Art K

A year of kindergarten art: the basic art words (line, shape, color, texture, repetition, contrast), drawing and painting nature and buildings, keeping a portfolio, visiting museums, talking about pictures, and a year-end art show.

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180 lessons

One a day for a school year

7 units

Each opens to its lessons

6 art words

Plus a year-end art show

Standards

National Core Arts Standards (visual arts)

What's taught, unit by unit

1
Meeting the materialsDays 1–30
Trying paint, playdough, crayons, chalk, yarn, torn paper and bubble wrap. The first four art words: line, shape, color (including mixing paint) and texture, with rubbings and a texture collage. Ends with show-and-tell.
- 1 · Welcome to Art Class: Let's Explore!
- 2 · What Can Paint Do?
- 3 · What Can Playdough Do?
- 4 · Meet a Line!
- 5 · Wiggly, Straight, and Zigzag Lines
- 6 · Drawing Lines With Different Tools
- 7 · Painting Lines With a Brush
- 8 · Meet a Shape!
- 9 · Finding Shapes All Around Us
- 10 · Making Shapes With Playdough
- 11 · Cutting and Gluing Paper Shapes
- 12 · Meet Color!
- 13 · Mixing Paint Colors: What Happens?
- 14 · Painting With Our Favorite Colors
- 15 · Looking at Colors in a Real Painting
- 16 · Painting With Our Fingers
- 17 · Meet Texture!
- 18 · Bumpy, Smooth, Soft, and Rough
- 19 · Texture Rubbing Fun
- 20 · Playdough Texture Play
- 21 · Making a Texture Collage
- 22 · Line, Shape, Color, Texture: Let's Review!
- 23 · Chalk Exploring
- 24 · Sticker and Collage Play
- 25 · Torn Paper Art
- 26 · Yarn and String Line Art
- 27 · Sculpting With Playdough
- 28 · Bubble Wrap Texture Painting
- 29 · Mixed Materials: Anything Goes!
- 30 · My Art Exploration Show-and-Tell
2
Safe materials, teamwork, pattern and contrastDays 31–60
How to use scissors, glue and paint safely and when to ask a grown-up. Family team projects: a table decoration, card, flower jar, welcome banner, bookmark and door sign. New words: repetition (patterns, stamping) and contrast.
- 31 · Safe Art Materials: What Does Safe Mean?
- 32 · Sorting Safe and Not-Safe Art Materials
- 33 · Using Kid-Safe Scissors the Careful Way
- 34 · Two Heads Are Better Than One: Making Art Together
- 35 · Team Project: Something Colorful for the Table
- 36 · Sharing Our Table Project
- 37 · New Art Word: Repetition
- 38 · Drawing a Repeating Pattern
- 39 · New Art Word: Contrast
- 40 · Spotting Contrast in a Famous Painting
- 41 · Safe Materials: Glue and Paint
- 42 · Team Project: Making a Card Together
- 43 · Finishing Our Card with Repeating Dots
- 44 · Repetition Match-Up: Polka Dots and Stripes
- 45 · Contrast Review: Light and Dark, Big and Small
- 46 · Safe Materials Check-In
- 47 · Team Project: Decorating a Flower Jar
- 48 · Adding Contrast Colors to Our Jar
- 49 · Repetition and Contrast Together
- 50 · Safe Materials: Always Ask an Adult First
- 51 · Team Project: Making a Welcome Banner
- 52 · Adding Repeating Shapes to Our Banner
- 53 · Repetition with Stamps
- 54 · Contrast with Stamp Colors
- 55 · Safe Materials: The Big Review
- 56 · Team Project: A Bookmark Gift
- 57 · Adding a Repeating Pattern to the Bookmark
- 58 · Contrast Spot-It Review
- 59 · Final Team Project: A Door Sign with Pattern
- 60 · Unit Celebration: Teamwork, Safety, and Two New Words
3
Natural and built placesDays 61–90
Drawing and painting trees, animals, weather, mountains, the ocean, forests and gardens, then houses, roads, playgrounds, bridges and towns. Sorting natural from constructed, a Monet bridge painting, and describing the work while making it.
- 61 · Welcome to Art About Places: Drawing a Big Tree
- 62 · Drawing an Animal in Its Natural Home
- 63 · Painting the Weather and Sky
- 64 · Drawing a Tall Mountain
- 65 · Painting the Ocean and Its Waves
- 66 · Drawing a Forest Full of Trees
- 67 · Drawing a Garden Full of Flowers
- 68 · Mix It Up: My Favorite Natural Place
- 69 · Talking While You Make Art
- 70 · Practice: Narrate Your Drawing Step by Step
- 71 · What Are Constructed Places? Drawing a House
- 72 · Drawing Roads and Cars
- 73 · Drawing a Playground
- 74 · Drawing a Bridge
- 75 · Drawing a Tall Building
- 76 · Drawing a Whole Town
- 77 · Narrating While You Build a Town
- 78 · Sorting Sheet: Natural or Constructed?
- 79 · A Painting with Both: Monet's Bridge
- 80 · Drawing Your Own Bridge Scene
- 81 · Drawing a Farm: Animals and Barns Together
- 82 · Drawing a Neighborhood Park
- 83 · Painting a Beach Day
- 84 · Practice Narrating: Painting Weather Over a Town
- 85 · Drawing a Mountain Village
- 86 · Drawing a City Park at Night
- 87 · Sorting Sheet 2: Natural and Constructed Around You
- 88 · My Favorite Place: Natural or Constructed Mural
- 89 · Getting Ready to Share: Practice Explaining Your Art
- 90 · Capstone: My Big Picture with Nature and Buildings
4
Portfolios and museumsDays 91–120
Choosing art to keep and explaining why (favorite colors, hard work, a story, a pattern), looking back to see growth, and sharing it. Then what a museum is, how it differs from a store or school, museum manners, and a pretend visit.
