Art Activities For Any Unit

Sometimes you just can’t find a perfect activity to fit the theme that you’re working with. Here are art activities that you can adapt for any unit.

How To Adapt These Activities
To adapt these activities to any unit that you’re working on- encourage the children to create something that reminds them of the unit that they’re studying.

• Mix up the different art mediums that you set up for the kids to use. You can encourage your kids to draw something related to the unit you’re studying. Here’s a list of different art mediums to try:
  

  charcoal colored pencils crayons markers fingerpaints

  tempera paint watercolor paints oil pastels chalk pastels

• Mix it up by changing the surface that your kids are creating art on. Try one of these ideas instead of what you’re used to:
  

  sketch paper watercolor paper printer paper cardstock construction paper tissue paper

  paper plates coffee filters tissue paper fabric paper doilies receipt paper or fax paper (found often at thrift stores)

• Use a shaped or colored piece of paper that coordinates with the theme you’re working with to paint or draw on.
• Use a large sheet of easel paper, cut in a shape that goes with the unit for painting on the easel.
• Use stamps!
• Get out the scissors and magazines and see what you can find on the topic.
• Try some salt painting from Best Activities For Kids
• Water color resist – use crayons or oil pastels to draw a design, then use watercolors to “wash” over it or to paint in between the lines.
• Dip chalk in buttermilk and draw on construction paper
• Or try dry chalk on wet paper.
• Use perler beads to design something related.
• Use cut shapes of tissue paper. Use a paint brush and glue to stick them to black construction paper in a design that goes with the theme.
• Or glue tissue paper shapes to wax paper. When it’s dry you can cut out outlines of black paper and glue the tissued wax paper in the center area to make a “stained glass” to hang in the window. Alternatively, use contact paper and no glue instead of the wax paper.
• Draw with a crayon on paper set on a hot plate, set on low.
• Make some collage with bits of torn construction paper or pieces torn from magazines.
• Provide the children with a sheet of paper divided into a grid or with a doodle design.
• Use light colors on dark colored construction paper
• Use wiki stix and bottle caps to make your own stamps.
• Make and use this clay with glue and cornstarch

Specific Articles About Art:

• Try allowing toddlers to use authentic art materials, such as clay

How do you create art and creative activities for a theme or unit when they aren’t obvious?

This post was published on Muse of the Morning.com