Last year’s version of this project was successful in teaching warm/cool colors but I thought the product looked kind of cheap. I am a big fan of layers and mixed media so projects that only feature one kind of medium tend to leave me feeling rather nonplussed. The more the merrier when it comes to art materials, especially with young kids who thrive when exploring tactile methods of creating.

SOoooo this year I wanted to change it up a bit. We still made dinosaurs (because DUH dinosaurs are awesome) but I wanted to expose my 1st graders to some more variety of art materials. We began this project by sketching. Students looked at toy dinosaurs (from teh dollar section at Target) and noticed that it is easy to draw something realistic if you break it down into simple shapes.

Next time we met, we began by talking about warm and cool colors. We brainstormed things that are hot that are warm colors and things that are cold that are cool colors. Ideas mentioned included: ice cream, ice, water, the beach, grass, trees, a volcano,  wind, fire, ovens, the sun, springtime, hot potatoes (?) and snow.

Students chose a color scheme and used oil pastels to draw their design onto big paper. They included details like weather, a horizon line, and patterns. This project was a great STEM connection as the first graders are currently learning all about weather patterns and characteristics in science. The next step was to paint over the drawings with water color. They turned out fantastic!