Montessori Art: Mandala Activity for Stress Relief

Mandalas are a geometric design pattern that offer several mental and emotional benefits. Mandala, which means “circle” in Sanskrit, is a sacred symbol that is used for meditation, prayer, healing, relaxation, and art therapy for both adults and children—especially when used in a Montessori art mandala activity.

In Hindu and Buddhist cultures, the circular design of mandalas represents the idea that everything in life is connected and the infiniteness of the universe. Mandalas can also symbolize a personal spiritual journey for each individual viewer.

While there are several types of mandalas, the three most common are: the teaching, healing, and sand mandalas.

Each shape, line, and color in a teaching mandala represents different aspects of Buddhism. Monks learn to create these mandalas during their monastic education.
A healing mandala is an intuitive design made for the purposes of meditation, focus, and concentration.
Sand mandalas are unique in that both their creation and destruction have symbolic meanings. Multi-colored sand is placed in concentric circles, working from the outer part of the design to the center.

Many clinical studies have shown that mandalas can be used to boost the immune system, reduce stress, ease depression, alleviate pain, lower blood pressure and promote healthy sleep.

Designing and coloring mandalas can help your students (or you) focus their attention. That’s why they’re a great exercise for helping kids calm down when they’re stressed. Here are some other benefits of mandalas:

They create a feeling of balance
They bring peace and tranquility
They strengthen fine-motor skills through repetitive movement
Looking at them produces a sense of calmness
They help with focus and concentration
They encourage mindfulness
They calm the nervous system
Working on them opens pathways to allow creativity to flow
The different color schemes in mandalas can be therapeutic

Mandalas have been recognized by psychology as a therapy tool. The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung believed that mandalas are representations of our minds and that we project our thoughts and feelings onto how we perceive and interpret mandals. And different branches of psychology recognize different benefits of mandalas; for example, transpersonal psychology uses mandalas as an exercise for connections and behavioral psychology uses them to improve memory, attention, and coordination.

The intricate design of mandalas can be intimidating, but children don’t need to be artists to reap the many benefits of mandalas.

Montessori Art: Mandala Activity using nature

Where to Start: Montessori Art Mandala Coloring Activity

Your students can use natural or found objects to make their own mandalas—which doesn’t require any drawing at all. Or, you can download a blank mandala (or purchase a mandala coloring book—there are plenty for sale online) and have your students color them. You can also use Montessori insets to create simple mandala designs to color.

Making the conscious effort to embrace mandalas and to introduce Montessori art mandala activities in your classroom are the first steps to helping your students feel calmer, more mindful, and less stressed.

One Step Further: Watch My ‘Combating Stress with Art’ Webinar for FREE

Again, even just the action of coloring a mandala can offer your students tremendous mental and emotional health benefits. A few weeks ago, I co-hosted a webinar titled ‘Combating Stress with Art’ with Montessori teacher Kristen Richter, about using mandalas to combat stress, and encouraged the attendees—Montessori parents and teachers—to color mandalas as we went through the information.

The webinar teaches about the emotional literacy cycle and types of stress kids face, as well as a deeper dive into how simple art techniques like doodling or coloring mandalas can help alleviate stress.

You can download and watch the Combating Stress with Art replay, by clicking here!

A Short Cut Just for You

A Montessori art mandala activity isn’t the only way to help students work through difficult emotions like stress. If you’re looking for more art lessons to teach your students, check out my Kids Art at Home Lesson Bundle! I created it as an introduction to Montessori art; it includes lessons from each of the five visual arts domains, so you can give your students a well-rounded art foundation.

how to teach kids art lessons digital download

The bundle also includes materials lists and resources so you can feel confident knowing your students will get the most out of each lesson. On top of that, I’ve just added a very special Nature Art Mandala lesson for a limited time. It applies many of the mandala benefits described in this blog, while giving students the opportunity to be in and explore their natural surroundings—which also promotes stress-relief!
To purchase the Kids Art at Home Lesson Bundle, click here.

March 19, 2020January 14, 2021

Virtual Montessori Lessons & Art Activities

Supporting Virtual Lessons at Home During Coronavirus School Closures

There has been an unprecedented number of school closures across the globe right now, and many schools and teachers have found themselves unprepared to teach their students virtually. I don’t think anyone really anticipated things getting this bad; but now that we’re faced with this reality, it’s important that we continue our students’ education—while keeping their new learning environments in mind. For that reason, I’ve put together some virtual Montessori lessons and art activities you can give you students to work on while schools are closed.

