A Christ-centered art curriculum for Pre-K (PK4) students that develops creativity, fine motor skills, and artistic expression through controlled exploration of various media. Students learn that creativity is a gift from God and explore basic art elements (line, shape, color) while creating representational art that tells stories and expresses ideas.
Draw recognizable shapes and people with increasing control
Use various art materials (paint, clay, collage) with intentional purpose
Mix colors and create simple patterns
Express ideas and tell stories through artwork
Recognize that creativity is a gift from God and art can show His beauty
Click any week to see daily lesson details.
Introduction to art time, materials, and the idea that God made us creative like Him.
Exploring art materials and understanding art time routinesdiscussion and explorationFree drawing with crayons, exploring different colors and marks we can make.
Making various marks and lines with crayonshands-onIdentifying and naming colors while drawing favorite things God created.
Color recognition and naminghands-onTracing hands and decorating them, celebrating that God gave us hands to create.
Tracing and decorating within a shapehands-onDrawing a picture and telling someone about it, practicing sharing our creative work.
Verbal expression about artworkhands-on and discussionDrawing straight lines in different directions (up, down, across).
Creating straight lines with controlhands-onDrawing curved and wavy lines like snakes, rivers, and rainbows.
Creating curved lineshands-onMaking zigzag lines like lightning, mountains, and teeth.
Creating zigzag lineshands-onMaking dots and learning that dots are tiny circles we can stamp or draw.
Creating dots with controlhands-onCombining all types of lines in one creative picture.
Using various line types togetherhands-onFinding circles around us and drawing circle pictures (sun, balls, faces).
Drawing circleshands-onDrawing squares and rectangles, making houses, windows, and presents.
Drawing squares and rectangleshands-onCreating triangles and using them to make trees, mountains, and roofs.
Drawing triangleshands-onCombining different shapes to create a picture (house with triangle roof, circle sun, etc.).
Combining shapes purposefullyhands-onDrawing shapes we see in our home and talking about where we find them.
Observing and drawing shapes from lifehands-on and observationLearning how to hold a brush, dip in paint, and make marks on paper.
Proper brush holding and basic techniquehands-onPainting with primary colors, learning their names, and exploring each one.
Using primary colors with controlhands-onMaking different kinds of brush strokes (long, short, dots, swirls).
Varied brush stroke techniqueshands-onUsing a brush to paint circles, squares, and triangles.
Brush control for shapeshands-onCreating a complete painted picture using shapes and colors learned this week.
Completing a planned paintinghands-onMixing yellow and red paint to discover orange, painting orange things (pumpkins, oranges).
Color mixing: orangehands-onMixing blue and yellow to create green, painting grass, trees, and frogs.
Color mixing: greenhands-onMixing red and blue to make purple, painting grapes, flowers, and butterflies.
Color mixing: purplehands-onPainting a simple rainbow using all six colors we know (primary and secondary).
Using all six colors in orderhands-onReviewing color mixing by creating a picture using colors we mixed ourselves.
Independent color mixinghands-onLearning proper scissor hold and cutting simple straight lines.
Scissor safety and basic cuttinghands-onCutting paper strips and creating a collage by gluing them on paper.
Cutting strips and gluinghands-onCutting out simple pre-drawn shapes (circles, squares) and arranging them.
Cutting on lineshands-onTearing and gluing tissue paper to create a colorful garden picture.
Tearing and layering paperhands-onFinding and cutting pictures from magazines to create a collage about things we like.
Cutting irregular shapes and composinghands-onExploring clay by squishing, rolling, and flattening it with our hands.
Clay manipulation basicshands-onRolling clay into long snake shapes and creating designs with them.
Rolling clay into coilshands-onRolling clay into balls of different sizes and stacking them (snowmen, caterpillars).
Rolling balls and connecting pieceshands-onFlattening clay and using tools or hands to cut out shapes.
Flattening and shaping clayhands-onCreating a simple sculpture (animal, person, or object) using clay techniques learned.
Combining clay techniqueshands-onDrawing circle faces and adding eyes, nose, and mouth.
Drawing basic faceshands-onDrawing faces showing different emotions and talking about feelings.
Drawing expressive faceshands-onDrawing simple stick figures with circle heads, line bodies, and line arms and legs.
