Art Sub Plans - Cows on Parade

Cows on Parade Art Sub Plans - Middle School and Elementary

How fun to watch a parade!!! It’s been a while since I’ve been to one, but I can’t wait to see another. My heart starts to pump hard when I hear that bass drum in the distance, and tears start to well up when the rest of the band comes into earshot.

I hope that your kids have gotten a chance to see a parade or two.

Here are some fun art lessons based on the events in multiple cities called a “Cow Parade.” Here’s a website for the main idea: Cow Parade 

These cow forms have been painted by all sorts of folks, including famous artists and designers. 

Here’s a blog post about how this teacher created artist themed bulletin boards with the theme of Cow Parade in mind.  Cow Parade at Middle Brook School I believe that her students also made small ones for themselves. 

You could totally form an art sub lesson around this. I would created cardboard cow templates for the kids to trace and them let them create their own designs inside. 

Get some images from the web about designs that have been used, or purchase some of the Cow Parade books. I think kids would have fun with this.

I wrote another post on the topic a few years ago. You can find that one here:  HerDabbles blog: Cows on Parade

Spring Directed Drawing - How To Draw A Bird With Your Pencil

Directed Drawings for Kindergarten and First Grade

Art sub plans for primary students can be tricky. You really need to keep them engaged.

I noticed that there are not a lot of kindergarten art sub lessons out in the world, ready to use, so I created a few. 

Directed drawings are loved by elementary students. I like for them to have room for individuality and creativity too. Here are ones that work great for spring and summer.

This lesson was written for kindergarten and first grade, but I added a second lesson in the package for the rest of elementary. 

"Kooky Birds on a Branch" is a directed drawing that can be drawn as three birds on top of a branch or two birds on top of a branch and one hanging under. Kids follow, step by step, for the drawing part and then add their own details.

It also teaches how to color neatly and includes a rubric.

"Springtime Bird with Pattern and Flowers" was written for kindergarten but older elementary students would enjoy drawing it as well. It includes a template for making this a greeting card.

It is also no prep and fully scripted.

The last one, "Bird in a Tree with Flowers," is a directed drawing for elementary students that can also be used as a greeting card. It is also no prep and fully scripted.

Kindergarten Art Sub Plan - Klee’s “Cat and Bird”

Kindergarten Art Sub Plan - “Cat and Bird"

When creating a sub plan that needs only simple instructions and materials, Klee's painting, "Cat and Bird," might be just the foundation upon which to build.  

Paul Klee Idea Emphasizing  Shape, Pattern, and Warm and Cool Colors 

The teachers at Jamestown Elementary, Ms. Worden and Ms. Teitsma have written a blog post that suggests rich resources from which to teach this lesson. 

Since my older students would often ask if they could do a lesson that the little kids did, I know that sometimes they like the simple lessons too. The perfect time to let them do one of those simple lessons is when they have a substitute teacher in art.

Check out this lesson at Jamestown Elementary Art Blog.

Paul Klee Idea Emphazing Color and Shape

Another take on this lesson can be found at the blog, Art at Miquon.  Ms. Batchelor, at The Miquon School, taught a unit on Klee for multiple grades and this blog post shares the inspirations for that in this blog post. Again, this is a lesson that could be easy enough for anyone to teach with the right resources. This is no cookie-cutter lesson and each drawing is unique.