It’s important for students to maintain some regularity even though their daily routines have been turned upside down because of school closures. A routine helps kids establish constructive habits, grow in their independence, and may even reduce stress during chaotic times. So while your students (and maybe even you) might initially think of school closures as a surprise vacation, it’s essential that they continue to work on lessons, projects, and activities during the week.

Virtual Montessori Lessons & Art Activities, kids

Where to Start: Provide Fun Virtual Montessori Lessons that Focus on Art

Art, in particular, is a great way for students to add schoolwork or lessons to their day without sacrificing any of the fun that comes from being out of school. It’s an exciting and engaging creative outlet that allows them to work independently. Art is also therapeutic; so it can help students work through some of the anxiety or confusion they’re feeling because of all the COVID-19 news coverage.

What’s great about art at home is that you don’t have to be an artist yourself to teach these simple virtual Montessori lessons—kids can do most of the exploration completely on their own. (You may have noticed, I spend a lot of time on these blogs trying to explain to you that kids don’t need detailed how-to lessons, art at this age is almost all discovery-based.) What they need from you—or in this case, their parents—is an area to work in, basic art supplies to work with, and a quick explanation of how these materials work and expectations of containing mess.

(I posted a blog last week about supporting parents with virtual Montessori lessons and how to even start putting together a virtual lesson—in light of the quick turnaround of school closures because of the coronavirus—you can read that by clicking here.)

One way to keep students entertained while schooling from home is with virtual art museum tours! Many of the world’s most famous museums offer virtual tours. So students can explore art exhibits and see paintings and sculptures from legendary artists without ever having to leave their homes! These virtual tours also support the Coming of Humans area of Montessori philosophy.

So take a look at the lessons you had lined up for next month and pair those themes with a museum virtual tour. These tours are really fun and informative and usually geared toward educating—so it does all the heavy lifting for the parents! And they will really appreciate the opportunity to get their kids to sit down and quietly focus on something engaging for a bit.

Here are my eight favorite virtual museum tours that are currently available online. (I’ve been to a couple of these museums in person, and I can tell you, the virtual tour lives up to the experience!)

Guggenheim Museum, New York – features artworks from the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern, and Contemporary eras
Musée d’Orsay, Paris – a collection of artworks by Monet, Cézanne, Gauguin, and many other French artists
Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), São Paulo – Brazil’s first modern art museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. – two different exhibits; one of which highlights American fashion from 1740-1895, and the other which features artworks from Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul – features contemporary and modern art from Korean artists, as well as artists from across the world
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam – artworks from the Dutch Golden Age, including works from Vermeer and Rembrandt
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam – features 200+ paintings and 500+ drawings by the artist
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles – offers a huge collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs

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 can be done virtually anywhere—from your classroom to your students’ homes!

These virtual Montessori lessons support independent learning—and I’m sure parents will thank you for them! While you can offer these prompts to students to do while schools are closed, I also encourage you to do them in your classroom as well once school starts up again. They’re easy for you and fun for your students!

You can download 10 FREE Easy Montessori Art Activities by clicking here.

Virtual Montessori Lessons & Art Activities, elementary

A Short Cut Just for You

The Montessori Art Activities cheat sheet is a way to inspire actual art lessons for your students. If you want a shortcut—a totally done-for-you lesson—that you can download and send out to students and their parents, then this Warm to Cool Butterfly Art Lesson is perfect! Simply purchase and download; then send the instructions and template to your students’ parents. It’s as easy as that. No extra work required! The only things students need at home are basic art supplies: crayons, color pencils, or any type of paint medium.

Virtual Montessori Lessons & Art Activities, spramani elaun curriculum

Buy Done-For-You Art Curriculum Now!

If you want a full year of simple, stress-free, exciting, and fun art lessons for your Montessori students, check out my Kids Color Theory, Kids Painting, and Clay Modeling curriculums! Each sequence within the curriculums is a step-by-step guide that includes Montessori direct and indirect aims, a materials list, and demonstration instructions. They can be combined to teach your students several different visual art domains, or you can stretch out a single curriculum throughout the year.

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 foreign language 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.

