Black History Art Projects for Children: Expressionist

For Black History Month, Introduce Children to Amazing African American Artists with Expressionist Art Projects and Activities

Did you know there are some very well-known works of art crafted by little known Black Artists? Isn't it time to change that? These Black History Art Projects introduce students to less known famous black Americans. For Black History Month, or an anytime lesson in Black History or African American Art, we scoured the web for some beautiful art projects that children can easily reproduce on their own. This posts focuses on Alma Thomas, an American Expressionist Painter. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Looking for a Homeschool or Classroom Curriculum on the Expressionist movement? We've created a series of printable rtf free lesson plans and worksheets that include video links, online educational games, reference material, and components for science, math, and language arts. Enjoy! Expressionist Movement Free Printable Assignment suitable for grades 3-6.

Mayhem's interpretation of Alma Thomas' Expressionist Artist Painting.

Black History art projects for children:
Expressionism based on the work of Alma Thomas.

Tips: Laminate or frame these images to create gift quality modern wall art.

Famous Black Artist: Alma Thomas, Expressionist Painter

We recreated the works of Alma Thomas with torn paper. This project works well with children of all ages. With each grade level raise the level of difficulty. Preschoolers to Highschoolers will enjoy, tearing the paper and choosing which colors to include in their array.

Dream Keepers Martin Luther King Skit for Classroom

This as a fun black history project for preschoolers. You can also use tempera paints and a thick brush or cut up sponge squares to dab on the paint. Have them use their thumbs to make the marks on the paper, or pre-tear construction paper into squares to save time. Let them paste the colors onto their paper as they choose. Please don't correct their work! It is amazing to see what each child sees. Let them wow you with their creativity.

We searched and found these fun, easy, and unique Black History Art Projects for Children:

African Trade Beads from Crayola.com

Black History Art Project for Children: Construction Paper Freedom Quilt
from North Clarion Elementary.

Black History Project from Art for Kids by Elan Ferguson.

Jake's interpretation of the painting below. He doesn't like to fill the entire page. 

Alma Thomas, Expressionist Painting for Black History Art Project. 

This image may be subject to copyright issues. It appears here for educational purposes only and is linked to the source, WikiArt Visual Art Encyclopedia.

Black History Arts and Crafts

Black History Art Projects

art activities

art lessons

art lesson plans

activities for preschoolers

Black History Month Script for Classroom Play: 

(Brown vs. Board of Education)

Black History Facts for (today, by month) June, etc.

Free Black History Activity Packs for preschoolers

Free Printable Black History Facts for elementary students

Recommended Reading:

Alma W. Thomas: A Retrospective of the Paintings 

from the Ft. Wayne Museum of Art* 

Express Yourself!: Activities and Adventures in Expressionism (Art Explorers)*

Things to do in Indiana: 

Visit the Fort Wayne Museum of Art

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*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Eric Carle Surrealist Lesson Activities: The Nonsense Show Book Review

Surrealism in Children's Literature: Art Lesson Activities

Eric Carle has written and illustrated another book! The Nonsense Show is written to introduce children to Surrealism. Completely nonsensical, the beautiful illustrations will capture the heart of preschoolers while the concept will boggle the minds of everyone else. We've included a book review and Surrealist Activities for your Art Lesson planning, as well as, educational games and online lessons for homeschoolers. Enjoy!

Surrealism in Children's Literature: Art Lesson Activities.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.* 

We were given a copy of "The Nonsense Show" for review.

Eric Carle Surrealist Activities: The Nonsense Show Book Review:
Surrealist Art Lesson

Art develops critical thinking. Many beloved children's book authors have tinkered with the idea of surrealism and Crazy Surrealism Art- Think, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Lewis Caroll, and L. Frank Baum. So, it is no surprise that Eric Carle has joined the list. Always an artist first, the illustrations in The Nonsense Show don't disappoint. 

