Artful Escapes: Winter Wonderland Projects for the Elementary Classroom

Spectrum
Spectrum Blog
Dec 6, 2023
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The Winter season is notoriously hectic for everyone, add in the stress of being an educator having to come up with art projects that include all student beliefs, backgrounds, orientations and abilities/disabilities can definitely bring Nightmare-Before-Christmas vibes!

Enter Spectrum Educational: we’re here to assist in relieving your pre-holiday stress. Below you will find outlined some easy going and creative projects for classes ranging from grades K-6, including links to all items needed to bring the winter wonderland and joy to both you and your students

Grades K-2

Paper Hats and Mittens

(Source: https://www.mrsbremersclass.com/2014/01/the-hat-and-mitten-art-lesson.html)

These colourful, cut-out paper hat and mittens can be made simple for small hands using tissue paper and white glue. Grades 1 and 2 can introduce the use of watercolour or tempera paints, glitter, and beads. If using paints, I suggest tracing the mitten and hat stencil onto heavier gauge paper.

Kindergarten winter art based on The Mitten and The Hat by Jan Brett #kindergarten #kindergartenart #janbrett #thehat #themitten

Here’s how to create it:

Start by printing out enough mitten and hat outlines for your class. You can find the mitten template here and the hat here.
Cut or tear bright warm and cool coloured tissue paper into small pieces, for older classes set out paints and other decorative items
Allow students to get messy and glue their pieces to their stencils, overlapping in places to make stronger and new colours.
Option to cover tissue paper mittens and hats in Mod Podge to make it shiny.
While drying create the background paper by dabbing blue and white paint and mixing with a sponge. Alternatively, you can use blue (or colour of choice) construction paper. Add some snowflakes to this with crayon, pencil crayon or even stickers!
Once everything has dried, attach mittens and hats to background.
For a cute finishing touch add clothespin to the top of the mittens and hats and hang around the room with a string accent.

Grades 3 and 4

Mixed Media Evergreen Trees Collage

(Source: https://afaithfulattempt.blogspot.com/2018/12/contemporary-evergreen-trees-mixed.html?m=1)

This mixed media project takes a little time, but it’s well worth the effort to see your student's eyes light up with the magic of creation seeing something layered and built to completion. The use of watercolour and salt bring a small bit of science to art!

Here’s how to create it:

Take one art period to create textured paper for evergreen trees. Do this by having students use liquid watercolour on a whole sheet of paper. While the page is still wet conservatively sprinkle salt over the page. This will also reveal a lesson in "less-is-more" for students!
Allow to dry overnight.
Next art period gently brush salt off to expose the crystalized designs left behind.
Using paint brushes and watercolour paints on a clean sheet of paper students can now create the backgrounds for their trees. Encourage nighttime and daytime imagery.
Thicker tempera paint can be used over the watercolour to create a snowflake effect if desired.
While the backgrounds dry students cut out their trees using the textured paper.
On the back of this paper using a ruler have them draw a variety of sizes of triangles. These are then cut out and a pattern to outline trees can be added with gold, silver or black marker.
Once trees are outlined, students glue to the background they created, ensuring to overlap in places to create depth and a sense of space.

Grades 5 and 6

Over and Under the Snow Paint Project

(Sources: https://www.deepspacesparkle.com/over-under-winter-habitat-art-project/; https://www.paintedpaperart.com/2022/12/over-and-under-the-snow/)

This paint project seems simple at first glance, but is great for teaching depth and detail. I suggest prepping students for this project with getting them to pick an animal to research how they hibernate under the snow, and pick an activity they like to do in winter, to research for over the snow. Inspiration for this venture comes from the book Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner and can be found here.

Over and Under the Snow

Here’s how to create it:

First start by making using paint brushes, watercolour paints and watercolour paper to create a background.
Students then create a winter landscape in layers; sky, snow and under the snow/ground, where their hibernating animals will go.
Add in trees of various types, with spacing to create depth.
Final touch, add over snow activity as well as under snow hibernating animal. Depending on the student, these, along with trees can be sketched in with pencil and outlined with black sharpies, coloured in with pencil crayons, or even painted on the page.

Winter Habitat art projects by third graders