about their color choices and help
them identify the colors.
Painting with Watercolor
In this class, students mix watercolors to paint their mouse drawings.
Before painting, review paint mixing,
watercolor techniques, and proper use
and care of materials and supplies.
Encourage students to paint over the
entire picture (the oil pastels will
resist the paint).
Hungry Mice
Students now make construction
paper cheese to feed their hungry
mice. Review basic cutting skills and
demonstrate how to take a square
piece of yellow construction paper
and cut it diagonally into two tri-
angles. Have students cut out their
cheese pieces and use crayons to draw
holes in their cheese. After they glue
their cheese onto their mouse paintings, have them sit in a circle and
talk about their work, discussing the
lines, colors, and shapes they used,
how they mixed colors, and what part
of the process they liked the best.
Combining Experiences
Mice paintings provide an opportunity for kindergarten students to
experiment with various art materials and various elements of art.
Through the step-by-step drawing
process, students can learn ways of
combining lines and building images.
The book Mouse Paint is a fun way
to introduce kindergartners to color
theory and incorporate children’s literature into an art unit. Using oil pastels and watercolors gives students an
opportunity to experiment with color
mixing and layering colors. Many
new artistic experiences are wrapped
up in this fun mice painting unit.
Bryna Bobick is a graduate assistant at
the University of Georgia and was previously an art specialist at Rosemount
Elementary School in Georgia. bobickb@
bellsouth.net
Elizabeth Wheeler is an art specialist at
Jefferson Elementary School in Jefferson,
Georgia and is a graduate student at the
University of Georgia.
Materials
• Mouse Paint, Ellen Stoll Walsh
• 12 x 18" ( 30 x 46 cm) white
drawing paper
• permanent markers
• oil pastels
• watercolors and paintbrushes
• yellow construction paper
squares
• crayons
• scissors
• glue
• work shirts
Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
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