Drawing basic human figureshands-onDrawing pictures of family members using faces and stick figures.
Drawing multiple figureshands-onLooking in a mirror and drawing ourselves, noticing hair color, eye color, etc.
Observational drawing of selfhands-on and observationLearning that patterns repeat and finding patterns around us (stripes, dots, etc.).
Pattern recognitiondiscussion and observationDrawing simple AB patterns with two colors (red-blue-red-blue).
Creating AB color patternshands-onCreating patterns using different shapes (circle-square-circle-square).
Creating shape patternshands-onUsing stamps or stickers to create repeating patterns.
Pattern creation with toolshands-onCreating a picture with a patterned border around the edge.
Applying patterns decorativelyhands-onObserving flowers and drawing them with petals, stems, and leaves.
Drawing flowers from observationhands-on and observationDrawing different kinds of trees God made (evergreen, deciduous, palm).
Drawing trees with detailhands-onPlacing leaves under paper and rubbing with crayons to see their shapes and veins.
Creating texture rubbingshands-onDrawing symmetrical butterflies with patterns on their wings.
Drawing symmetrical designshands-onDrawing our favorite things from nature in one picture (garden scene, forest, etc.).
Composing a nature scenehands-onDrawing animals using circles and ovals for bodies (cats, dogs, bears).
Using basic shapes to draw animalshands-onDrawing fish with scales, fins, and tails, adding underwater plants.
Drawing fish with detailshands-onDrawing birds with wings, beaks, and feathers in flight or on branches.
Drawing birdshands-onDrawing farm animals (cows, pigs, chickens, horses) with simple shapes.
Drawing farm animalshands-onChoosing and drawing our favorite animal God created, adding its habitat.
Drawing animals in environmenthands-onLearning how watercolors work, adding water to make colors light or dark.
Basic watercolor techniquehands-onPainting on wet paper and watching colors blend together.
Wet-on-wet watercolor techniquehands-onPainting a rainbow with watercolors, letting colors touch and blend.
Color blending with watercolorhands-onPainting a sky scene with clouds using light and dark blues.
Creating value changeshands-onPainting simple flowers with watercolors, using light washes for petals.
Watercolor control for shapeshands-onMaking handprints with paint and turning them into pictures (flowers, turkeys, etc.).
Printmaking with handshands-onUsing sponges to stamp shapes and create textured pictures.
Stamping techniquehands-onUsing potato halves with simple shapes cut in them to make prints.
Repeated printinghands-onPrinting with objects from around the house (forks, bottle caps, leaves).
Experimental printinghands-onCreating a pattern design using prints from different objects.
Combining prints in patternshands-onMaking paper chains by connecting loops of colored paper.
Connecting paper in 3Dhands-onFolding paper to make it stand up and creating simple sculptures.
Folding and standing paperhands-onUsing paper tubes and boxes to build towers and structures.
Stacking and connecting 3D formshands-onTransforming a small box into an animal by adding paper features.
Constructing 3D figureshands-onUsing various recyclables to build a creative 3D sculpture.
Independent 3D constructionhands-onDrawing three pictures to show the beginning, middle, and end of a story.
Sequential illustrationhands-onDrawing pictures of things we do during our day (wake up, eat, play, sleep).
Personal narrative through arthands-onDrawing our favorite scene from a favorite book or Bible story.
Illustrating from memoryhands-onCreating a simple 3-panel comic strip with pictures and simple words.
Sequential art with panelshands-onFolding paper to make a small book and illustrating a simple story.
Book making and illustrationhands-onFinding textures around us (smooth, rough, bumpy, soft) and talking about them.
Texture observation and vocabularyobservation and discussionMaking crayon rubbings of different textured surfaces.
Creating texture through rubbingshands-onDrawing patterns to show different textures (dots for bumpy, lines for furry, etc.).
Drawing visual texturehands-onCreating a sheep picture using cotton balls for fluffy texture.
Adding real texture to arthands-onMaking a collage using materials with different textures (fabric, sandpaper, foil).
Combining textures in compositionhands-onDrawing a spring scene with flowers, baby animals, and rain showers.
Drawing spring imageryhands-onCreating a summer picture with bright sun, beach, or outdoor fun.
Drawing summer sceneshands-onDrawing autumn trees with colorful falling leaves and pumpkins.