December 12, 2019May 17, 2023

Ultimate Montessori Scissor Cutting Lesson Guide

How to Teach Important Scissor Development Skills

As adults, using scissors is something we take for granted. Whether it’s clipping coupons or slicing through wrapping paper, using scissors is often a part of our day-to-day activities. However, we forget that we had to actually learn how to use scissors at some point—and there is a surprising number of young students these days who can’t properly use scissors! And if they don’t know how to use scissors, there are many other things in the classroom they’ll be unable to do. That’s it’s so essential to spend some time to present a specific Montessori scissor cutting lesson to your students.

Learning to use scissors at a young age provides so many benefits! When students are able to develop their scissor-using skills, they’re able to do so many artful and creative things, such as cutting paper, following patterns, cutting strings and yarn, and cutting fabric.

Ultimate Montessori Scissor Cutting Lesson Guide, how to teach

Benefits of Scissor Cutting for Young Students

The constant dynamic motion that comes from using scissors helps young students develop spatial intelligence and fine-motor movements that relate to other important tasks inside the Montessori classroom. Introducing scissor skills to children—even as young as two or three years—can help them move through critical milestones directly related to other areas of childhood development. Cutting activities build muscle control, develop eye and hand coordination, and deepen their tactile spatial awareness.

Ultimate Montessori Scissor Cutting Lesson Guide, art activities

A few years ago, I started to notice more and more teachers were sharing their frustrations about how the majority of young students coming through their classrooms were lacking in fine motor skills; they were too weak to apply pressure while writing or coloring and lacked the coordination to write their ABCs, tie their own shoes, or zip up their own jackets. Now, I’ve worked with thousands of students over the years, and I’ve also observed that students are lacking the developmental skills that would allow them to craft and create art.

Both of my own two children had the freedom to use safety scissors at very young ages. And, as a result, they both learned how to tie their shoes, feed themselves, write, and even craft, at a very early age. Truth is, kids love using scissors!

There’s a ton of research linking handwriting success to muscle coordination developed by scissor movements, and practical life skills like eating, dressing, and holding and carrying small objects. But most importantly, teachers agree when children have had the chance to develop these muscles and skills, teaching them writing becomes easier. A child that has scissor practice will be able to excel in complex steps to create and work independently.

Ultimate Montessori Scissor Cutting Lesson Guide, art teacher spramani elaun

In one of my early years, I was working with a five-year-old boy in an art therapy session. I recall him eagerly asking to use scissors while we crafted. He was very awkward at first, but with some coaching he quickly got the hang of it. He spent an hour cutting soft yarn into tiny pieces over and over, until it became easy to grab the scissors, get them into position, and make the opening and closing motion of cutting. Within that hour, he strengthened the mobility with his thumb, hand, and wrist.

The minute his mom returned to my art studio to pick him up, she ran toward him screaming, “You’re going to hurt yourself! Give me those!” It clicked. I realized that he was a late bloomer when it came to using scissors—a simple, practical life task—because his mom had it in her mind that he would end up running with scissors and hurting himself. She was shocked when she saw him using them safely to cut yarn. And not only that, but he was having a pretty good time doing it! She promised to buy scissors for home.

Where to Start: Tips for Presenting a Montessori Scissor Cutting Lesson

In my experience, giving a child a Montessori scissor cutting lesson at age five is a little too late.

If a child can sit and focus for 15 minutes at a time (between the ages of 3 and 5), they can start practicing their scissor cutting. When I meet young students who cannot sit through my scissor demonstration or follow my basic movements, then I know they are too young and need more time before they’re able to safely and properly use scissors on their own. But if students can focus on the actions of a presentation and watch the outcome, then they can start practicing—with supervision, of course!

Don’t hand your students scissors and walk away expecting them to create, give them time to practice cutting motions. You can introduce students to using scissors through either copy-mode or process-based activities. Here are a few tips for bringing scissors safely into your classroom.

Don’t jump into challenging cutting projects until students have had practice with scissors first. So many teachers make the mistake of trying to present a multi-step lesson that includes using scissors, even though their students aren’t able to use them yet. It just leads to frustration! So, practice a simple, process-based Montessori scissor cutting lesson first, before you approach any copy-mode craft or activity.
Begin by showing students the simple motion of using scissors. Have them start by holding the scissors, and opening and closing the arms using just their one hand (keeping their other hand safely away from the blades). Then you can progress to showing them how the blade can be angled to create a sharper cut.
Think about the process rather than focusing on a project. Give them papers to cut, simply to practice the action of cutting. Don’t worry about how their project turns out; it’s all about the process and practice.
Be patient. You have to understand, your students’ little brains and hands are wiring together and getting things to work together smoothly will take some time. Keep allowing them time to practice until you see they are able to cut without struggling.
Plan activities based on your students’ capabilities. For example, early childhood students (aged 3 to 6) can do simpler cutting activities, like following simple lines and shapes. Lower elementary students should be able to begin collaging and upper elementary students will be able to cut out more intricate designs.

