Favourite Christmas Art Lessons - Santa, Christmas Trees and Card Making

In the previous posts I shared ways that you can differentiate traditionally Christmas themed art lessons, and ensure inclusivity with student choice. You can read the previous post HERE

Now, if you are keen for a fully Christmas themed lesson, you cannot go past these 2.

Santa Stuck in the Chimney 

This one was so much fun, students learning was focused around using value to add form and texture to their drawings. Uses basic art supplies found in any classroom. I think you'll agree they are too cute for words, really!

Mid-elementary Santas stuck in the chimney-click HERE

Upper-elementary Santa stuck in the chimney-click HERE

Christmas Tree Branch 

This is an oil pastel drawing lesson also focusing on value to add form and texture. I've run this lesson with both early and upper elementary students and they all enjoyed it equally. This lesson can also be tweaked to differentiate by offering snow, light and decoration options as 3 different versions (as explained in the previous posts).

Christmas tree bough - click HERE

Christmas Cards 

As the end of the December term approaches, we can have odd bits of time in the school day when an art centre would be a perfect solution. I devised these art card drawing guides recently after reading a gorgeous art book called 'If Picasso Painted a Snowman.'

Artistic snowman cards-click HERE

Artistic tree cards-click HERE

Artistic cards BUNDLE-click HERE

You can also view all my Winter-Christmas art lessons in my TPT store HERE - One Teacher's Journey 

So wherever and however you may be enjoying your December break, I wish you all the best of the season.

Should I teach Christmas or Winter art lessons - Part 3

In the previous post I shared ways that you can differentiate traditionally Christmas themed art lessons, and ensure inclusivity with student choice. You can read the previous post HERE

In this post I will share some of my Winter themed Early and Upper elementary art lessons for those of you who prefer to stick with lessons that focus on the weather rather than the festivals. These are also a great option for your January term in the Northern hemisphere.

Winter Woolies

A favourite one of ours is this winter woolies portrait lesson in oil pastels where students have many artistic choices they can implement. The lesson guide also demonstrates a painted version.

Winter portraits with oil pastels - click HERE

Winter portraits with oil pastels - click HERE

Snowman snow globes

My juniors create a Snowman globe through a guided tutorial and differentiate along the way through a range of choices on offer. This lesson can also be enjoyed by older students.

Mid-elementary snowman snow globes - click HERE

Mid-elementary snowman snow globes - click HERE

Snowy owls

A more challenging lesson for my seniors is to paint a flying bird (owl in the teacher exemplar) in a wintery scene.

Upper elementary Snowy Owls - click HERE

Upper elementary Snowy Owls - click HERE

Pōhutukawa Picnics

But what if your December is mid-summer because you teach in the Southern hemisphere?

Whilst I was born in Europe and do miss the snowy Christmas atmosphere, I am now lucky enough to live in New Zealand. So my Christmas is exemplified by this art lesson, inspired by a local artist. and the local 'New Zealand Christmas Tree.' 

Pōhutukawa trees flower bright red throughout our December and January, and locals flock to the beaches over the Christmas holidays. 

New Zealand Pōhutukawa Picnic - click HERE

New Zealand Pōhutukawa Picnic - click HERE

I hope that you are able to build more choice into your art lessons too, taking into consideration your student's experiences and what that can bring to their creations. And this balanced approach is applies to all contexts - not just Christmas.

So wherever and however you may be enjoying your December break, I wish you all the best of the season.

Now, if you are keen for a fully Christmas themed lesson, read about these 2 in my next post

Santa stuck in the chimney

Christmas branches. 

You can also view all my Winter-Christmas art lessons in my TPT store HERE - One Teacher's Journey 

Should I Teach Winter or Christmas Art Lessons - Part 2

In the previous post I discussed why and how we need to respond to cultural experiences and offer choice with our December art lessons. I also shared about some very popular art lessons guides I've created for Clay Gnomes and Clay Christmas trees.

You can read the previous post HERE

In this post I will share my art lessons for those of you who prefer paint options or don't have access to a kiln. 

I created 2 lesson plans for trees - one for Early elementary and the other for Upper elementary. Both start with the same guided drawing and painting steps, then differentiate into either a Snowy (outdoor) tree or a Christmas (indoor) tree. 

Pine Tree Paintings - Early Elementary

Early elementary Winter and Christmas Trees

Early elementary Christmas trees

Pine Tree Windows Paintings - Upper Elementary

Upper elementary winter windows

Mid elementary Christmas and Winter Windows

Upper elementary Christmas Windows

Exploding/ Unfolding Christmas Cards

And this exploding card (guided video) tutorial will be great for more than just Christmas cards. Put out the listed materials for both the Christmas option and an alternate one, based on your own unique classroom community.

Upper elementary exploding cards

If you still prefer to stick with a winter / summer seasonal theme instead, I've creates a few of these for Early and Upper elementary, too. You can read about these in my next post or view all my Winter-Christmas art lessons in my TPT store HERE - One Teacher's Journey

Should I teach Christmas or Winter art lessons? Part 1

Should I teach a Christmas or a Winter art lesson? Why not offer both!

Plan your art lessons for the December Holiday season, in such a way that the content or context offers choice. When students can apply their personal experiences and family culture to their own artwork, that makes it all the more meaningful. It also meets art standards like:

• Student makes personal connections to artwork
• Student create artwork in response to a variety of stimuli 
• Investigate the purposes of artwork from different times, places and a range of cultures including their own 
• Reflect on the factors that influence personal reactions to artwork

(*source: IB PYP The Arts Scope and Sequence, pgs. 21,27)

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash

Many art teachers are becoming nervous about teaching art lessons based on Christmas themes and we know that in some countries, Christmas is not a recognised festival.

But in countries where it is a highly anticipated celebration, you are overwhelmingly stimulated by this theme, anywhere you go. So how can you just ignore it?

Photo by Chris Briggs on Unsplash

As an art teacher, whether you do, or don’t partake in the Christmas festivities, your students will also vary in their personal experiences. This means that we need to design our lessons to accommodate for choice. I believe that directed drawing is a crucial part of teaching art and explicitly guides students in ways to improve their skills. So if a lesson can start with the same base drawing and then become differentiated - how good would that be?

Let me introduce you to a few of the lessons I have developed for my students over the years.

CLAY sculpture art project for GNOMES

Originally created for my early elementary students, this little lesson has been very popular, even all the way up to adults. The basic hand building skills and shape are the same for all versions. Students can differentiate with details, accessories and paint/glaze colours for the type of gnome they wish to make - Christmas, garden or winter gnomes, etc.

CLAY sculpture art project for Trees

A lovely sister lesson to the gnomes is this one I created for Trees. Again the basic hand building skills and shape are the same for all versions and students can differentiate with details, accessories and paint/glaze colours for the type of tree they wish to make - Christmas,. snowy pines or light festooned trees, etc.

Either of these lessons can be made with air-dry clay, it just won't be as strong as ceramics.  

If you prefer paint options or don't have access to a kiln, I created 2 lesson plans for trees - one for Early elementary and the other for Upper elementary. Both start with the same guided drawing.. steps, then differentiate into either a Snowy (outdoor) tree or a Christmas (indoor) tree. 

Pop over to my next post and read all about them or view all my Winter-Christmas art lessons in my TPT store HERE - One Teacher's Journey