So, let's get started on our online lesson in Surrealism. Mati and Dada is a fun art cartoon for elementary kids. In this episode, they talk about the surrealist painter, Magritte.

The most famous Surrealist, Salvador Dali, is best known for his melting clock painting. Learn about Dali and Surrealism in the video below. The Dali video introduces a fun, group drawing game called, Exquisite Corps. Be sure to watch the full video for instructions on how to play the Art game with friends.

Art History Component. This free online Art History Game focuses on Surrealism. Recommended for (4-12th grade). It is for older children because a lot of reading comprehension is required. At first, it looks complicated, but it is essentially just a drag and drop into the timeline game. So, give it a try!

For BrainPop subscribers: Watch this movie on Surrealism.

After you review the book, The Nonsense Show, create your own nonsensical art. Below, are some fun ideas to try.

• This is an easy Surrealist art project for kids. Grab some paint or make your own water colors, make some splats with your brush, let them dry, and then study your art. What do you see? It is like looking for cloud creatures. Grab markers or colored pencils and create something surreal.

Easy Surrealist Art project for kids from Le Dada de L'enfant Terrible blog.

• Paint like Eric Carle with easy Art Techniques.

• Language Arts Component. To get into the mindset for creating surrealist art, sit down and free write. Start writing whatever pops into your head. Don't edit, don't try to make it go somewhere- just write!

• The Art Room Plant shares this fun drawing activity. It is similar to the game in the Dali video above.

Fun Surrealist drawing activity for kids from The Art Room Plant.

Recommended:

Dada and Surrealism Art for Kids

Jake's Journey in Art: Water Color Lesson

Get The Nonsense Show by Eric Carle

ART: Elementary Homeschool Projects from our online lessons: Lesson One

Homeschool Sample Artwork for Homeschool Art from Connections Academy Online Homeschool

(How a Bricks and Mortar teacher ruined the love of ART)

We've been contemplating Homeschooling for a long time. We needed to find a house in the country with a barn, so we knew we'd be moving, but had no idea where. It seemed the perfect time to bite the bullet. 

I had dreamed of being an ART teacher but deplored my first college art professor and switched to THEATRICAL DESIGN and later to ARCHITECTURE. Ha-ha-ha. I have a diploma. I worked in various design capacities, but always preferred working with children. I am laughing, because, after having my own children, that is no longer my favorite thing. Now, I like to write (more about that later).

But, oh wow! Homeschooling gave me a chance to fulfill my first academic dream and become a real life art teacher! I could not wait to get started. When you cannot wait for something; well, you probably should. It never, ever turns out like you envision.

Things are finally starting to swing in my favor, so I thought I would start sharing our weekly projects here. I want to give all moms of budding artists hope and patience by sharing our grief.  We've learned so many great lessons along the way: How to clean up, How art can teach math, Patience is a virtue, Practice makes perfect, How to spell new words, How to make Mommy say bad words... you get it- you've lived it.  

Maybe you love math or music or language arts and it turns out to be your child's least favorite or worst subject. Time to put on your grown-up pants and grin and bear it with me.

Here is Jake's work from Connection's Academy Art LESSON ONE:  Draw a picture of yourself showing how you feel about school, specifically ART, use shapes and patterns within your drawing.



ANGRY.

Jake: "I hate art."
Mommy: "It is my favorite subject! I am not so great, but I try my best."
Jake: "I'm no good at it, and I don't want to do it."
Mommy: "Let's listen to music while we draw."
Jake: "Let's don't, and say we did."
Mommy: "Jake, here is a mirror draw your face."
Jake: "No."
Mommy: "Just Do IT!"
Jake: "This is not fun."
Mommy: "This is not fun."
Mommy: "Maybe this is why Mom's take up drinking wine."


Later, Jake informed me he had never used anything but crayons in his art class at school. They always had to color the ENTIRE page with neat, crayon coloring from corner to corner. WHAT? I've got the pictures and the grades to prove why he doesn't like art. 

