Pandas are fascinating creatures, known for their black and white markings and their love of bamboo. But did you know that pandas can also teach children valuable lessons about art?
Be like a panda in your art-making:
Take your time:
Pandas are known for being slow and deliberate movers, this allows them to conserve energy and be more efficient. Similarly, when being creative, it's important to take your time and not rush the process. Give yourself time to think and explore different ideas.Your class can first draw a panda following my steps, and then have a few more attempts after some research or reading about pandas. They can take their time to choose their favorite panda to paint and display.
Be playful and curious:
Pandas are naturally curious and playful creatures, and they often engage in activities that seem to be just for fun. This sense of playfulness can be a powerful tool for creativity. When you're not afraid to experiment and try new things, you're more likely to come up with original and innovative ideas.Encourage your students to experiment with some different materials after the paint dries on their panda. Perhaps they could add some extra crayon detail, some fabric scraps or some pattern lines in the background.
Be patient and unique:
Pandas are very patient and unique creatures. They can spend hours sitting in one spot, eating bamboo.Remind your students that it’s OK for their drawing ability to take time and for their work to be unique and look different from others.
How to Draw a Giant Panda
Here are some basic steps if your children would like to draw a panda for World Panda Day!
Animal Informational Writing
After drawing encourage your children to write about pandas too. My writing worksheet pack has a variety of different scaffolds to support your emergent-writers in completing a short informational text.
You could:
- read together
- talk about pandas to review the information you've read
- make a list of quick facts
- have students share their favorite fact and talk about it (with extra detail) to a friend
- model how to use a writing scaffold (project it onto the electronic board and complete it together as a class)
- provide a paper worksheet for each student and have them independently write about pandas - they can retrieve information from teh list of quick facts you wrote together
This writing activity can be broken down into steps with each part on a different day of the week.
Here are 3 samples from the pack:
It will be so much fun for your students to be creative like a panda - I hope they love completing their art project and seeing it up on display in their classroom.