Submitted by Ken Rohrer. For ages: 3 - 6

Procedure:

Make sure that the kids have bibs or smocks and an area where it is safe to make paint messes. Say to the children, "We are going to learn about different ways of painting. You are used to painting by just sticking your brush in the paint and then moving it across your paper. Today, we'll learn more ways to paint."

The teacher will then give a demonstration in front of the class. The picture should be on an easel or hanging so that all the children can see the picture as you paint.

The teacher then says, "Look what happens when you wet your paper first and then paint over it. Look how the paints runs and spreads across the paper. Most artists use this style to paint the sky or water."

"Now let's look what happens when you squeeze the water out of your brush and then put it in the paint. You can make thinner lines, can't you? (This style is called dry brush) This is good for making small things or things like grass blades, leaves, hair, or branches."

"It is very important, kids, to clean your brushes with water every time you change colors. Do you know why? because if you don't your picture will end up looking like mud. Try mixing your colors on the paper by moving your brush through another color. What happens?"

Don't let the kids paint too long on one paper or they really will end up with a picture of mud. If they get done early, its better to give them a new sheet of paper to start a new paper. Set a time limit or monitor them closely so they don't overpaint. Part of being an artist is knowing when to quit.

Assignment:

Following the demonstration, the children will have the opportunity to experiment with paints using the techniques demonstrated by the teacher. The teacher may designate each table to be a certain style. For example, one table could be the dry brushing table. Another table could be the wash or wet-on-wet table. Students could then rotate every 10 minutes. If that isn't possible, then the teacher might tell the students which style they were doing and then at the end of the time period, they are told to change styles.

A new piece of paper should be given to the children after each style is used. The teacher has the option of continuing the lesson by having the children choose their favorite style and then coming up with a painting of their own.

Materials

• Paint brushes
• Jars for water
• Newspaper to cover the tables
• Water colors or tempera paints
• Smocks or bibs
• White paper (Preferably watercolor paper)
• Easel