Watercolor Leaves

A few weeks ago I shared our first watercolor experience of the school year.  We looked at pictures of fall leaves, talked about fall colors, and then painted on watercolor paper squares.  The kids learned how to wash their brushes before changing colors, experienced the way the colors blend, and learned that lots of water makes the painting kind of blurred and dreamy.

We could have stopped the project right there and the kids would have been happy.



Each child painted 3 squares of paper.  Once they were dry, we used our leaf die cut and punches the squares.  Mounted on fall colored construction paper, they look beautiful lining our hallway.


I love starting off the school year with this project because there is no such thing as an ugly leaf.  All kids are successful and feel proud of their work.  Now, I know some of you truly artsy folks are questioning the artistic value in simply die cutting the leaves and mounting them.  But, let's remember... these are kindergarten students, some of whom have never held a paint brush before.  We paint ALL THE TIME in kindergarten.  There is plenty of time to paint pictures of anything they want.  This time was just a simple learning experience in the way we use watercolor paints in the classroom.  

So pretty, mixed with our sponge painted leaves in the hallway.

Happy painting!