Teaching Kids Art Through Picture Books

Today we are going to celebrate spring by learning how to paint a stormy sky! April showers bring May flowers, and we all love to see the grass turning green and bright spring flowers bringing new color and beauty to our neighborhoods after a long winter. 

It is comforting that the Bible tells us that “He covers the heavens with clouds; He prepares rain for the earth; He makes grass grow on the hills.” Ps. 147:8Great books to pair with the project are Noah’s Ark by Jerry Pinkney or Stormy by Guojing.

For this project, you will need:

•  watercolor paper
• pan watercolors/brush/water
• colored pencils
•  a piece of tissue
• a scrap piece of cardboard or paper 

Prefer step-by-step instructions? Follow along below!

Step 1: Paint your whole paper with clear water

Step 2: Mix a little black with purple or blue

Step 3: Cover top 3/4ths of paper in blue/black/purple, skipping around and painting in curved "smile" strokes lightly

Step 4: Use a folded scrap piece of cardboard to lift p...

I love helping kids draw on a rainy afternoon! Why not spark their creativity with a rainy day art project? Even better, start by reading a good picture book together, then get out your markers and colored pencils and watch your kids' imaginations blossom!

A couple of books pair beautifully with this project: Jonas Hanway's Scurrilous, Scandalous, Shockingly Sensational Umbrella by Josh Crute, or Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls -- a must-read about hope and perseverance (no umbrella in this one, but there IS a rainbow!). (Amazon Associate links)

In this project, you'll spend a fun rainy afternoon drawing and coloring a person holding an umbrella in the rain, with a rainbow in the distance. I'll show you how to draw an umbrella, a person, and how to use color to create the illusion of space and distance.

Supplies: markers, colored pencils, and drawing paper.

Prefer step-by-step instructions? Follow along below!

Step 1: Draw a short line and an upside-down U in th...