Drawing fall imageryhands-onCreating a winter scene with snow, snowmen, and bare trees.
Drawing winter sceneshands-onDrawing a detailed picture of our favorite season with reasons why we love it.
Personal expression through seasonal arthands-onDrawing pictures from the creation story (light, sky, land, animals).
Illustrating creation narrativehands-onDrawing Noah's ark with animals going in two by two.
Drawing ark and animalshands-onIllustrating baby Moses floating in a basket among the reeds.
Drawing narrative scenehands-onDrawing brave David facing the giant Goliath.
Drawing figures in actionhands-onDrawing Jesus with children around Him, showing His love.
Drawing group scene with Jesushands-onLooking at a simple famous painting and describing what we see (colors, shapes, subject).
Art observation and descriptiondiscussion and observationLooking at flower paintings and creating our own inspired by what we saw.
Art-inspired creationobservation and hands-onViewing paintings of animals and discussing how artists show different animals.
Comparing artistic approachesobservation and discussionCreating our own painting inspired by a famous artist's style or subject.
Creating in response to arthands-onChoosing our best artwork and displaying it like a gallery, talking about it.
Presentation and discussion of own workdiscussion and displayCreating happy pictures using lots of yellow and bright colors.
Expressing happiness through colorhands-onPainting peaceful, calm scenes using blue and other cool colors.
Expressing calmness through colorhands-onMaking energetic art with red and warm colors to show excitement.
Expressing energy through colorhands-onDrawing faces showing different feelings and coloring them with matching colors.
Connecting emotions and colorshands-onCreating abstract art with colors that show how we feel today.
Personal emotional expression through colorhands-onDrawing our own house with windows, doors, and roof.
Drawing familiar architecturehands-onDrawing our dream house with special features we would love.
Imaginative architectural drawinghands-onDrawing several houses in a row to create a neighborhood scene.
Drawing multiple buildingshands-onDrawing tall buildings, castles, and towers reaching to the sky.
Drawing vertical structureshands-onDrawing the inside of a room with furniture and decorations.
Drawing interior spaceshands-onDrawing cars and trucks using rectangles and circles for wheels.
Drawing land vehicleshands-onDrawing a train with multiple cars connected together on tracks.
Drawing connected vehicleshands-onDrawing boats floating on water with sails or motors.
Drawing water vehicleshands-onDrawing airplanes flying through clouds in the sky.
Drawing air vehicleshands-onDrawing a picture showing a journey using our favorite vehicle.
Narrative drawing with vehicleshands-onDrawing a bowl filled with different fruits God created.
Drawing fruit from observationhands-onDrawing vegetables with different shapes and colors.
Drawing vegetableshands-onDrawing a decorated birthday cake with candles and frosting.
Drawing decorated foodhands-onDrawing our favorite picnic foods on a paper plate.
Drawing multiple food itemshands-onCreating a poster showing foods we're thankful God provides.
Composition with food themehands-onDrawing a bright sunny day with sun rays and warm colors.
Drawing sun and sunny sceneshands-onCreating clouds using cotton balls or painting fluffy cloud shapes.
Creating cloud textureshands-onDrawing rain falling from clouds and puddles on the ground.
Drawing rain and waterhands-onPainting a rainbow appearing after rain with clouds parting.
Drawing weather sequencehands-onCreating falling snow using white on dark paper.
Drawing snow and winter weatherhands-onDrawing many colorful fish swimming together underwater.
Drawing multiple fishhands-onDrawing an octopus with eight curvy arms and a round body.
Drawing octopushands-onCreating a colorful coral reef scene with plants and sea creatures.
Drawing underwater plantshands-onDrawing large sea animals like turtles, whales, or dolphins.
Drawing large sea creatureshands-onCreating an underwater scene using torn paper, paint, and drawing.
Mixed media ocean scenehands-onDrawing symmetrical butterflies with patterned wings.
Drawing symmetrical insectshands-onDrawing bees with stripes, wings, and flowers to visit.
Drawing bees and movementhands-onDrawing red ladybugs with black spots on leaves.
Drawing patterned insectshands-onDrawing the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly.
Sequential transformation drawinghands-onCreating a complete garden scene with flowers, insects, and sunshine.