One Step Further: Sign Up for My FREE Digital Mini-Course

Knowing that your students are capable of safely using scissors opens up so many doors for all the amazing art projects and activities you’ll be able to do in your classroom! In order to keep them interested in the lessons you’re presenting—and able to handle and understand whatever it is you’re teaching—you have to first be able to know exactly how they learn art. I’ve developed a FREE online mini-course to help you do just that!

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

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.

Montessori Early Childhood Scissor Cutting Guide

Montessori Scissor Cutting for Lower Elementary

How to Teach Scissor Cutting Skills to Upper Elementary Kids

December 6, 2019January 14, 2021

Montessori Early Childhood Art Guide

Isn’t it amazing to see the sparks fly and the little cogs in young students’ brains ignite when they start learning a new subject!? Whether it’s language, science, or the coming of the universe, introducing new subjects to early childhood students can be super exciting! Art is no different—in fact, I think it’s even more exciting! Montessori early childhood art is an essential part of a child’s intellectual and motor skills development and it should be included in early childhood students’ educations!

But for some reason, many people—including teachers—believe that young kids can’t learn art. Or that if they introduce art to early childhood students, it’s going to lead to a huge mess.

But I’m here to tell you that’s not the case!

Toddlers and early childhood students CAN learn art! You just have to know HOW exactly to teach them.

Montessori early childhood art guide, toddler

After years and years of working with and teaching children about art, I’ve discovered the way they naturally learn and comprehend the subject. It’s led me to develop my very own teaching method that engages and excites early childhood students and introduces them to art in a way that makes sense to their developing brains. It’s all in my new book, Early Childhood Art: Visual Arts Teaching Guide!

Montessori early childhood art guide, preschool

Being able to present art concepts and lessons in a way early childhood students can understand is completely key in helping them understand the different aspects of this important subject. Early Childhood Art: Visual Arts Teaching Guide gives you the foundation for teaching art and presenting successful art activities in early childhood classrooms.

Montessori Guide

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!

This Montessori art guide is the accumulation of more than 20 years of experience in teaching visual art to early childhood students all over the world. I’ve taught thousands of children how to paint, draw, sculpt, craft, and mix colors, all while observing how they engage in art. My success is led by my observations and real-life practice of how children in early childhood cognitively and sensorially process different art matters.

Montessori early childhood art guide, teaching activities

I’ve seen Montessori teachers stress out and lose confidence when it comes to art because they have no previous experience in the subject. I know how intimidating it can be to jump into something so unknown. When we surround ourselves with fine works of art, we set extremely high expectations, but the truth is, art should be fun! What’s more, early childhood students should be encouraged to explore and experiment, not be held to strict standards. Art is all about experimentation and exploring, so you don’t need to be an artist to participate or even teach it!

Download a FREE Mini Course: Child Art Phase Development

Understanding how early childhood students comprehend and learn art is the first step. 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.

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’re on your way to teaching art with confidence!

October 24, 2019July 21, 2021

Montessori Art Direct and Indirect Aims

If you don’t come from an art background or haven’t had any art training, then introducing art lessons to your students might feel like unfamiliar territory. What makes it worse, is that there are no real guidelines or proper art literacy standards available in traditional Montessori training. I know how frustrating it can be to take something so foreign and bring it into your classroom with confidence. The secret is using Montessori concepts to merge the two together. Here’s how to create your own, effective Montessori art direct and indirect aims.

I’ve worked with Montessori teachers and in Montessori classrooms all over the world, and I also have a background in all types of visual art. It took years of observation and teaching art directly to students, but I’ve figured out a way for you—even if you have no art experience—to support art literacy in your Montessori classroom.

Montessori Art Direct and Indirect Aims, art lessons

I’m sure you know how important it is to support students in their own self discovery using their hands and senses within the classroom environment. This exploration process is similar to how artists discover and create with their own hands too. Our hands are the neural connection that feeds our brain information; they’re also the way we develop and hone our fine-motor skills.

