school at home Archives – Montessori Art

How To Modify Montessori Art Lessons for Virtual Teaching

We made it through another year and I’m super excited for all the new lessons I have planned for you in this new year! I have so many art teaching tips, advice, lessons, and trainings I can’t wait to share and talk about! But today, I want to share some advice on teaching kids virtually, specifically, how to modify Montessori art lessons for virtual teaching—since it looks like that’s how a lot of us will be starting the year off (at least for us here in California and a few other U.S. states).

(By the way… find me on Instagram, @nature.of.art.kids and let me know if schools in your area are currently open or closed!)

Last year was a rollercoaster, to say the least, but as teachers we had to adapt. I taught all my normal art lessons, but modified them to work virtually during the pandemic. And guess what? They were huge successes!

I hope this new year turns out to be so much better than last, but just in case we’re looking at more virtual teaching and crazy curveballs, here are a few ways to make virtual teaching a little easier—and even fun!

How To Modify Montessori Art Lessons for Virtual Teaching, spramani

5 Ways I Modified Montessori Art Lessons for Virtual Teaching

If I’m being honest, I genuinely loved teaching in 2020. It gave me the chance to be a little creative in how I taught my students. And being an art teacher, I love the chance to be creative! Here are five ways I changed my teaching methods!

I embraced storybooks into my lessons. I read fun art storybooks out loud, virtually on camera. Then, kids created their own artworks based on the topics of each book. (This type of lesson can be repeated again and again and again—with a new book each time!)

I shared fun links to really cool art museums. Kids had the chance to visit those museums virtually and tell me what they liked or thought was weird. Then we created our own version of the artworks we discussed. There are lots of virtual tours offered on museum websites from all over the world! That means there is a TON of lesson and project ideas. (Always check out the kids’ education pages and resources for inspiration.)

I mixed things up. Rather than having the kids look at me or just listen to just me instruct, I shared pictures and presentation slides of artworks and did lots of screen sharing in Zoom. It kept students super engaged. I also timed these lessons to be 15 minutes or less, to keep kids from being bored or checking out of my talks.

I had discussions about art, instead of just giving lectures. I listened and asked my students about their thoughts and opinions. I’m not talking boring art history lessons here—I mean cool art conversations about buildings, inventions, fun pop art, and unusual art pieces. And do you know what? Kids learned a ton about art without even having to make it. Just by having conversations and having students reflect on art, you are taking kids through one of the steps of the artistic process. So don’t feel pressured to make something creative or pretty every time.

I gave kids less time to work on their projects. I didn’t want them to have to sit in front of the screen for too long or work so long they get distracted. I truly modified how each segment was addressed, so we worked on a project more slowly, over time (sometimes just working on it for 15 minutes a day). It gave myself and my students some breathing room and it gave kids something to look forward to working on the next day!

I truly believe there is always a way to keep your students engaged and excited for learning art literacy.

Where to Start: Think Outside the Box

You just have to think outside of the box and maybe even step away from typical, traditional mediums.

For example, I challenged kids to make artworks using items from around the house and out of mediums they already had. Not everyone has the same supplies at home, so I was very relaxed and let them use anything they wanted.

One project that was a big hit was creating mandalas! I asked kids to make a mandala out of whatever they wanted, and it could be a 2D or 3D version. So many fun things came back! Chalk mandalas, sticks and stones mandalas, painted rock mandalas, colorings of mandalas—so much creativity! BUT get your kids’ parents’ permission first, because they just might use up all the toothpaste as paint—yes, this was one student’s brilliant idea and while I loved it, mom was not exactly on board.

One Step Further: Download My Easy Montessori Art Lesson Prompts 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.

A Short Cut Just for You: Downloadable Art Lessons for Virtual Teaching

Here’s some good news: YOU can teach your kids art at home—and you don’t need any experience to do so. I’ve created the Kids Art At Home Lessons Download so that you can start presenting easy and fun art lessons to your kids.

This limited-time bundle features art lessons from each of the visual arts domains (drawing, painting, clay modeling, crafting, and color theory), so you’re actually laying a solid foundation for your child’s art education. You’ll receive:

1 Drawing Lesson
1 Color Mixing Lesson
1 Painting Lesson
1 Clay Modeling Lesson
1 Craft Lesson

PLUS, you’ll also get 50 art lesson ideas, a materials list, and video and blog resources so your kids can continue to do art every day while at home! All of this is delivered as a bundle; you’ll download each item separately, so you and your child can be introduced to and work through the activities one at a time so they don’t get overwhelmed.

