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5 Ways to Celebrate Youth Art Month

Art

The month of March is Youth Art Month! It was founded by the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute, Inc. with the National Art Education Association. It was first celebrated in 1961 and was originally called Children’s Art Month. The purpose of Youth Art Month is to promote and celebrate the arts in schools. We put together a few ideas to help you do just that!

1. Create Collaborative Art

Whether the whole school or each classroom is involved, collaborative art projects are a great way to highlight working together through art. There are endless ideas and here are some of our favorites.

  • Collaborative Weaving with Garden Fence – Using a piece of garden fencing and some strips of fabric your class can weave their way to making a unique and beautiful piece of art!
  • Libs Elliot Inspired Paper Quilt Mural – Each student makes a 6″x 6″ square out of construction paper to be added to a school-wide paper quilt and displayed in your school.
  • Self Portrait Mural – Students create colorful self portraits to be displayed in the school. (This would also be a great project for our Legacy Tiles Walls!) 

2. Organize an Art Show

Having an art show where kids can proudly show off their artwork is a great way to encourage the arts in schools. There are many, many ways to do this! You can choose a theme or use art that has already been completed this school year. Go to How to Organize an Amazing Art Show at Your School to get more great ideas!

3. Invite a Local Artist to Class

A great way to get kids excited about the arts is to invite a real live artist to talk to them! Have the students work together to think of questions to ask the artist. You can also create an art lesson that relates to their art and have them show off their masterpieces to your guest artist. Use the website Artists Nearby to find an artist near you.

4. Famous Artist Report

Assign an artist to each student and have them write a short report on that artist. Learning about the lives of artists helps students appreciate their artwork even more. You can have them create a drawing in the style of their artist. Students can dress up as their assigned artist too! Here is a link for a Lesson Plan.

5. Plan a Museum Field Trip

Giving students the opportunity to view art in a museum can allow them to experience the art on another level. Introduce some of the art pieces that will be seen in the museum before the trip to give them a chance to get excited. There are some great tips on how to make a museum field trip educational AND fun at 8 Ways to Liven Up the Museum Field Trip.

Bonus: Youth Art Month at Home

School isn’t the only place to encourage the arts. So much can be done from home too! Start a drawing challenge and have your kids draw something new every day for 30 days. At the end of the month create a collage of all the art and display it in your home. Parents can join in on the fun too! Here is a link for Free Printable Drawing Challenge Cards.

We hope you try some of these ideas out! We’d love to hear how you celebrated art for Youth Art Month. Let us know on our Facebook Page!

Eliza

Eliza Feero
SilverGraphics blogger