She was a hardcore grader for an elementary teacher who made the kids use crayons as a medium! In fact, she killed his straight A+'s in first grade with a B- and a comment to try and be neater. He was devastated. I told him, "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do." He did it from that point on. 

Man, I'd hate art too if that were my teacher's philosophy. Why do you need an art teacher for coloring with crayons. Seems like a lot of busy work to me.


Recommended Reading:

Lesson Two
Lesson Three
Lesson Four

The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Kids Ages 3-12 (Prima Home Learning Library)*

Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters (Bright Ideas for Learning (TM))*

Jake's Journey in Art - Homeschool Lesson - 4 Watercolor Seascape (Wet on Wet)

Jake's Journey in Art: Watercolor Wet on Wet techniques for Homeschoolers

Kids Creative Chaos building Self-Esteem one art lesson at a time.

If you're following in order read this first- Still Life

Lesson:  Choose one of the seascapes and one watercolor technique you've learned.

It was time for our next art lesson. Jake moaned and complained as usual, until I reminded him this week's lessons involved painting. "Yay! I like to paint. I never got to paint in art class."  Say what you say?  Catch up here. Art is about the journey, not the end result.

Jake's seascape is on the left, Mayhem is on the right. She's added some embellishments.

Did you notice his attention to detail?  This is not a child who should despise art. Thankfully, we are making amazing progress.

Now, what Jake really meant to say was- I love it when I'm allowed to make a mess. He chose the sailboat scene and the wet on wet technique. Which is exactly as it sounds, paint water over your entire paper, dip your brush in water and the color, and let it bleed blend. Don't move it until it is dry.

We also did the salt painting technique and sprinkled salt on the wet sand area. When it dries it looks like real sand.

We first traced over the image to get a feel for it and then we lightly drew it in pencil on our watercolor paper. When painting with watercolors it is important to use the right paper. Copy paper will deteriorate with too much water. The fibers in the watercolor paper are designed to soak up the excess. Still, we laid out three layers of newspaper and had a roll of paper towels ready and waiting. Inevitably, someone always spills the water.

Our art table, okay, it is our dining room table. We never use it for that!

I am pleased to announce this assignment was our turn around lesson. In fact, his feelings about art have changed so much in a recent lesson on mask making he said, "Mommy, it is really awesome that I have a teacher who knows so much about art. You can teach me so many cool things!" (Insert tears here.)

I am quite skilled in the art of mask making. My highschool, art teacher, Mrs. Conway did a lesson on mask's with handmade paper. I made 3 or 4 different projects, entered them into an art contest and won some sort of an award. 

Oh my, I wish I could tell you what it was but a lot of time has passed since then.  After, I took a tiny scholarship to college and studied theatre design, art, and architecture. I've used the skills I learned in those classes to make many a mask for many a child in an after-school program, made some great mardi-gras costumes, and designed many theatrical props and sets. We'll post mask making 101 next week.

Hooray! Someone finally took notice.  My college journey was not a waste after all :-)

Okay, the real point is that Jake took notice. Chuckle-chuckle and all it took was some fancy paper curling around a pencil and a cool, paper snake. Mom's have mad skills, don't they. I'm gearing up to ask Jake to draw a new picture of how he feels about Mommy's art class-eh. Maybe I'll just take a photo of his expression.

Things are looking up!

Tunnel Book Lesson Two

Art Expression Lesson One

Lesson Three - Still Life

How to Make a Basic Color Wheel and Primary Art Lesson Homeschool

THE PRIMARY COLORS: ROYGBIV 

How to Make a Color Wheel Homeschool Art Lesson.

If you're following Jake's Journey in Art this homeschool art lesson isn't from 3rd grade art. We've been combining lessons and working on everything together to make it more like a classroom and easier for the teacher (me). This is the 1st grade Primary Color Lessons for homeschoolers, but we added a science component and more to make it more interesting for the older elementary kids too. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links for your convenience.

