Name Art Project for Kids

I want to share with you an idea for incorporating your students' names into their art making.

Here is one I did to show you, with the same Sam. These would be great for the first week back at school.

Spiral name art project

Tell your students to draw a large spiral, using black sharpie on their paper. This could also be done for them, if you think it may be too much of a challenge. Then, starting from the middle, they write their name around the spiral, making sure their letters goes from edge to edge. Capital letters work very well.



Then, it is just a matter of shading each section of their design. Talk about the use of colours in a repeating pattern. It will create balance and a sense of calm in their artwork. I used a pattern of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple in this one. Other feelings can be created by the use of other colour patterns - perhaps just using two colours.



Here is the 'real' Sam and the artwork he made while I was doing mine. He LOVES to run to me and show me his drawings. Without fail, he tells me about the 'colours' - pointing to each and telling me.

Art discussions for little learners

If you want to start doing art discussions in your early-years classroom, this is a great first routine: 

1. Show the students an artwork
2. Give them some looking time
3. Ask one student to point to physically point to one thing in the artwork - one specific object or shape 
4. Ask them to describe it - size, shape, colour, features, texture etc. 
5. Once you have the student talking about the observable features of the artwork, identify opportunities to expand and extend the discussion where appropriate

This is a great first step to help children learn to appreciate art. 

Art Ideas for Kids

I LOVE collecting awesome art ideas on my Pinterest board and would love you as a follower - head over to Pinterest to join the fun!

All About My Name Activities

Over in our store we have a free printable worksheet for students to celebrate and showcase their name. Learning the names of their classmates is a wonderful back to school activity that is important for classroom community and a sense of belonging. 

Ask your students to write their name in fancy letters - or even stamp it with letter stamps. Then they can analyze their name and identify the numbers of letters, consonant and vowels it contains. 

Students will locate all the letters of their name in a variety of fonts to finish the page. 

Create a classroom bulletin board to showcase these pages and celebrate the beautiful names in your classroom!