Tiny Insects - A picture book inspired art lesson

I have often designed an art lesson based on elements of art for most part of my teaching life , unless I came across this site called deep space sparkle(DSS) , DSS was a great inspiration for me to create lessons based on picture books . Even though i used to pick up most of my picture books only for illustration , drawing based on that was an idea which I inherited from them. 

Our first lesson is based on insects , those tiny little creatures , which used to frighten most of us in daily lives. This lesson was inspired from the book The Tickly Spider by Margaret Wise Brown , its about a little spider  and a small boy .

Supplies needed : 

A4 size ivory sheets 

Drawing tools ( Pencil, eraser, sharpener) 

Tempera paints / water colours 

Oil pastels

Some glitters 

After reading the lesson , the first thing we did is to take a list of insects which are simple to draw using lines and shapes .

We have taken 4  of them ( Ant, ladybug, butterfly, dragonfly, ) check the following link for step by step drawings .

http://theartandbookjunction.blogspot.in/2017/09/step-by-step-drawings-insects.html?m=1

Once this part is done , the next one is creating a scenery , as I don't have images of the work done by my students ( lost during shifting) have added  some prompts here to try with the kids . 

Prompt 1: On the river bank 

( image included) 

Prompt 2: In the field 

Draw a field full of grass , sand etc and include the insects there . 

Prompt 3 : A scenic morning from my window

Draw a view from the window how the world looks during early morning , include the colourful sun , trees, chirping birds ,blooming flowers ,  tiny insects . 

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Hope you all enjoy the lesson , please try the activities with kids and post their works in the comment section , also don't forget to drop your feedback. 

Step by step drawings - Insects

Try these step by step lessons to learn to draw tiny colourful insects .  #cachartprojects

You can find our lessons using the hashtag #cachartprojects 

Join the group cool and crazy hues in fb , for various art lesson plans 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/127247624666200

Book Review : Andrew Henry's meadow by Doris burn

Andrew Henry's meadow 

Author and illustrator : Doris Burn

In today's world where it is made compulsory to follow a set of rules , either in home , school , wherever you are , there live a group of children  who doesn't want or like to follow those ( defaulters or rule breakers as they say ) it doesn't mean they are breakers , they are creators who want to make their own set of rules . This classic written in 1965 is about one such child who is unique . 

Story:

Andrew Henry thatcher lives with his parents and siblings in stubbsville , being the middle child he had two older sisters and two younger brothers . 

His mom is always busy in the kitchen and his father with work , two older sisters are busy with new dress up or hair style and two younger brothers with toys and colouring books , he was always left with himself , but he never mind , because he had plenty of things to do . 

Andrew like to build things , from an helicopter in the kitchen  to an eagle nest in living room , but his parents doesn't like , so he has to remove them , when he builds a merry go round and hitches with his sisters sewing machine they shout on him to remove it right away , when he builds system of pulleys in his room which he shares with his brothers , they cry that " you are always spoiling our fun Andrew " . 

So one fine spring morning Andrew makes up his mind to build a house of his own and leaves the house with his tools . Faraway in the meadow Andrew builds up his house, not only for himself , also for eight more children .

The reason why all the other children left their home , how they get reunited with their parents and whether their uniqueness is accepted and appreciated is the rest of the story . 

Review

Every child is unique , they have their own qualities which may be different from other children . It has to be understood and should be appreciated especially by the parents . Fantastic Illustrations which are done with pen and ink ,add more value to the story . We liked the way Andrew's character has been portrayed , very courageous and a never give up attitude , he follows what his heart says irrespective of whether it makes others happy or not . The entire story reminds us the famous quote " why fit in when you were born to stand out "