Fun and Low Cost First Day Art Mural

Hello everyone - it's been a while since my last post. We were away in France and had very little Internet. It was a big adjustment for me and the kids to not have WiFi, but it allowed us to focus on low tech activities...like playing cards, scrabble and of course, art!

I will tell you about my adventure in France a little later, but first I wanted to share with you a Fun and Low Cost first day art project. I love collaborative projects for the first day because requires students to communicate and work together to produce a special piece of art. In addition, it is great for introduction to the elements of art.

Juan Miro and Paul Klee and two great artist that that come to mind when working in groups. 

Image: Experiments in Art Education

Have students to outline their shapes- squares, circles, triangles, etc.. (no need to sketch) with black tempera paint. Then have them connect the shapes using lines - straight, zig-zag, wave, etc... Allow paint to dry for a bit (in AZ it only takes a couple of seconds) and then fill in the shapes using bold colors.

Image: Gretchen's Art

Great for all levels, even kindergartners, just make sure to have extra hands to help out. After you are done displaying the murals, you can cut it up to size and then everyone will get a piece to take home.

TIP: If you don't have large craft paper, use the back of an old poster.

How about you? What kind of art project do you like to do on the first day?