So, as a Montessori teacher, how can you support students in the artistic process and inspire them to think creatively? Start with understanding how direct and indirect aims relate to artistic development and progression.

For an artist to create, they must move through the artistic process, which is the four actions an artist experiences while creating and producing artworks. It starts with self discovery through their hands, then designing with their imaginations, then constructing with materials, and finally, reflecting about their process through expression by using art language, creative writing, or community sharing.

Where to Start: Using Montessori Art Direct and Indirect Aims

So let’s compare these actions to Montessori’s method of direct and indirect aims to teaching as a guide.

Art Lesson: Direct Aims

In an artistic environment, your Montessori art direct aim can be to prepare the work space, explore different artist materials, and manage time for art creation—while following art standards. You can also demonstrate and isolate techniques that promote independent exploration, engagement, and how to work in a respectful, artful way within the classroom.

The Artistic Process: Indirect Aims

Indirect aims are accomplished by stepping back and allowing the artistic process’s four actions to unfold. Self discovery by sensory tactile spatial exploration with the eyes, hands and mind; improvisation and creative selection of the elements and principles of design; the hands-on construction of ideas; and finally, the opportunity to reflect on the process verbally or through writing. Indirect aims unfold during the artistic process. Creativity is the result of the process.

POSTED ONFEBRUARY 4, 2021 EDIT”MAKING ART STIMULATES KIDS’ BRAIN DEVELOPMENT”

Making Art Stimulates Kids’ Brain Development

I talk to so many adults and teachers who think art is just a frivolous subject, an activity to give kids to do to keep them quiet for an hour or so. Some might even know the value of art in that it encourages kids to think creatively and and work through complex emotions. Art benefits both their mental health and their fine motor skills too, but did you know art making stimulates kids’ brain development!? It goes beyond creative expression (although that’s important too) and actually has lasting positive effects on kids’ brains!

You may think that the art projects and lessons you’ve been doing in your Montessori classroom is just busy work—filling time and keeping kids busy, but there is a lot of behind-the-scenes action going on during each art activity that fuels students’ brain development. We know that when a child touches an object, information is sent through their sensory nerves to their brains. Visual art learning often happens through direct sensory interactions which stimulates learning in different ways than visual and audio learning.

These sensory experiences can help young students learn more, better understand different ideas and concepts, and art making stimulates kids’ brain development. Here are a few areas where art directly benefits kids’ brain development.

Gross Fine-Motor Skills

Visual arts provides kids with the opportunity to use their hands on a regular basis—holding pencils, pinching and sculpting clay, cutting with scissors, and making fluid brushstrokes all help kids build their hand muscles and strengthen their hand-eye coordination as well as fine motor movements.

Connection to Vocabulary and Communication

Visual arts help kids make connections across different subjects and ideas to be able to better understand things. So when kids explore different art activities, they’re actually learning how to communicate what they see in their artworks and how to describe the artistic process they use to create. In doing this, they unknowingly start making observations such as, “I see color,” “I see pink,” “I see a squiggly line,” “I see zigzags.” When they communicate those observations to you or each other, they begin to develop their art language and a greater vocabulary, which is a part of cognitive processing.

Stress Regulation

Creating art also helps children wire their brains to regulate stress. Art gives them the tools to learn how to calm themselves down. Tactile cognitive processing occurs when children create art; the neural networks in their brains fire up and signal their brain to focus solely on what they’re doing with their hands, blocking out outside thoughts and stimuli. What happens is, if kids are stressed out or upset about something and they’re making art, they can’t focus on that. Art involves active learning, meaning they have to focus on what they’re doing immediately, which takes away the upsetting, stressful things that are happening in their environment.

Implicit Memory

Another area of brain development art fuels is Implicit memory. When kids learn repeated movements, they’re strengthening their Implicit memory and are actually storing this new information. The next time that they go about making an art, their Implicit memory kicks in and their hand movements will come naturally—the actions are wired into their memories. That means they don’t have to consciously think about every minute action; they will see a paintbrush, and instinctively know to pick it up, dip it into the palette or water, and start creating. The sensory information of seeing the paintbrush and then holding it in their hand immediately sends that information to their brain, triggering an action. Building this Implicit memory helps develop more skills down the road; they’ll have this Implicit memory already stored in their brains and can then focus on the next steps or deeper ideas.

