International Dot Day is named for the classic Peter H. Reynolds storybook The Dot. This book shares the story of a girl who begins a journey of self-discovery after a caring teacher challenges her to “make her mark.”

Celebrate creativity by creating a piece of art based on a dot! What can you make with one dot?

DRAW YOUR OWN DOT PICTURE! Begin with one dot on your paper. Now imagine what that one dot can become! "Just make a mark, and see where it takes you!"

Is it a planet in the solar system? It is the center of a flower? Is it an eye? A bouncing ball? A wheel? Let your dot be the beginning of a picture, and turn your dot into whatever you can imagine. Let your imagination take you places, and create an illustration that tells a story about your dot. Use the art materials and supplies available to you to complete your picture.

PAINT YOUR OWN DOT PICTURE! Begin with one dot on your paper. Continue painting rings of various colors around the original dot until your paper is full! Your painted circles, or rings, can be any colors you choose; they can be alternated or they can create a pattern of repetition. OR, use a Q-tip as your paintbrush and paint a scene or a pattern made of painted dots.

Have fun! Place your painting somewhere flat to dry and don't forget to clean up your mess :) The best way to clean your paintbrush is to swirl it around in your hand with a little bit of hand soap until all of the paint is out of it.

Go on a nature walk and collect different kinds of leaves. See if you can name the types of leaves that you find outside! Each person will need at least one leaf.

Place one leaf in or near the center of your paper. Lightly trace around it with a pencil. Then, either with the same leaf or a different leaf, trace parts of the leaf peeking into the corners of your paper! Turn it different directions when you do this so that it changes each time. Now go over your leaf outlines (these are called contours) with marker. Choose one color or different colors.

Next, you can use the veins of the leaf (turn it over to see them best) to draw the sections of the leaf. Each section can be filled in with a variety of patterns and designs. Or, you can continue to draw curvy contour lines around your leaf shapes with marker until the background is all filled in.

Use colored pencil to add additional color to your leaf shapes if you would like. See an example of each of these options in the photo above.

Challenge: Try to identify and use warm colors (red, orange, yellow) together and cool colors (blue, green, purple) together!

2. Now trace a circle near the center of your paper. This will be for the iris, so it should be big. Then trace another circle inside of the first one. It should be half the size of the first one, and this will be for the pupil. Draw a large bridge line (rainbow line, or arch) over the top of the first circle. Then draw a U-shaped line that is underneath the large circle and does not touch it. Make sure your curved lines come together to create the corners of the eye. Next, add an arched line to the top for the upper eye lid and another curved line to the bottom for the lower eye lid.

3. Now the fun part! Since we want the iris of the eye to look like a color wheel, divide that area into either 6 or12 sections (hmmm... use a ruler and your knowledge of fractions: first divide by half, then quarters, and so on. You can do it!) Use the color wheel reference above to locate and add the colors using the medium of your choice. The pupil can be painted or colored in black. Now use your pencil lead on its side to shade; where would the shadows be? Try making the white part of the eye look like a sphere! Add the eyelashes LAST!!

4. Identify the primary, secondary, and intermediate/ tertiary colors.