You can purchase Kids Art At Home: A Bundle of Beginner Art Curriculum & Activities for Kids—which is available for just a limited time—by clicking 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 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.

For so many people around the world—especially in the U.S.—schools have been looking a little different as of lately. Kids are spending more time at home, and parents are scrambling for ways to bring a full classroom experience into their homes. And unfortunately, art is an often overlooked aspect of Montessori education today. If you don’t quite know how to teach art or haven’t had much experience in the subject, setting up a space or lessons for your children can be overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be though! Here’s your guide to organizing and setting up a Montessori homeschool art room space for your kids this year.

The secret to a beautiful, functional art space is really about giving kids the space and permission to work and create uninterrupted. If you give your children a space to make art, they will do it!

Before we go into my art room organizing tips, here’s a little perspective: If you don’t have a shelf filled with books, you won’t raise readers; if you don’t have pens, papers, or a dictionary handy, you won’t raise a writer either. So, guess what? When you don’t have an art space filled with art supplies, you won’t raise an artist!

And creating art has a ton of benefits that goes beyond a beautiful finished project; art helps improve kids’ focus, problem-solving skills, stress-management skills, emotional literacy, and hand-eye coordination. That’s why it’s so important to give children a space to create.

As an art studio designer, children’s art teacher, and former homeschool mom, I’ve had the opportunity to design many stimulating creative spaces for kids of all ages. I will teach you what you need to know about creating a homeschool art room space for your Montessori students.

Montessori Homeschool Art Room Design

In reality, you can design your art space however you want, however, every Montessori homeschool art room needs to include these six components:

Table – all activities should take place on a flat surface
Chair – along with a sturdy table, children need a safe place to sit while working
Floor covering – this saves your floors from spills!
Light source – for children to work with color they need a good source of light
Storage – art storage comes in many shapes and sizes, including baskets, jars, plastic bins, shelves, or an art closet
Sink – the sink doesn’t need to be in the immediate art space, but should be close and easily accessible, like a bathroom or kitchen; it’s needed to wash materials and hands

Montessori Homeschool Art Room Location

Because an art space doesn’t need to be elaborate, you can set it up basically anywhere in your home. It can be a dedicated room, corner of your child’s bedroom or family living room, part of your yard or basement, and even in your kitchen.

One of my homeschool-mom friends set up a simple desk for her kids in her kitchen; I loved seeing what her daughter would create when I’d visit for tea! My own kids’ art spaces have transitioned throughout the years to be located in different spots around our home. Now, my daughter, who is 19, likes to draw and paint in her bedroom!

Montessori Homeschool Art Room Supplies

You can keep your art supplies very basic, such as paper, colored pencils, paints, paintbrushes, and clay. But, it’s very important to make sure any art supplies you give your children are non-toxic and kid-safe. For a list of the basic art materials I recommend for every Montessori classroom, click here.

I also created age-specific art materials lists. Click for:
Early Childhood
Lower Elementary
Upper Elementary

Where to Start: Keep Things Exciting—and Organized

The secret to keeping your art space and art supplies organized is only keeping out the materials your child is currently into. If you had every supply out all the time, things could get cluttered and untidy, and your child may actually get bored.

If you see that your child is drawn to painting, keep those supplies out. They may seem content with whatever activity you put in front of them, but make sure you’re switching things up. Put out papers, pencils, and stencils for a week so your child can explore drawing; the next week put out clay and modeling tools; then put out paintbrushes, different types of paint, and paper.

One Step Further: Watch My Montessori Art Storage How-To Video!

Hopefully, this guide I have provided has given you the tips and information you need to set up your child’s at-home art room space. I know that storage can get a little tricky though—especially if your whole family is sharing a live/workspace. I originally created this art storage video for Montessori teachers, but all the principles apply to at-home art spaces and storage too.

In it, I walk you through how I set up my own Montessori art storage area. You’ll see how I organize things overall, but I’ll also show you how I categorize my tubs and storage containers. And then, as a bonus, I walk you through how I use the art materials I have in storage to set up an art lesson without much thought. Trust me, it’ll save you tons of time if you get this down.

Click here to unlock and watch my video, How to Set Up Your Montessori Art Storage Stress and Mess Free.

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How To Modify Montessori Art Lessons for Virtual Teaching