Art and artists
Line Safari
Go hunting for eight kinds of lines and draw one of each: zigzag, wavy, dotted, spiral and more.
Thinking sheet · Art and artists
Don’t Peek! Contour Drawing
Draw your hand without looking at the paper, then draw it again while looking. Compare the two.
- Grades
- 2–5
- Time
- about 15 minutes
- Topic
- Art and artists
- Kids practice
- observation, hand-eye coordination, taking risks
What kids do
“Eyes on your hand, not on the paper! Let your pencil follow every edge.”
- No peeking (blind contour)
- Looking this time
- What I noticed about my hand that I never saw before:
- Which drawing is more fun to look at? Why?
How to run it
- Tape the paper down so it doesn’t slide.
- Go slowly: pretend the pencil is an ant walking along the edge.
- Hang the silly ones up. They make a wonderful wall.
Talk about it
- What was the strangest part of your no-peek drawing?
- Did looking closely help the second drawing?
- Where could you use this trick again?
Take it further
Try a no-peek drawing of a partner’s face, then swap.
Pairs well with
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
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Six circles, six different drawings. Can a circle become a clock, a pizza and a planet?
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Mix a Color Wheel
Color the wheel with three primary colors, mix the three in-between colors and record the recipes.
Art and artists
Warm and Cool Twins
Draw the same picture twice: once in warm colors and once in cool colors. How does each one feel?
Free for teachers
Get the free Classroom Drawing Kit
12 printable pages: six step-by-step lessons, a grid activity, draw-and-write sheets and teacher notes, sent with your welcome email. After that, new classroom printables by email.