I got this really cool lesson from the Art Lessons Blog. First students drew a really large flower. Then they drew a bug on top. They could either draw a real bug or an imaginary one. I handed out lots of photos of bugs to help them out. Everything was outlined in oil pastel and then painted with watercolors. 
This is a fun crafty project to do with the little ones. The little Pre-K students have been learning a lot about cities. This was a great project to use up my scrap construction paper. When I use the paper cutter, there are always little scraps left over. I saved them to use for this project. 
First, I have students use oil pastels to draw a moon and stars on their black paper. Then, I put a pile of rectangles on each table and had student choose four of them. (There are always a few who take more than four because either they don't listen, or they can't count. Just check to make sure they have four.) Students then glue their cities to the bottom of their paper. Finally, I give the students tiny squares to glue down for windows. Colors and placement of the squares are totally up to them. I think these turned out cute!
My first graders have recently been studying recycling, so I thought this was the perfect time to try this project. This lesson has been posted on several blogs recently, but I think it originated from Kid's Artists.
These were made out of old cardboard, tissue paper, scraps of fabric and paper, At of bottom of the hamburger students drew a table cloth. Inside the hamburger, students were to cut out shapes that looked like a specific type of food. This project was a stretch to get done in one hour, but the kids worked hard, and I think they turned out great. If you have the luxury of being able to stretch it out for more than one class, it would be even better. The only issue with doing this project with such a young age is that their little fingers can't cut the cardboard. I ended up cutting most of the buns out for them.
The little Kindergartners have been learning a lot about wheels, so I thought this was the perfect time to draw trucks. I began this lesson by showing students photos of different trucks. I then showed them how these trucks can easily be drawn with simple shapes like squares, rectangles, and circles. Everything was first drawn in pencil and then colored in oil pastels. 
Here in Maryland, we have had two huge snow storms in a row. Because of this, we have had school cancelled all week long. Since I have been snowed in during the blizzard, I have had a lot of time to paint. In honor of the snow, I created these two winter scenes.
I started this lesson by showing the students photos of the houses in New Orleans. These houses tend to be tall, but not wide. We also noticed how bright and colorful the houses are. (I found lots of images on google to show them.)
We started by drawing a large house build out of rectangles (rulers were optional). I showed the students multiple ways to draw windows and doors. Also, I encouraged students to add porches, or balconies, or other details to their pictures. We outlined everything with black crayon and painted with watercolors.
I just love all of these!
I had my little Pre-K students create fish this week. This was a really easy and fun lesson. Basically, it is just a paper plate that we cut a triangle out of. Then we took that triangle and stapled it to the back for the fin. We then tore tissue paper and glued it to our fish. So simple, but the kids loved it!