Sesame Street teaches Primary Colors.

Henri Matisse loves primary colors.

Mayhem's second attempt (First Grade).

Mayhem's first attempt: a color wheel cat.
He has all the colors just not in the right position.

He got the letters but not the wheel.  The smudges are  two
primary marker colors blended to create the secondary  colors.

So, what is a technically correct color wheel?

The colors of the RAINBOW or those that appear in a prism. Here is a fun scientific lesson in PDF form from Stargazers and NASA.

We studied the use of primary colors by the Masters like the Matisse pictured above, and then we chose a farm animal to trace with pencil and paint with only the primary and secondary colors.

Jake's bunny with primary and secondary color complements.

Jake was a champ when it came to the technical aspect of art. He reminded me of the cheat to remember the primary and secondary colors. Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange, Green, Indigo, and Violet better known as ROY G. BIV.  He also knew prisms reflect the light from the sun and radiate these colors. Although, he knew about the color wheel he didn't have a good grasp of the concept of contrasting or complementary colors.

We're going to explore this concept. Math and Science are everywhere in ART. So, my little genius, art critic is going to learn about the golden rule sooner than later. Funny how people tend to be one or the other, left or right brained. I'm taking on the challenge to prove it doesn't have to be either or.

Mayhem's bunny. They both traced the bunny from an original drawn by me. Yep, she's 6, loves art and hates math.


Click the thumbnails below to catch up on our 
Homeschool Art Journey
 or start here with LESSON ONE.

From Wikipedia:
Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are of “opposite” hue in some color model. The exact hue “complementary” to a given hue depends on the model in question, and perceptually uniform, additive, and subtractive color models, for example, have differing complements for any given color.

The complement of each primary color (red, blue, or yellow) is roughly the color made by mixing the other two in a subtractive system:

• red complements (blue + yellow) = green
• blue complements (red + yellow) = orange
• yellow complements (red + blue) = violet

Recommended Reading:

Rocket's Mighty Words

Duck and Goose Colors

Anime Art Lessons and Curriculum for Homeschool Elementary Cartoon Animation Keroro

Homeschool Elementary Art: How to draw Cartoon Animation

Allow your kids to watch cartoons on tv with sketch book. Here is our favorite anime character Keroro. The kids study the drawing style and copy it. Try different cartoons for different techniques.

Homeschool Art Lesson with Anime Cartoon Drawing and Keroro.

If your kids are like mine they love to watch cartoons. My kids love the obscure cartoons found on Netflix. One of their favorites (which is questionable if you pay close attention) is the Japanese Anime cartoon, Sergeant Frog or Keroro. For Wikipedia Description Click Here


He says lots of wacky stuff. Luckily, most of it is difficult to understand, and it rarely makes sense. I'm not advocating watching the program, but I am advocating allowing them to watch cartoons while working on an ART LESSON.

Sgt. Frog a.k.a Keroro

When I was a kid, I wanted to become a SPECIAL EFFECTS ARTIST.  My younger cousin wanted to become a VIDEO GAME DESIGNER both of us were shot down by parents, teachers, and principals. Who said things like, "Do you know how many people want to be that and how many people actually are?" or my favorite from my high school principal, "Well.. they told Johnny Cougar he'd never make it and he did, but still I don't think you should drop Band for more Art classes." Say what?

Preschool Sensory Play Activities: How it all got started!

Sensory Messy Play and Preschool Activities

We've had many great years teaching messy play and preschool classes for The Play Connection and hope the future will send even more blessings our way. Here are our top sensory and messy play preschool activities from 2013. What a blast from the past!

This post contains affiliate links.

Here is a listing of our top posts of 2013. Many offer great ideas for fun, preschool activities, clip art, and lots of fun for kids! Enjoy!

