montessori elementary art Archives

March 28, 2024March 29, 2024

Montessori Art The Essential Elementary Guide – Second Plane 6-12

by Spramani Elaun

Are you eager to teach your students Montessori art lessons, yet uncertain about where to begin or what constitutes quality art instruction?

Ready to dive into the world of elementary art?

Spramani Elaun, an author, International Montessori Art Trainer, and art curriculum developer, is here to guide you. With her sensory art method and expertise as the founder of Nature of Art® art school , she has empowered tens of thousands of students to explore painting and drawing.

With the world wide web and social media saturated with Montessori art projects, many guides find themselves at a loss.

Which Montessori art lessons should take precedence?

How do you select the right mediums?

Do you need to be an artist yourself to lead art lessons effectively?

A Primer for Montessori Guides

Montessori Art –The Essential Elementary Guide – Second Plane 6-12

About this book:

This comprehensive guide offers clear, concise, and practical insights on establishing an art program tailored for elementary-aged children in the Montessori environment. Designed as an essential reference for Montessorians, it provides guidance, instructions, tips, and best practices in a structured and accessible format.

Delving into key visual art concepts, the optimal sequence of essential steps, and valuable insights accumulated over Spramani’s three decades of experience, this book offers actionable advice aimed at supporting beginner teachers and parents alike.

By simplifying intricate ideas surrounding art lessons and subjects, addressing common questions, and tackling challenges head-on, this guide empowers Montessorians with the knowledge and resources necessary to excel as an art facilitator.

This Essential Second Plane 6-12 art guide will:

Cover the essential visual art standards
Identify foundational building blocks and key initial lessons
Show you how to select suitable art materials
How to set-up art environments
Set up a proper Montessori art shelf effectively
Learn what art elements should be taught in elementary grades
Master Effective Teacher Management
Implement optimal art routines
Create Engaging and Meaningful Art Projects
Understand the Benefits of Integrating Art into the Montessori Curriculum
Foster Positive Art Dialogue and Encouragement
Receive guidance on crafting comprehensive art lesson plans

This book caters to Montessori teachers, art instructors, and homeschooling parents, equipping them with the knowledge and tools needed to excel in teaching art. By the end of this read, you’ll feel more confident and prepared to create a meaningful art program for elementary students.

Spramani shares foundational principles and practical examples drawn from her extensive 30 years of hands-on teaching experience. Her systems and processes streamline the art instruction process, making teaching art to children a rewarding and structured endeavor.

Embrace the vivid color pictures, rich examples, and insightful stories woven throughout this book to gain the confidence and support you need on your artistic teaching journey.

About the Author

Spramani Elaun is an author and art curriculum developer from San Diego California. She is a homeschooling mom, art teacher with a science art methodology. Her success is led by observations and real-life practice of how children cognitively and sensorially process art over twenty years. She is the founder of Nature of Art® Art school & Art supply company, Art Teaching Blueprint Montessori Certification Training Program. Spramani holds degrees in Graphic Design, Digital Media Design, Visual Communications, Print Media, and Fine Arts.

Other Books by Spramani Elaun

Montessori Art: Early Childhood Art Guide – Visual Arts Guide For Teaching 13 month olds – 6 years

Montessori Art – Esseintal Art Guide for Secondary 6-12 years

Early Childhood Art: Visual Arts Teaching Guide For 13 Months – 6 Years Old

Defining Visual Arts: Children’s standards for arts education, using the language of artist

Kids Color Theory: Contemparay color mixing guide with pigmented colorants for children.

Kids Painting: Teach young kids how to paint, materials & set-up guide

Clay Play: The natural art method that aligns with a child’s growth.

Nurturing Children in the Visual Arts Naturally

Introducing Visual Arts to The Montessori Classrooms: The natural art method that aligns with a child’s growth

May 1, 2023May 1, 2023

10 Fun Big Bang Art To Share With Your Montessori Students

By Spramani Elaun

Fun Big Bang Art To Share With Your Montessori Students, spramani art album

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.

