Art

About this course

Kindergarten art is a first introduction, kept simple on purpose. The first unit covers the three primary colors, what happens when they are mixed, the different kinds of lines a crayon can make (straight, curved, wavy, zigzag), and the basic shapes that hide inside every picture. The second unit uses those shapes to draw real things: animals, people, your own family, something growing outside, and a scene from a Bible story. The third unit gets messier, with finger painting, brush painting, tearing and gluing a collage, folding and cutting paper, and shaping clay or play dough, and it ends with making something to give away. The last unit steps back to look and talk: God as the first and greatest Creator, the beauty already sitting in the natural world, how a picture can tell a story without words, and what kind of art your student likes best and why.

There are 22 lessons in four units, so this is a light subject rather than a daily one. It fits well at about one lesson a week, or a few in a row on a rainy afternoon. Each is planned for roughly 25 minutes: a short opening prayer, a few sentences of introduction, about twelve minutes of actually making something, and a brief review. The teaching text is only three or four sentences and is meant to be read aloud, since a kindergartner cannot yet read it alone. Every lesson closes with a ten-question quiz that grades itself, and you will need to sit alongside and read those questions out. All 22 lessons share the same verse, Exodus 35:35, on God filling people with wisdom of heart to do skilled work.

As for supplies, this course is far more making than reading, and you should plan for that. Every lesson lists crayons, paper, safety scissors used with your help, and a glue stick. The painting and crafts unit also calls for washable paint (finger paint and a jar of tempera), at least one brush, scrap paper or old magazines to cut up for a collage, and either modeling clay or homemade play dough. Nothing here is specialized or expensive, and no art-history study or artist biography appears at this level. The appreciation unit looks at God's handiwork in creation and at your student's own pictures rather than at museum paintings, so no outside books or prints are needed.

What the course covers

• Primary colors and color mixing
• Kinds of lines and basic shapes
• Drawing animals, people, and family
• Drawing from nature and from Bible stories
• Finger painting and brush painting
• Collage, paper crafts, and cutting and gluing
• Clay and play dough modeling
• God as Creator and beauty in creation
• How a picture tells a story
• Talking about art you like

What your student will be able to do

• Name the three primary colors and mix them to make new ones
• Draw straight, curved, wavy, and zigzag lines on purpose
• Build a simple drawing of a person or animal out of basic shapes
• Handle a paintbrush, glue stick, and safety scissors with help
• Shape clay or dough into a simple form
• Say what you notice and like about a piece of art

Scope and sequence

All 4 units of Art for Kindergarten, in the order they are taught.

Every lesson, by title

All 22 lesson titles are listed here — nothing is withheld until you download. Open a unit to read its contents.

One whole lesson, exactly as it comes

This is a real lesson taken from the middle of the course — the teaching text, the practice, the homework, and the first three quiz questions with their answers. It is not a marketing excerpt.

What you will need

Drawn from the materials named across all 22 lessons of this course. Most families already own most of it.