1. Christmas Eye Candy: Photos of Christmas Trees in Snow Clipart
2. Angie's Homemade Artisan Bread Recipe
3. New Year Preschool Party Ideas and Activities for Kids
4. Lots of Snowmen and Marshmallows Christmas Crafts and Activities for Kids
5. Fun for Kids with Phineas and Ferb Printables
6. Lots of photos of Bread Clipart
7. Cute Valentine Clipart and Free Printables for Kids Classroom Valentines
8. 9 New Year Activities for Kids with games for kids too
9. Marshmallows: Fun for kids SENSORY game great for preschoolers
10. The Tooth Fairy Sagas: Free Toothfairy clipart and true Mommy Drama
11. Activities for Kids: Make your own snow for Sensory play fun for kids
12. Birthday Party games for Kids and Moms on a budget
13. Our new Series Made the cut! Creative Country Sayings and Inspirational Quotes

Memories from 2008 - 2012.

Here's my favorite Homeschool Lesson from 2013.

Primary and Complementary Color Homeschool Art and Science Lesson.

Jake's Journey in Homeschool Art Lessons and Projects for Kids

(Pre K to Elementary)

There are many Homeschool Lessons in this series, so make sure you click the labels under each post. (Still Life, Water Coloring for Kids, Weaving, Self-Portrait activities, Building Models for Science, Christmas Gingerbread House how to diy, Color Theory Lessons, Primary Colors, and even some History  along the way - it's art to me how we've designed our lives throughout the years. I hope you will follow along on the journey.)

We published a Kitchen Kids Cookbook with mix and make recipes for kids. We helped fund raise for Santa's Elves of Indy, we started Homeschooling through INCA (Indiana Connections Academy,) and we moved to a house in the country. 

2013 holds many dreams as we look forward to gardening, raising chickens, goats, and hopefully bunnies and alpacas, get that YA novel published, and share a few of the many stage plays and skits for kids I've written over the years. Bring it! I am excited to get started :-) 

What does your future hold? Leave a comment and let us know.

Follow us on Pinterest (Kids Creative Chaos and Pin it! Online Scavenger Hunt for Pre school Curriculum) and Google +  Can't find us on Twitter? Check the right sidebar for a link we're @playconnection. 


Recommended Reading:

Fun with Messy Play: Ideas and Activities for Children with Special Needs

Play Out: How to develop your outside space for learning and play

COBRA KAI LEGEND TEE INSPIRED LETTER COLOR SCHEME ART PROJECT

COLOR THEORY COLOR SCHEME CUT PAPER LETTERS ART PROJECT

If you watch the popular NETFLIX series, Cobra Kai, you've probably noticed the t-shirts worn by the Anthony LaRusso character, played by Griffin Santopietro. In the series, Anthony is the son of Daniel and Amanda LaRusso, and the younger brother of Samantha LaRusso. He often wears cool printed tees, below the word LEGEND is printed in two tone letters across his shirt. The colorful block print letters inspired this letter color scheme art project perfect for a quick lesson on color theory.

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links for your convenience.

Letter Art Project:  Anthony LaRusso Legend Tee in Cobra Kai

In my high school art class, we've been working on several hand lettering projects with a letter theme. We started creating tag letters for a graffiti art project and then we moved on to a lesson color theory and how to blend with colored pencils from That Art Teacher. To review the basics of color theory or to achieve a better understanding of the color wheel, watch this video, Color Theory Basics or scroll down to read our simple definitions.

The video below is an awesome companion video to use when teaching the history of graffiti art.

LEGEND Color Theory Letter Project

This letter color scheme project can be be simple or more complicated and adapted for all grade levels. For a simple project for elementary students, simply cut and paste the letters onto a 6" x 12" white, gray, or black poster board using contrasting colors from the basic color wheel. For our homeschool friends that means: Red/Green, Blue/Orange, and Purple/Yellow. Remind your students to eyeball the letters and center the word on the page before the final glue down.