Montessori Art Activities | Big Bang Art Lessons

Order my Montessori Art Books & Curriculum HERE

September 25, 2022January 15, 2023

Montessori Elementary Art | How To Bring Art In To The Classroom

How to bring elementary art into the Montessori classroom

By Spramani Elaun

Every Montessori school should have an art environment. Whether an art shelf inside the classroom, dedicated classroom, or specials visiting. Elementary students should be engaging in some type of art. Allowing them to express creativity plus building basic skill sets. One of the reasons art programs exist is to expose children to different kinds of mediums. When exposed to different art activities students are likely to find the right art domain they enjoy. When children find the right art experience they enjoy, they become independent as they practice these skill-sets. When Montessori elementary students work independently they can also self regulate their own stress with hand work. Independent working students can also reach creative flow states! So where should you start with bringing Montessori elementary art into the classroom?

There’s six areas to focus on first:

Schedule Art
Choose Art Subjects
Teach Art Elements
Choose Art Mediums
Choose An Artist Technique
Teach Skill Building Foundations
Focus On Art Direct Aims

Schedule Montessori Art Lessons

Start with scheduling regular interactions with art making. Schedule daily, weekly or even bi weekly art lessons. Even bi monthly if your teaching schedule is super busy. I did this as a visiting Montessori art specials and I heard from Montessori guides how the children learned so much from just 4 visits! Once you have chosen the day, move to creating time segments. Be sure your timeline is specific to lower or upper elementary attention spans.

Art Subjects

Then move into deciding which visual art subjects you want to explore. I recommend choosing from my five art domains. Subjects like painting or color theory. Learn more about the 5 domains by buying: Defining Visual Arts Book HERE

Montessori Elementary Art | How To Bring Art In To The Classroom

Teach Art Elements

To meet the national art standards it’s important to teach children the Art Elements. The Art Elements cover things like line, color, shape – etc.

Each one of your art lessons should always focus on a key art element. I can’t stress enough how important this is to a solid art program. I meet many Montessori teachers not even aware of art literacy standards. Even the artistic process, or how-to scaffold art lessons, or what art sequences should come next. Learn more about the Art Elements by buying: Defining Visual Arts Book HERE

Mediums & Technique

Then the fun stuff starts by deciding on which mediums to experiment with first. This also includes what presentations and demonstrations to schedule. For example you could teach the subject of painting and focus on the watercolor medium. Then show children a crayon technique – wax resist marks. Or let’s say you decide to integrate a sensory craft with zoology. Like cutting sea life shapes from paper with a collage – technique.

Building Montessori Art Skill-Sets

The best advice I have for you is to teach how to set-up, clean-up, and prepare the environment for their next classmate, learning to complete the cycle in the Montessori way first is important. This supports independent work through the school year. Then foucs on building skill-sets and don’t waste time on the wrong type of art lessons. Like focusing on the Masters, copying images, or too much process- based art. Try not to focus lessons on copying the Masters artworks. These lessons can be lacking in developing independent art skill-sets or their own creativity. Montessori elementary students need the right order of skill-set lesson first.

Focus on Montessori Art – Direct Aims

The other important thing I want to share is even if you can’t draw or paint you can still teach proper art lessons. Your own refined skill-sets are not the focus. What’s important is knowing your direct aims. Direct aims like preparing the environment, and presenting the right order of demonstrations. Scheduling and choosing age appropriate art lessons. Indirect Aims will happen like – your students brainstorming or conjuring up original ideas. Even exploration that leads to the most optimal state of creative flow!

Teaching art can be intimidating without any basic knowledge or experience. But I’m here to tell you I’ve taught thousands of parents and teachers. I have lots of preparatory teaching methods easy for you to follow. But here’s a secret… you will learn right beside your students, I promise!

Art Professional Development

I invite you…

No matter what capacity of training you desire, I’ve built art teaching resources you can have access to!

Choose:

Art Lesson plans

Sequential Art Curriculum

Montessori Professional Development

Montessori In-service Training (email info@Spramani.com)

Montessori Art Certification

Custom Art Programing (email info@Spramani.com)

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.

April 17, 2020April 22, 2020

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.