Art lessons can be planned with very little effort, a quick set-up, and even keeping messes to a low impact! Whether you’re at the beginning of the school year and are still getting situated or further along but just having a difficult week (it happens to all of us!) easy Montessori art activities can save the day as long as you have a little preparation in place. These art lessons can also support the development of independence for your students.
Starting a new school year can be challenging. You’re getting back into the swing of things (hopefully you enjoyed your summer!), and your students are still adjusting to being back at school every day and doing their classroom work.
Here’s the thing, I know this new school year can also lead to joyful moments between you and your students if you create some calming, expressive situations for your students can settle into. I want to fast track you with some helpful suggestions to aid in these early weeks with easy Montessori art activities and prompts that you can set up quickly.
There’s a chance you’re still setting up your classroom and fine-tuning your shelving. Art lessons during the back-to-school season shouldn’t be difficult—for you or for your students. Start the new year with simple, easy Montessori lessons for art. It’ll keep your students captivated while you focus on putting together other presentations or just getting acclimated.
Where to Start: Know Your Aim
Don’t stress yourself out! The first couple weeks of school should come with a grace period. Instead of coming up with complex art extensions, give yourself a breather and do something easy. Just because a prompt is easy on you, doesn’t mean it won’t be engaging and educational for your students.
Direct Aim
You can start with basic lesson procedures such as technical material set-up demonstrations or presentations on how to properly manipulate mediums. Here’s a couple of examples of what I mean:
- You can demonstrate how the art shelf is staged.
- You can give presentations on how to set-up for watercolor painting and why all the tools work together, where to dry artworks, and how-to put materials away for the next artist to use.
- You can give presentation techniques on different ways to use mediums like color pencils; you can also remind children how not to misuse these materials.
- You can demonstrate why the materials are staged and how they relate to your inspiration gallery.
- You can explain where art making will take place inside or outside the classroom.
- You can show how to clean up materials and tools properly.
- You can demonstrate how to manipulate mediums in different ways.
- You can prepare an inspiration gallery.
By taking time in the beginning of the year for these lessons you set-up students for independence.
Indirect Aim
Once you’ve given these basic demonstrations and presentations you can make the materials available for your students by giving them an indirect aim of investigating creativity and responding to the great lessons or practical life stories you’re sharing this fall. This frees you from needing to have art extensions ready to present every day—just allowing them artistic expression and room to practice using the art materials will take care of everything else.
A few easy art mediums to start with are:
- Crayons
- Watercolor
- Paper
- Scissors
- Glue sticks
I’ve created a download for Montessori teachers headed back to school (or really, Montessori teachers who need a quick, go-to art lesson prompt any time of the year). Each one is really easy to set up and pull off; they don’t require very many materials or an elaborate presentation or demonstration. They’ll still keep your students busy, help them grow in their art literacy, and won’t lead to any major mess or confusion.
One Step Further (Download My Easy Montessori Art Activities Cheat Sheet)
Before I became a Montessori art teacher trainer, I was an artist and homeschool mom. I also taught other art students from around my community how to create art, and have led programs in museums and educational conferences from different pedagogies throughout the world. With all this experience (more than three decades!), I’ve been able to observe the activities that excite and engage students. I’ve also learned what prompts require very little effort to put together and result in no stress at all! And that’s why I’ve made this download for you!
I know that Montessori classrooms are unique and lesson prompts should support independent learning. I’m so excited for you to check out this art activity cheat sheet. They’re easy for you and fun for your students!
You can download 10 FREE Easy Montessori Art Activities by clicking here.
A Short Cut Just for You
Some days you just need a short cut, and aside from hiring me to teach your Montessori students directly in person, this is the next best thing! Here’s an awesome art lesson I’ve created that you can buy and quickly present to your students. The Warm to Cool Butterfly Art Lesson introduces students to color theory and will keep them occupied without much supervision on your end.
It comes with four student exercises, and five inspiration color cards to print out, and a butterfly template for students to color. All you need to have in your classroom already are crayons, colored pencils, or any type of paint medium.
To purchase and download Warm to Cool Butterfly Art Lesson (for only $12.99!) click here.
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