Drawing With Children: A Still Life

Earlier this week, I taught lesson 3 from Mona Brook's Drawing With Children to my class of fourth graders.

Lesson 3 Level 1 is just the teapot and the vase of dried flowers. (The next level adds the container of kitchen utensils, and the most advanced level adds the abacus.)

We used the five elements of art (dot, circle, straight line, curved line, and angled line) to draw the teapot. Then we added the vase. An important part of this lesson is having children draw objects that overlap.

We then added the dried flowers, eucalyptus branches, and wheat stalks. I introduced the concept of complementary colors, and some students (like the one above) chose to use complementary colors for her wall and vase.

I touched on the idea that they could make their vase appear rounded if they colored it with curved horizontal lines (like the picture above). I also let them add whatever details they wanted when the pot, vase, and flowers were finished.

My students all really enjoyed the Drawing With Children lessons, and I enjoyed teaching them. For the earlier Drawing With Children lessons we did, click here.