Spring Into Art

This past week the flowers have been in full bloom up in The Glenn. The garden is full of oranges, yellows, purples and reds. These beautiful flowers inspired my art lesson for this week. The children at CMP are getting very good at mixing colors and I thought that a bouquet full of flowers would be the perfect inspiration for the kids.

Try this at home. Your children will enjoy working from observation and it helps them with eye-hand coordination and concentration. Enjoy!

Project:  “Spring Flower Still Life”

Materials:

• Bouquet of flowers
• Drawing paper 8” x 11” and a sheet cut in half to 4” x 5 1/2”
• Cut cardboard pieces to 4” x  5 1/2”
• Drawing pencils
• Paint palette/paint: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, violet and white
• Paint brushes
• Small sponges (to dry the paint brushes)
• Small cardboard squares (for pressing/scraping the paper onto the cardboard)

Step 1:

Place the bouquet of flowers in the center of the table.

Have the children create a drawing of the flowers, asking questions to provoke thought such as:

What kind of lines might you use to draw the flowers? Bumpy, squiggly, straight.  

Are all of the lines the same?

How are shapes of the petals different from the shapes of the stems?

Step 2:

Hand out cardboard, sponges, brushes, and paint.

Have the children look at the flowers and discuss the color variation:

What do you notice about the flowers?  

What colors do you see?

What part of the flowers are green?

Are the stems the same shapes as the pedals?

Paint the flowers onto the cardboard.

Step 3:

Hand out the small pieces of paper; about 3 sheets each and some small cardboard pieces.

Place the paper on top of the cardboard.

Rub the cardboard over the paper (in a pressing or scraping action), make sure to really press and get all of the edges.

Pull the print.

Step 4:

Repeat this process as many times as you would like. The children enjoy changing the painting each time and printing several to create a mini-printed bouquet of spring inspired flowers.

Step 5:
Have Fun and Get Messy!

Blog by Julie Goldstein – Master Artist & Art Studio Teacher

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If you enjoyed this post we invite you to read our blog, “What is All the Buzz About Essential Oils.”

Carmel Mountain Preschool provides a safe and caring environment with hands-on, developmentally-appropriate programs for children. We also offer excellent care for elementary school-age students with our before and after school programs. CMP is located at 9510 Carmel Mountain Road, San Diego, CA 92129, situated between 4S Ranch, Rancho Peñasquitos, Carmel Valley, and Santaluz. For more information, please visit our website or contact us at 858.484.4877.

What is the All The Buzz About Essential Oils?