2 Fun & Easy Fall Art Lessons -

2 Fun & Easy Fall Art Lessons

So the summer has ended and school has started. Autumn time has many inspirations to develop fun fall art adventures that kids will find success in producing. From pumpkins on the ground to bats in the air, here I will present 2 successful fun and easy fall art lessons that are awesome. Students have found success in these amazingly awesome lessons. They are geared toward the younger age. But I have found in the past that some older students often ask are we going to make that project. Therefore, don’t pass on the opportunity to try out these more simple art lessons with older kids too. Now let us get into these fun and easy fall art art lessons that are awesome and focus on line and shape with limited supplies.

Pumpkin People

The first of the 2 fun & easy fall art lessons uses the pumpkin as its theme. Many younger grades in my area take kids on field trips trips to farms to visit pumpkin patches. So this could be a fun connection with science or learning about the world around the students. Since it is the beginning of the school year, I like to start with lines. Starting with straight and curved lines makes sense, because they form letters and other lines like zigzag and wavy. Then they have the choice of orange or green hues of paper for the pumpkin surface color. Teacher explains that the straight lines are going up and down or vertically to represent the groves or bumps in pumpkins. When completed, teacher demonstrates how to cut the corners of the rectangle paper to give the pumpkin roundness.

Next, provide a variety of cut colored straight lines for the students. The colors may include fall themed colors like green, oranges, and yellow. I include black. Use the strips of paper to make face parts. Demonstrate how to cut the paper to make squares, rectangles, and triangles. Then place them in the areas for eyes, nose, and mouth. Teeth and nose holes get the students laughing. If students want to cut curved shapes that is fine. It is all about them having fun. Students add extra ideas like arms, legs, shoes, hair, and accessories.

Getting started with the Skeletons

Continuing with straight lines, I have another fun fall adventure that is awesome. It involves skeletons-the human skeleton to be precise. Younger students are not fully familiar with the skeletal system. So this lesson is a great way to connect with a health lesson. Use a poster, slide, or video that discusses the different bones in a skeleton. It hooks the learners.

The following examples show the surface paper as painted. You do not have to paint the paper first. But if you want to it is a wonderful way to introduce the younger students to the paint brush and provide a larger surface for the paint. I discussed how the paper is a rectangle with 4 straight lines. Then I demonstrate that they will draw a large rectangle on the inside of the larger rectangle paper. This happens during a prior class, so that it can dry for next class to collage the skeleton. There is a discussion and practice with the brush, a demonstration, and then they paint. It is important to take the time to explain and enforce how to put the papers in the drying rack.

Additional Note:

After many years of working with students and dealing with sloppy paintings, I have come up with some tips. First, when demonstrating, I point out puddles before I dip my brush in to the paint again. I say, “spread the puddle.” Everyone repeats. “Spread the puddles.” It is important that they spread the puddle of paint, because if they do not, then when they move the painting with puddles, it simply spills on the floor and then they all just step in it. UGH!!!

Another tip is to emphasize that the painting is like a lunch tray. They need to pinch on either side like crabby pincher claws. They pretend they are walking with lunch tray which means they will be more careful.

Lastly, drawing the rectangle and having them paint inside limits many from painting to the end of the paper. Painting to the edge of the paper make a bigger mess to clean up on the tables. It takes even more time to clean up when we would rather use that time making or talking about art.

Making the Skeletons

Gather supplies. I used precut strips of white paper, glue sticks, scissors, boxes of scrap colored paper, and black permanent markers. First student must cut a head. Explain the head as a straight edge rectangle or square. Emphasize that it must be glued near the top of the paper. Place the paper vertically. Many students want to have their paper horizontally, which limits the wonderful length that they can achieve.

Build the Skeleton

Next we add a short straight line for a neck. Then one horizontally for the shoulder bone/collar bone. And one vertically for the spine. Make sure these lines look somewhat in proportion. I do not explain proportion to the younger students. I simply state that they need to look correct and make sense. After the spine, we cut more narrow straight lines for ribs. I used three. Before adding arms and legs, it important to get students to add a pelvis bone or hips to the skeleton. We do not want the legs to come from the belly button.

Then students tend to overlook that we have knees and elbows. Use two short straight lines to show that the legs and arms are segmented and bend. By doing so, the skeleton will fill the paper and give more movement and excitement to their individual art.

Lastly, students cut out accessories. I like to promote limiting how much the students glue on top of their skeletons. We still want to see the bones so we know it is still a skeleton.