Art curriculum for kids doesn't have to be expensive or difficult when utilizing the variety of free art resources and information online to help create art lesson plans. Following is an overview of resources that can help a parent or teacher establish a fun and informative kids' art class.
Download Free Art Lesson Plans from the Kennedy Center ArtsEdge
ArtsEdge offers a variety of free art lesson plans for the visual arts, for kids of all ages. The lesson finder can be used to narrow down art lessons by grade band, making it easy to find art activities suitable for target ages.
Lesson plans are in-depth, and include the following elements:
- lesson overview
- length of lesson
- instructional objectives
- required supplies
- instructional plan including detailed information on the class activity and ideas for independent practice
- assessment instructions
- sources used in creating the lesson plan, also useful for further research on the subject
In addition to the visual arts element of the art lesson plans, details are also provided regarding other subjects that are covered as part of the lesson, such as language arts or social studies.
Create Art Lesson Plans Using Online Art Museums
A parent or teacher can create a comprehensive art lesson plan using the information found through online art museums that host a detailed catalog of fine art pieces. Olga's Gallery and the Web Gallery of Art are two online art museums that provide a wealth of information that could be used to form the basis of kids' art classes.
Olga's Gallery
Located at abcgallery.com, this site contains over 10,000 works of art and features information about artists and art works from around the world. Indexes are available by artist, country, movement, and a variety of specific subjects, such as art from Roman and Greek mythology.
Web Gallery of Art
Located at wga.hu, this is a virtual gallery that contains a searchable database of European art and sculpture from the 12th to mid-19th centuries. Users can access guided tours to experience information on the art, history and music of a particular time period. There is also a glossary containing information on various art terms, historic events, museums, and cities as related to the works of art.
Check Famous World Museum Websites to Access Information for Kids' Art Classes
Some of the world's best museums have interesting and informative websites that offer a wealth of information to be used in kids' art classes. Following are some resources to consider:
- Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY – Moma has a comprehensive library of online activities, including videos of artists' talks, free audio programs about the collections, a wide range of online projects, and information for art teachers.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY – The Met offers a daily featured work of art from the museum's permanent collection. Subscribe to the RSS feed to receive automatic notification of new highlighted pieces.
- The Smithsonian, Washington, DC – The Smithsonian website has an online section dedicated to kids, with links to various art activities and further information for several of their art museums.
With the wealth of information and resources available online, teaching kids' art classes and creating art lesson plans can be a fun and engaging learning experience for the student and the parent teacher. Have fun exploring and opening up the world of the visual arts to students.
Melanie Mulrooney - Melanie Mulrooney is a freelance writer, business and prosperity coach for mom entrepreneurs, and homeschooling mother of three beautiful ...