Complex garden compositionhands-onDrawing firefighters with helmets, coats, and fire trucks.
Drawing uniformed figureshands-onDrawing doctors and nurses helping people feel better.
Drawing medical helpershands-onDrawing police officers with badges and police cars.
Drawing police helpershands-onDrawing a teacher with students in a classroom.
Drawing classroom scenehands-onCreating a thank-you card for a community helper with a drawing.
Purpose-driven illustrationhands-onCreating a night sky filled with stars on dark paper.
Drawing on dark paperhands-onDrawing different phases of the moon God created.
Drawing moon shapeshands-onDrawing houses at night with lit windows and a moon above.
Drawing night scenes with lighthands-onDrawing an owl perched on a branch under the moon.
Drawing nocturnal animalshands-onDrawing a camping scene with tent, campfire, and starry sky.
Night scene compositionhands-onDrawing a birthday celebration with cake, balloons, and presents.
Drawing celebration elementshands-onDrawing and decorating balloons of many colors floating in the sky.
Drawing and decorating balloonshands-onDrawing wrapped presents with bows and decorative paper patterns.
Drawing patterns and decorationshands-onDesigning and decorating a party hat with patterns and colors.
3D decorationhands-onCreating a decorative banner with flags, letters, and designs.
Sequential decorative designhands-onCreating art with quick, energetic movements while listening to fast music.
Kinetic response to musichands-onMaking calm, flowing paintings while listening to slow, peaceful music.
Calm response to musichands-onDrawing musical instruments like drums, guitars, and trumpets.
Drawing instrumentshands-onUsing colors that match how music makes us feel.
Emotional color responsehands-onCreating art while listening to praise songs, showing joy in worship.
Worship expression through arthands-onDrawing a friendly monster with silly features we imagine.
Imaginative creature designhands-onDrawing a dragon with scales, wings, and fire breath.
Drawing fantasy creatureshands-onDrawing a unicorn with a horn, flowing mane, and magical surroundings.
Drawing mythical animalshands-onCreating a new animal by combining parts from different animals.
Creative combinationhands-onInventing and drawing an imaginary pet we wish we could have.
Personal imaginative creationhands-onLearning about symmetry by drawing one side and mirroring it.
Understanding symmetryhands-onFolding paper, painting one side, and pressing to create symmetrical butterflies.
Symmetrical printinghands-onDrawing faces and making sure both sides match.
Symmetry in portraitshands-onCreating simple circular designs with symmetrical patterns.
Radial symmetryhands-onCreating art where both sides feel balanced and even.
Visual balancehands-onCreating art using our very favorite color in many ways.
Personal color preference expressionhands-onDrawing our favorite animal in its habitat with details.
Detailed favorite subjecthands-onDrawing our favorite food looking delicious and yummy.
Appetizing illustrationhands-onDrawing our favorite place to be (home, park, grandma's house, etc.).
Place illustrationhands-onDrawing a picture of a favorite happy memory.
Memory illustrationhands-onCreating a detailed drawing using all the drawing skills we've learned.
Comprehensive drawinghands-onMaking our best painting using color mixing and brush techniques.
Comprehensive paintinghands-onCreating a collage using cutting, tearing, and gluing skills.
Comprehensive collagehands-onMaking a clay sculpture using all the techniques we practiced.
Comprehensive sculpturehands-onCombining drawing, painting, and collage in one artwork.
Mixed media integrationhands-onMaking a thank you card with a drawing for someone special.
Card design and messagehands-onDesigning and decorating a bookmark to give as a gift.
Functional art designhands-onDecorating a frame for a special photo or drawing.
Decorative designhands-onMaking a small book of helpful things we can do for family.
Sequential book creationhands-onDrawing a portrait of someone we love to give them as a gift.
Portrait for giftinghands-onLooking at all the art we made this year and talking about favorites.
Reflection and appreciationdiscussion and displayChoosing our very best artwork from the year for a portfolio.
Self-assessment and curationselection and discussionCreating any kind of art we want using our favorite materials and skills.
Independent creative choicehands-onMaking art that shows thankfulness to God for making us creative.
Worship through arthands-onSharing our favorite artwork with family and celebrating all we learned.
Presentation and celebrationsharing and celebrationStart with Day 1 and work through at your own pace. Each lesson builds on the last!