesting lines and patterns, such as:
Crayon wax resist
Salt sprinkled over watercolor
Bubble wrap
Painting yarn to create line textures
Where to Start: Bubble Wrap Water Painting Montessori Art Activity
There are so many ways to create water texture drawings and paintings, but this technique is one of my favorites! It’s so much fun for kids and easy to do too. (Plus, it helps you recycle any bubble wrap you get from packages!)
If you’re lucky enough to live by a body of water you can take your students to, I highly encourage you to have students make and record their observations in their nature journals. (For information and instructions on how to create a nature art journal, click here.)
I created this Outdoor Nature Journal Checklist to help you guide your students in their observations and recordings to make sure they’re following scientific principles and standards. This will help ensure your students are including data that helps them implement both scientific and artistic principles during their expedition. Print it out or save it on your phone so you have it with you the next time you lead your students outside.
A Short Cut Just for You
I like painting water texture activities because it opens up a whole world of painting for kids. It shows them how you can paint with tools other than fingers or paintbrushes! However, it’s essential that kids do learn paintbrushes and brushstroke techniques to help them develop their painting skills.
My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that take kids from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals! Each lesson is featured as part of a sequence and includes all the information—materials, demonstration technique, and direct and indirect aims—you need to properly present the activity to your students.
How to Set Up an Environment and Lessons That Inspire Montessori Students to Paint
Painting is one of the most creative, fun (and sometimes messy) forms of visual art. If you look at the most basic concept of painting, anyone can do it. From simple finger painting to multi-layered brushstrokes, painting can be experienced by little artists of any age or level. My objective with this ultimate guide is to give you all the tools and information you need to create Montessori painting lessons and activities for your students.
The resources included in this Ultimate Guide should be beneficial to Montessori teachers of early childhood (3-6), lower elementary, upper elementary students, and even Montessori-at-home parents.
Montessori Painting
One of the most common domains of art, especially visual art, is painting. Children love playing with paint; it’s a very tactile medium. However, it’s important to remember that children lack the ability to paint realistic images in the beginning years, but they can still enjoy the creative process and learn basic brushstrokes to build lines, shapes, and textures to eventually make great imagery. Students in early childhood and elementary grades should be exposed to painting lessons and activities on a regular basis to improve their artistic skills and strengthen their art literacy as they age.
What is painting?
Painting is the action of making brush strokes marks with a paintbrush, hands, sponges, paint rollers, or stampers. Brushstrokes are made with a liquid pigment, called paint.
How Montessori Painting Lessons Benefit Children
Children can develop and strengthen their fine-motor control by learning to make brush strokes with their hands and by holding paintbrushes. By showing young students how to use a paintbrush, you’re helping them reach critical milestones that are directly related to other areas of childhood development.
Painting Builds Vocabulary (Art Language)
Montessori painting activities teach young students how to communicate what they see in their artworks and how to describe their personal artistic process. More than likely, their inquisitive little minds will start making connections (such as, “if I use this color paint and this paintbrush, I can make something that looks like this”). They’ll also start asking questions (such as, “what color is this?” or “why did this do this?”). Read more about art language here.
Where to Start: Montessori Painting Tips
Let Children Explore First
Don’t try introducing young children to painting through lessons; if they’ve never painted before, just let them explore and discover what paint is naturally. If you’re uncomfortable giving them a potentially messy medium without any guidance, then you can take the lead by dipping a paintbrush into paint and painting alongside them; kids love to mimic the actions of adults!
Keep Painting Lessons Simple
Give your students painting projects that are process-based and open-ended. This means your students do not have to follow directions to get an expected, specific result. Process-based activities give children freedom to explore the various paint mediums and design their own artworks in any way they desire.
Start with Few Options
Give your students just a few color options at first—maybe even limit it to one color. Too many options can be overstimulating, and cause them to lose focus (which could lead to messes).
Minimize Messes by Making Materials Mini
If you don’t want large messes, shrink down the paints and paintbrushes. Use the smallest available size of paintbrush and put paint into small containers (as opposed to giving students the entire bottle). This is one of the major tricks I share in my book Kids Painting.
Focus on Brushstrokes
Once your students have a grasp on how paints work and can control their movements a bit, move your focus to teaching brushstrokes. Read this article for tips on teaching kids how to create brushstrokes.
Use Painting to Teach Color Theory
One great way to teach color theory concepts is through painting! Start by giving your students a single color to paint with, but create different tones and hues for them to use. For example, start with a dark green, then add drops of white paint to it to make lighter and lighter shades.
Choose the Right (Safe) Paints
Only use paints that are safe, non-toxic, and intended for young children. If products carry a non-toxic seal or claims the product “conforms to ASTM D 4236,” that means all of the potentially hazardous components of the art product have been evaluated by a qualified toxicologist and clearly labeled on the product packaging. Most adult fine artist supplies don’t have this seal, so be very careful when purchasing.
The surface your students are using will determine the best paint for their project. For example, acrylic paint has the sticking power to help it adhere to canvas; watercolor paints need a thicker, more absorbent paper; finger paints and tempera paints will work on most regular paper.
Tip: Using watercolor paints, which can be diluted to near transparency, makes it easy to manage stains; start with these until you and your class get more familiar with painting and its clean-up.
Dress for a Mess
Young kids lack fine-motor skills to keep paint on in the palettes and on their paper, so be prepared for some mess. It takes many years for kids to stop making frequent spills. Anytime kids are painting make sure they’re wearing “paint clothes,” or old large t-shirts, a smock, or some other type of cover up. Even if the bottle says paint is washable, it can still soil clothing. Plus, there’s no real guarantee that the pigment is not going to stain…trust me!
Designate a Painting Area
Before painting starts, designate a painting area for the kids to work. Make sure they know that this is where paint will be set-up, activities will be completed, and the materials will stay. Never let kids get lazy about this rule! Remind them that this is the only place where painting is allowed. If necessary, put down tarps, rugs, or towels in this area to keep floors clean during any painting activities.
One Step Further: Download My Painting Materials Checklist and Check Out This Montessori Painting Lesson
Now you have a basic understanding of how to set up a painting area, what kind of painting activities your students can do, and an idea of what paints to use. Before you start teaching painting in your Montessori classroom, make sure you download this FREE Painting Materials Checklist; it has all the materials you need to be able to confidently and successfully teach your students! Click here to download the checklist.
As a bonus, you can also check out this FREE Northern Lightspainting lesson demonstration. This art project uses two paint techniques: wax resist and wet-on-wet. This project is best for elementary students, but can be adapted to be suitable for younger ages as well. Watch the video by clicking here!
A Short Cut Just for You
I’ve actually created an online training that delves deeper into teaching young students how to paint. Painting Key Lessons101 gives you the foundation for demonstrating and presenting painting lessons in your Montessori classroom, even if you don’t feel like you have the skills or experience. In the 1.5-hour video training, I also cover the types of paints that are best for children, and how to set up lessons so they’re integrated with other subjects and allow kids work independently. It truly is a shortcut to becoming an expert in teaching your students how to paint; AND, even better, you can earn 1.5 CPD hours once you complete the training and complete a quick survey! To enroll and get started, click here.
If you want more information, instruction, and tips for teaching kids how to paint, check out my book, Kids Painting. It includes everything you need to know about how young children learn how to paint, and gives you lists of kid-friendly paint supplies, art project/lesson ideas, and ways to set up your classroom to provide inspiration and avoid messes. To purchase Kids Painting, click here.
No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreignlanguage without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.
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.
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.
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.
No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreignlanguage without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.