- 91 · What Is a Portfolio?
- 92 · Why Keep Our Art at All?
- 93 · Picking Your Favorite Colors Picture
- 94 · Picking Art You Worked Hard On
- 95 · Picking Art That Makes You Happy
- 96 · Picking Art of Your Favorite Thing
- 97 · Picking Art That Tells a Story
- 98 · Picking Art With a Pattern You Like
- 99 · Two Favorites, Two Different Reasons
- 100 · Portfolio Check-In: This Month's Best
- 101 · Looking Back at Old Art
- 102 · How Have I Grown as an Artist?
- 103 · Sharing Your Portfolio With Family
- 104 · A Portfolio Is Like a Memory Box
- 105 · Adding a New Piece to Your Portfolio
- 106 · Real Artists Keep Portfolios Too
- 107 · What Goes In, What Stays Out
- 108 · My Portfolio Makes Me Proud
- 109 · What Is an Art Museum?
- 110 · A Museum Keeps and Shows Art
- 111 · Museum or House? Spot the Difference
- 112 · Museum or Store? Spot the Difference
- 113 · Museum or School? Spot the Difference
- 114 · Quiet Voices at the Museum
- 115 · Careful Hands at the Museum
- 116 · Special Rules for a Special Place
- 117 · Old Art and New Art Together
- 118 · A Famous Museum Painting
- 119 · Visiting a Museum (Pretend Trip)
- 120 · My Portfolio and My Museum: Wrap-Up
5
Looking at and talking about artDays 121–150
Finding art at home and in everyday things, then describing pictures in words, naming a picture's subject and details, and giving a reason for a favorite. Several weeks return to Monet's The Bridge at Argenteuil.
- 121 · Art Hangs on Our Walls
- 122 · Art on Things We Use Every Day
- 123 · Patterns on Clothes and Blankets
- 124 · Art on Food Boxes
- 125 · Art in Our Learning Space
- 126 · Art Outside Our Home
- 127 · Art All Around Me!
- 128 · Looking Closely: What Do You See?
- 129 · Describing a Family Picture
- 130 · Describing Weather and Nature
- 131 · Describing a Food Picture
- 132 · Describing an Animal Picture
- 133 · Describing a Real Painting: The Bridge at Argenteuil
- 134 · Describing People Playing
- 135 · Describing Pictures Review
- 136 · Naming the Subject and Its Color
- 137 · Naming the Subject and What It's Doing
- 138 · Naming the Subject and Counting
- 139 · Naming the Subject and Where It Is
- 140 · Interpreting a Real Painting: The Bridge at Argenteuil
- 141 · Subject and Details in an Animal Picture
- 142 · Putting It Together: Subject and Details Review
- 143 · Picking a Favorite: Because I Like the Color
- 144 · Picking a Favorite Animal Picture and Why
- 145 · Comparing Two Pictures and Choosing
- 146 · My Favorite Part of the Bridge Painting
- 147 · Favorite Shape or Pattern and Why
- 148 · Favorite Nature Picture and Why
- 149 · My Favorite Artwork This Month
- 150 · Sharing Art You Love
6
Art that tells your story, and why people make artDays 151–164
Drawing true stories from the child's life: a trip, a pet, a birthday, a first day, a lost tooth. Then the reasons people make art: to decorate, to remember, to celebrate and to give as a gift.
- 151 · Your Art Can Tell a Story
- 152 · Art About a Trip You Took
- 153 · Art About a Pet You Love (or Wish For)
- 154 · Art About a Birthday Celebration
- 155 · Art About Your First Day of Something New
- 156 · Art About Losing a Tooth
- 157 · Art About a Special Family Day
- 158 · You Choose! Telling Your Own Life Story With Art
- 159 · Why Do People Make Art? Art Has a Purpose!
- 160 · Purpose: Art That Decorates
- 161 · Purpose: Art That Helps Us Remember
- 162 · Purpose: Art That Celebrates
- 163 · Purpose: Art That Is a Gift
- 164 · Can You Guess the Purpose? Review
7
The kindergarten art showDays 165–180
Revisiting materials, picking an idea, making a piece (alone and with a family member, about nature and about something built), choosing a favorite for the portfolio, writing a label, setting up the display and showing it to family.
- 165 · Get Ready for the Kindergarten Art Show!
- 166 · Playing With Materials Again
- 167 · Picking Your Art Show Idea
- 168 · Make Art With a Family Member
- 169 · Finish Your Family Project
- 170 · Art About Nature for Your Show
- 171 · Art About Something Built
- 172 · Talk About Your Art While You Make It
- 173 · Keep Talking and Making
- 174 · Looking Back at Your Year of Art
- 175 · Choose Your Favorite for the Portfolio
- 176 · Describe What Your Art Shows
- 177 · Make a Label for Your Art
- 178 · Set Up Your Art Show
- 179 · Show Time! Sharing Your Art With Family
- 180 · Congratulations! You Finished Kindergarten Art!

By the end of the year, your child can

Name and use line, shape, color, texture, repetition and contrast in their own art
Use scissors, glue, paint and other art materials safely
Draw and paint natural and built places, and tell the two apart
Describe a picture and say why they like it
Choose pieces for a portfolio and explain their choices
Follow museum manners and explain what a museum is for

Try the first 10 days free

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