Spatial Intelligence

Spatial intelligence is learned through creating with forms in space. When children make art, they become aware of the spatial relationships among objects in the realm of their own experiences. This gives them the ability to visualize and manipulate elements, rotate objects, and distinguish depth and balance—which is critical in early childhood brain development. It’s important to note that spatial intelligence is something that cannot be taught unless kids are actually doing an activity; art gives them the experience of seeing how things interact and happen dynamically or statically.

Where to Start: Lesson Plans to Ensure Art Stimulates Kids’ Brain Development

Here’s some great news: students will automatically start getting all these benefits any time they create art! That means you don’t have to have any fancy art mediums or materials or complicated lesson plans. You can do simple activities to make sure art stimulates kids’ brain development. The more art lessons and activities you plan for your Montessori students, the more they’ll deepen their neural networks and build on all these developmental skills. Any art lesson, especially those that involve process-based or exploratory learning, will benefit kids’ brain development.

One Step Further: Watch My Training, ‘How-to Teach Art Montessori Art Lessons Using Storybooks’

I’ve worked with so many Montessori teachers from all over the world and they’ve all told me how intimidating it is to actually teach art in their classrooms. I want art to be accessible to every child, from early elementary on up—and to do that, I know that actually teaching art needs to be easy.

One way I love to introduce teachers to the idea of how to teach art is by showing you how to work with tools you already have—like storybooks! I created a virtual training that teaches you how to teach art by using storybooks to create art lesson themes. And as a bonus, I share some quick-planning ideas to help you regularly and easily schedule art activities in your Montessori classroom.

To get access to this incredible training (for free!), click here!

October 3, 2019January 14, 2021

Montessori Fine Motor Art Activities

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.

Montessori Fine Motor Art Activities for children

Increasingly, over the years, early childhood students are coming to my classes and workshops with very little, or even no, finger or hand-strength capabilities. Many Montessori teachers have shared with me that students entering their classrooms also seem to lack the capabilities of completing simple tasks that rely on fine motor skills.

Because these basic skills are lacking, it’s slowing down student progression in the classrooms and some teachers worry that students aren’t able to participate in independent art activities. Not only does that limit a student’s ability to learn and develop their art literacy, it increases the chance of mess or injury in the classroom—and both are major problems.

Montessori Fine Motor Art Activities lessons

These issues can be remedied, on a large scale, if you give children the opportunities to make art. In fact, not providing kids with enough chances to do repetitive movements, especially in the lower grades, can delay their confidence to work independently and successfully progress within the school year. Make sure you’re designating plenty of time for your students to work on implicit memory functions—which means performing certain tasks without conscious awareness, while building strength.

Where to Start: Sensory Activities to Build Fine Motor Skills

Typically, when I teach my own classes or go into Montessori classrooms, I start my students out with clay modeling, paint brush stroking, sensory painting, and safety scissor activities. I’ve found that these types of activities, plus many others, can help students develop their skills quickly over a short period of time.

Montessori Fine Motor Art Activities, method and advice

You want to start your students out with very basic one- to two-step isolated movements. For instance, I’ll often introduce clay to a classroom and then we’ll work on kneading the clay and forming it into a sphere. After that, I’ll give them time to just sculpt simple creatures, botanicals, or anything else they desire—but only working with simple movements. Same thing with painting—I’ll teach kids one isolated movement like dipping a paintbrush into a palette then making a smooth brush stroke. I’ll give kids time for these movements over and over so that they build implicit memory and concentrate on that one moment.

One Step Further: Download My 10 Creative Art Movements Guide

Fortunately, there are some great Montessori fine motor art activities and movements that can 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.

how to Montessori Fine Motor Art Activities

The guide includes 10 different types of movements that will help strengthen students’ hand-eye coordination and help refine their manual dexterity. Each movement can even be used to set up a simple, stress-free lesson; or you can make sure these movements are involved with any other art lesson you have planned.

To download your FREE guide, click here.

A Short Cut Just for You – Early Childhood Art Guide

Early Childhood Art Guide

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Buy Guide Now!

May 16, 2019January 14, 2021

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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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 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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Connection to Vocabulary and Communication

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Visual Arts Teaching Guidefor 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Watercolor Play is Ideal for Early Childhood

Supplies

Watercolor Paints

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

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Visual Arts Teaching Guide
for 13 Months – 6 Years Old