You might also like: How to Paint like Eric Carle

For high school students in a basic art class, remind the students that contrasting colors are simply colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. This will give more color options. For more advanced classes, have art students design their letters based on a color scheme: monochromatic, complementary, double complementary, split complementary, triadic, tetradic, analagous, intermediate primary, secondary, or tertiary. We used cut, brightly colored paper in anticipation of a color paper unit on Matisse, but you can also use acrylic paints.

What are the Color Schemes?

Monochromatic  -  One color. A monochromatic color scheme ranges between lighter (tints) and darker (shades) versions of the base color or hue.

Primary - The basic colors. Red, Yellow, and Blue. With crayons, pencils, and paint, these colors can be combined to create the secondary colors. (Don't let Google and Digital Art confuse you.)

Secondary - Green, Orange, and Purple. 

(Red + Blue) = Purple, (Red + Yellow) = Orange, (Yellow + Blue) = Green.

Triadic - Primary and secondary color schemes are also triadic colors schemes. A triadic color scheme is made up of three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. These colors form a triangle across the color wheel.

Tertiary - A primary color + a secondary color. Tertiary colors combine primary and secondary colors to create compound colors: blue-green, blue-violet, red-orange, red-violet, yellow-orange, and yellow-green. 

Complementary -  Two colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel. The basics are Red/Green, Blue/Orange, and Purple/Yellow. However, you can pull-out a color wheel to find more variations such as, Yellow-Orange/Blue Violet.

Double Complementary or Tetradic - Using two sets of Complementary colors together. For example, red/green paired with yellow/purple. A double complementary color scheme forms a rectangle across the color wheel.

Split Complementary -  A split complementary scheme uses three colors. Start with one color, find its complement and then use the two colors on either side of it. If you look at the color wheel above, blue,  violet (purple,) and yellow-orange form a split complementary triangle. Yellow-Orange/Blue-Violet being the contrasting colors and blue and violet are the splits. If using Blue-Violet, the split complementary colors are Orange and Yellow. Get it? Got it. Good!

Analogous - Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel. Only use three to five colors for this color scheme. Analogous schemes can use warm colors, cool colors, or a combination of both depending on where you start. For art that pops stick to three analogous colors.

Intermediate - The tertiary colors are every other color on the color wheel. Tertiary colors combine primary and secondary colors to create compound colors: blue-green, blue-violet, red-orange, red-violet, yellow-orange, and yellow-green. This is also known as an intermediate color scheme.

For printable lessons, visit me on TeachersPayTeachers

How to Make Block Color Scheme LEGEND Letters with Bright Colored Paper

Supplies:

Black, White, or Gray Poster Board (6" x 12")

Ruler

Pencil 

Scissors or Xacto Knife

Brightly Colored Copy Paper or Construction Paper

Beginners will want to measure to choose letter size and then eyeball the position on the poster board before gluing it down. Divide 12" by the number of letters you choose to use. The answer will provide enough space for your letter and the space between each letter. For example, 12/6 = 2". Allow 1 1/2" for each letter and use the extra space to form a border and proper letter spacing.

More advanced students should use the ruler to lay out a grid on the poster board. Draw separate grid lines for the block letter, space between the letters, and a border around them. Showing the students how to layout and plan for the block letter spacing will prepare them for future work in sign painting, drafting, technical theatre, and architecture.

Draw a horizon line halfway down the middle of the paper at 3". This line serves as the dividing line for the color of the letters. Each letter will be two colors based on one of the color schemes listed above. for younger students, choose contrasting colors. Measure for at least a 1/4" border from the edges of the paper. The width of letters is determined by the number of letters used as mentioned above. If you cut the letters out from a block of paper, with an Xacto knife, you can use the paper as a template to paint letters for a future project.

Recommended:

Primary Color Lesson for Preschool or Early Elementary

Cobra Kai Tees

Homeschool Art and Craft Projects

Country Study Lesson for Homeschool or Teacher Curriculm: China

Teach about the Country of China in Non-Traditional Ways with your Homeschool Lessons

The world is always changing, but history is always history. For a recent history lesson or social studies or geography or art (we're homeschool, so we can call it all 4) we designed this lesson plan to teach about the country of China. We are very random in our curriculum planning and school in a fun, relaxed Montessori-style. Enjoy!

