Afterschool Art Class (Nov and Dec): Painting (Elementary Grades)

November 3rd, 10th, 17th, December 1st, 8th, 15th - 4:30-6PM

Paint, Play & Create: A 6-Week Painting Adventure

Over the course of six weeks, students will jump into a colorful painting adventure where they can experiment, discover, and build confidence as young artists. Through watercolor, tempera, and acrylic painting, students will explore color mixing, brush techniques, texture, layering, pattern, and composition while creating their own unique works of art. Each week introduces new materials and techniques, encouraging students to try something new, make creative choices, and discover that there is more than one way to make a great painting.

Most importantly, this class is about giving children the freedom to explore their imagination and express their ideas through art. Students will learn to trust their creative instincts, solve artistic problems, and take pride in their individual choices. By the end of the six weeks, each student will have created a collection of original paintings while developing new skills, greater confidence, and an understanding that mistakes and experimentation are an important part of the creative process.

Week 1 – Watercolor Wonderlands
Introduce watercolor basics: loading the brush, water-to-paint ratios, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, and color mixing. Students create an imaginative landscape—perhaps a magical forest, outer space, underwater world, or fantasy place.

Week 2 – Underwater Worlds
Explore transparent layers and blending. Students create colorful underwater scenes with fish, coral, sea plants, bubbles, and other creatures. This gives them a chance to experiment with watercolor without worrying about making things "realistic."

Week 3 – Colorful Creatures
Move into tempera paint. Introduce primary/secondary colors and mixing. Students invent an animal by combining different shapes and features, then paint it with bold colors.

Week 4 – Painted Garden
Explore texture and mark-making. Students experiment with different brushes and unconventional tools—sponges, cotton swabs, cardboard, fingers, etc.—to create flowers and plants. They can build an entire imaginary garden.

Week 5 – Mini Masterpieces
Introduce acrylic paint and the idea of working in layers. Students paint a simple still life or landscape. This is a good week to talk about foreground, middle ground, and background in an age-appropriate way.

Week 6 – My Big Painting
Students get more independence. They choose what they want to paint and use techniques from the previous five weeks.

*Dual Language provided and encouraged!