Large Scale Art

Activity Overview

Children love to express themselves creatively, and having a large canvas can really get their juices flowing! This activity encourages children to use their entire body as a tool for creativity by combining artistic expression with the opportunity to move their bodies in new ways. It also helps build a child’s awareness of where their body lies in space and how to control it.

What You Need

• Large paper (rolled out on the floor in as much space as you have)

• Tempera paint, markers, crayons or any other drawing/painting material

• Paint containers (yogurt cups, soup containers, or plastic tupperware will do)

• Brushes (if using paint)

• Tidy tip: if you have young children, investing in a painter’s drop cloth or tarp can come in handy for projects that can be messy (like this one!). They allow for the fun to stay contained and make cleaning up easy. You can also use newspaper or cardboard as an alternative

Steps

1. If you are doing this with younger students, it is recommended to use colors that will mix well together, such as: green, yellow, and blue, ––or–– yellow, orange, and red. You can also choose to use primary colors to start, or two different colors for basic color mixing exploration. If you are working with older students, have them choose their own colors – two colors plus white or black is always a good place to begin.

2. Put the paint into containers and lay paper on the floor. Get your painting or drawing materials ready.

3. Once the setup is ready, let the children explore! Use the guiding questions to help open up their thoughts and ideas.

4. Things to remember as guides: Try your best not to label what the children are working on (“What a cool tree!” or “Is that a house?”). Instead, ask them to explain what they are working on, and help them expand on their answer. For example, if the student’s idea is “I am building a house!” an appropriate adult response could be, “You are building a house? How big will your house be? Where will your house be? Who lives in your house?”

5. Remember, when talking about art with young children, it is important to make any feedback you give specific. For example, instead of saying “I love your painting,” choose instead to call out the specific things you see the student doing. Phrases such as, “I like the lines that you drew, they are so wavy,” or “The color red you chose is so vibrant,” or “I see you are focusing very closely on the top of the picture. Tell me more.” will give them the validation and encouragement they need to know you see and value their work.

Guiding Questions

• Can you use your hands to make marks? Can you use your feet to make marks?

• Can you make shapes?

• Can you draw a story?

• Can you draw how you feel?

• How could you draw what our family looks like?

• Tell me the story about what is happening here...

Extensions

• Add balls, trucks, cars, animals or people as painting tools.

• Use kitchen utensils to make marks - - how do these additions change the student’s strategies and outcomes?

• Use different shoes to make different marks.