I knew I wanted to do a watercolor lesson with my first graders and typically I do a fish or a flower. Tiring of those particular lessons, I wanted something new. While racking my brain, I glanced up at my bookshelf and noticed a worn copy of Where The Wild Things Are by Maurine Sendak. Perfect! What little kid doesn't like monsters?
I photocopied a few of the pages from the book and place them onto the tables. On the white board, I drew a few friendly monsters and waited for the giggles. There were many!
Now it was there turn. Using a black crayon, the children drew one large monster onto a sheet of 9" x 18" watercolor paper. They added scales, swirls, dots, stripes and colored in a few sections.
Finally, the kids painted their monsters using watercolor paints. I used cake watercolors, but I really wish I used liquid. They are more vibrant and I think the kids would have liked the intense colors. Also, its hard for kids at this grade level to get the right amount of water mixed in with the paint. Still, the paintings look wonderful!
For more watercolor lesson ideas, check out Deep Space Sparkle's "Watercolor Projects" PDF booklet. Click HERE for more details.
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