Tortuga Time

Based on the book "Manana Iguana" by Ann Whitford Paul, this adorable collage lesson is perfect for little kinders. Children learn how to draw Tortuga the Turtle as drawn in the picture book and paint a desert background.
I do this lesson in three thirty minute classes.

Supplies:

• 12" x 10" white paper
• Oil Pastels
• scissors and glue sticks
• 12" x 18" blue paper
• Tempera paints: brown, white, yellow, light green and dark green
• paint brush and water

Step One: Drawing "Tortuga"

There are some great turtle drawings in this book. Cute, simple and artsy. I love how Tortuga's eyes stick up from his head. That is what we start with: the eyes. Draw two ovals on one side of the paper. Draw a big oval around the eyes taking care not to draw through the eyeballs! Add a neck. For the body, draw a curved line from the neck all the way to the back of the paper. Kid's will know instinctively how big to draw their turtle, so let them. Much cuter this way!
Then add a bottom and four legs.

Step Two: Cut out Turtle

This step is a challenge for many kinders. Some kids have cutting experience but if your group struggles with this part, don't be surprised. I've taught second graders who can't cut well, so consider this lesson great practice! The hardest part for little hands is navigating around a curvy bottom. To avoid this, encourage the kids to draw a straight line for the underbelly. Believe me, much easier for them.

Step Three: (or day two) Painting the Background

This is how I set up for the class. The cut-out turtles are in a pile on a separate table. So when the children finish painting their background, they can glue the turtle on right away.
I must say however, that this particular group had a hard time finishing the background in the allotted time and most didn't finish coloring in their turtles from step one. So I'll add another class so that everyone can have a finished piece.
Doesn't always work this way. The next group of kinders finished everything. Many variables involved: talkative children, late getting to class, etc. None a problem. Just need to be flexible!

With an oil pastel, the kids drew a straight line across the middle of the page. They added a sun plus a cactus for an authentic desert landscape.

Step Four: Putting it all together

By now, the kids should have a finished background and a cut-out turtle. Most of my students needed to finish coloring in their turtles, so we will add an extra class to do this. A nice extra detail would be to add spikes on the cactus, and outline the oil pastel lines again.

The results!

Line Drawings Part I:Turtles

Line drawings are a super easy way to start off your art curriculum. I usually do some type of line drawing with all my grade levels at the beginning of the year. Not only is the set-up simple and there is virtually no clean-up, but it gives me a chance to get to get to know my students and their art interest.

The projects may look simple, but in fact, there is a lot going on!
These turtle drawings develop fine motor skills: drawing with a marker, cutting and pasting, establish a sense of freedom with art (mistakes are not only fine; they make great art!) and finally they beautify your classroom during these first few weeks of school which makes parents happy and students proud. What more do you need?

Okay, so here's how to do it:

Supplies:
Drawing Paper
Black fine-tip marker (Sharpies make a dynamic statement)
Colored construction paper

Instructions: Drawing the Turtle


Directed line drawing for the turtle:
1. Draw a large upside down letter "U"
2. Connect the bottom with a slightly curved line. Then, make another line just above the bottom line.
3. For the belly of the turtle, create a scalloped edge by drawing little upside down bumps along the bottom line.
4. Add two letter "U's" for the feet.
5. Add a sideways "triangle" for the tail.
6. Add a head by putting your marker on the very bottom corner of the shell and drawing a large bubble shape. Make sure to keep the neck thin and the head big and round. If you want, you can add a mouth.
7. Fill in the turtle shell with lines, connecting the curved lines to make a patchwork of shells.
8. Now, fill in all the small sections in the shell with different patterns. Use hearts, zig-zags, bubbles, spirals, checkerboards, wavy lines, etc. Be creative!

Now, here's a tip: When making a pattern of lines, make sure to connect the lines to the outside of the shape. Don't stop short!


These sweet turtles were done by Kinders! Needless to say, they were very proud. One of the secrets to making the project appear easy, is to draw lots of pattern samples on the board. Ask the children what a line is and then draw some. Point out patterns on classmate's shirts, on the wall, etc. Get interactive!

Foil Turtle and Fish Collage

This lesson was inspired by a lesson in The Usborne Book of Art Projects. It was a huge hit with my third grade class. The lesson in the book focused on fish but I thought a sea turtle would look lovely swimming in these glittery waters.

As for the glittery waters, I had some glitter concoction left over from my Fancy Fish Lesson, so I had the students brush the leftovers onto a piece of blue or lavender drawing paper. The results were shimmery and ocean perfect.

If you don't have the supplies to make the glittery concoction (glitter paint, Mod Podge and liquid watercolor) try making the background using 6" x 9" pieces of watercolor paper. Wet the paper with a sponge or large brush, then mix blues and green watercolors and paint on the wet watercolor paper (wet-on-wet technique). Salting the surface will give the "ocean" a sparkly quality.

Drawing the Fish and Sea Turtle:

While the paper dried, I demonstrated how to draw simple fish and a sea turtle. See diagrams for a step-by-step.

After demonstrating the drawing technique, hand out pieces of tin foil (regular is fine, but heavy duty works really well), colored Sharpies, and texture boards (instructions below). Put tin foil directly onto texture boards and draw fish or turtle. Color with Sharpies and watch the texture of the netting show through. The kids LOVE this step. I do, too. It's really cool!
After drawing a large turtle or a few fish, carefully cut out fish and glue (white school glue) onto glittery or watercolor paper.



To make a Texture Board, cut heavy board (tag board, etc) into 9" x 6" rectangles. Sizes can vary so don't stick to my suggestions. Cut up old vegetable or fruit bags and tape to cardboard. I made about 25 and had a few 6th graders help with the taping.

Fish and Turtle Artwork by Ms. Welbourne and Ms. Hinkley's 3rd Grade Classes at Brandon School