Culture: First, we ate a local Chinese restaurant where we saw some very inspiring pieces of wall art including these pandas and a Chinese Dragon.

We had to make one! There's your Art Lesson. Email lora@theplayconnection.com for free printable panda templates.

Chinese Wall Art with Pandas.

The pandas were a big hit! We bought all of our supplies at Dollar Tree. A beige placemat makes two backdrops when cut in half lengthwise. Just add felt and a twig to complete the look. See our template to trace and copy your panda and leaf shapes. I love how awesome our panda wall hanging turned out; it is giftable :)

You might also like: What Year is it for Chinese New Year?

You can also purchase our Panda Wall Art Kit for $2.50 plus postage and handling. The kit comes with felt, placemat, cardboard, and traceable templates. Want one? Drop a note to lora@theplayconnection.com we bill through Paypal only.

Then, we researched the Chinese flag and made our own out of construction paper. What does the Chinese flag look like? The Chinese flag is red with 5 yellow stars. Red is for the Communist Revolution and the yellow stars represent the unity of the Chinese people as a communist nation.

Chinese flag: The People's Republic of China.

Mayhem's interpretation of the Chinese flag with construction paper.

We searched Netflix to find some videos to use for our homeschool lesson. We found documentaries, but there are some cartoons for younger kids too.

Netflix Companion Movies

Feeding Time This Animal Planet video is for everyone. Cute animals eating their favorite foods in zoos. The Panda is adorable.

China's Terracotta Warriors This Secret's of the Dead episode focuses on Chinese history. We liked it because you can visit the Indianapolis Children's Museum (field trip) and see warrior statues exactly like these.

These Terracotta guys are coming to the Indianapolis Children's Museum in 2014. It is the only U.S. appearance, so plan your trip starting May 10.

Also find Wild China on Netflix. It is educational and beautiful, but it did not keep my kids' attention.

An Idiot Abroad Okay, this one isn't for everyone, it is rated TV 14, but we got a kick out of the visit to China, and it was actually educational. We learned a lot about Chinese culture. Definitely not for the classroom, I guess. Idiot isn't very politically correct, but the one episode I watched was just silly.

At the end of the day, my kids like to write a report. Yes, I'm for real... almost. They don't like to WRITE it, but they love to type it in a Google Doc and share it with me to show me what they learned or tell me about their favorite daily activity with an oral report. They are very competitive and rush to be the first to Google a fact about the topic. Then, they add images they find online as well. So, they aren't just getting a history, social studies, geography, and art lesson, they also practice language art skills, typing, and educational technology.

We also like to add a word of the day for each country we study. Learn the proper pronunciation, write it out, and share the meaning.

Recommended Reading:

Country Study Homeschool Lesson on Afghanistan

Grandma Panda's China Storybook: Legends, Traditions and Fun

Children Around the World

Flags of the World

Summer Homeschool Projects to Get Your Kids Outdoors

Outside Projects for Homeschoolers

When the days are warmer and longer, the beautiful sunny weather makes homeschool lessons more and more difficult to do indoors. Why sit inside and stare at textbooks when you can teach your kids some lessons in the great outdoors? We've got summer homeschool projects to get your kids outdoors and enjoying the fresh air. Read on for homeschool activities you can do outside with the kids!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Whether you’re teaching homeschool science, math, or life skills, we’ve compiled a list of some homeschool projects to get your kids outside and learning at the same time!

Grow a Kid-Friendly Garden

Gardening with kids is educational and a good mental and physical workout. Not to mention, digging around in the dirt and planting some flowers with your kids is just good old fashion fun! The internet is full of all sorts of different gardening lesson plans, and you can make this homeschool project as simple or complex as you want.

Photo by Nikoline Arns on Unsplash

However, sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to get your kids engaged in a project. Start by building a raised garden bed that is all theirs. If they’re old enough, have them help you put the bed together. This gives them the opportunity to explore their carpentry skills! Next, plant some easy-to-grow vegetable seeds or starts such as beets, potatoes, tomatoes, green onions, beans, and kale.

When the time comes to harvest your plants, you’ll be able to teach your kids a bit about the food industry, and they’ll make the connection that all the vegetables and fruits they eat have to be grown from seed before they make it to their plate!

Education-Based Nature Hike

Hikes are one of the best parts of summer. They get your heart pumping, work up a good sweat and the view at the top of the mountain is always breathtaking. While hiking will definitely fulfill your kids’ PE requirement, it’s also a great time to explore your area’s local climate! Depending on where you live and where you choose to hike, there will be a few different homeschool lessons you can teach. Check out this list of ideas to get started!

Do a Beach Treasure Hunt

As a kid, you probably remember going on a field trip or two to the beach to look for seashells and hermit crabs. The beautiful weather is a great excuse to go do a little hands-on marine biology lesson!

Photo by Manki Kim on Unsplash

Create your own treasure hunt and have your kids explore the area to find everything on the list. Not only will they learn more about your local environment, but they’ll burn off all that energy by running around trying to collect all their items!

Outdoor Art Projects

Your kids love art projects. They’ll love them, even more, when they get to do them outside! There are a variety of different art projects that utilize plant material to create something beautiful. Some tried and true classics include painting rocks, sun prints, and nature sculptures.

Visit Some Local Historical Landmarks

Who says history lessons have to be taught out of a textbook? Take your kids on a trip to some local landmarks to teach them a little bit about your town’s unique history.

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

Get in touch with your local museum to see what programs they have going on for kids during the summer. Or, take a day trip to your state’s capital or nearby national or state parks.

Tried and True Baking Soda and Vinegar Volcano

Sometimes the classics are hard to beat. Kids love watching stuff explode, but having to clean up the ensuing mess may be a turn-off. Take the mess outside and teach them a little bit about chemical reactions with a baking soda and vinegar volcano. There are hundreds of tutorials on the internet, and this project can be as simple as using a 2L bottle or as complex and crafting a paper mache volcano to go along with the experiment!

Build a Compost Bin

I didn’t realize it at the time, but when we built a compost bin in my 7th-grade science class, I learned so much about building healthy soil and the benefits of compost! Not only will building a compost bin give your kids some experience with woodworking, but they’ll have the first-hand experience of watching kitchen and yard waste turn into a valuable soil additive.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Finish off the lesson by having your kids add your homegrown compost to the garden and observe how the plants respond. Have them predict ahead of time what they think will happen and then help them keep a log of the plant growth and changes.

Bird Watching and Identification

During lunch, take the opportunity to sit outside and do a bit of bird watching! Install a few bird feeders around your yard and you’ll be surprised to see how many of them flock to the seeds. If you can get close enough, you can even make a project out of identifying them. Find a local bird guidebook and have them check off all the different species they find. Or, get out of the house and visit a bird sanctuary.

Take Your Regular Lessons Outdoors

Sometimes getting out and enjoying the outdoors is as easy as taking your regularly scheduled lesson plan outdoors! Establish an outdoor area that your kids can study at without baking in the sun. Consider installing a hardtop gazebo and building a high-quality outdoor table that your kids can comfortably study at.

And when the school day is over, that same gazebo and table can offer your guests a place to hang out on those long summer nights. In the rainy season, you can still use that outdoor space to complete messy projects that you don’t want to do indoors.

What projects are you planning for your kids this upcoming summer? Let us know in the comments below!

Bio: Leigha Staffenhagen is the managing editor of Insteading.com, a homesteading and sustainability site focusing on everything from gardening and raising chickens to tiny homes and off-grid living.

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