Everyone knows that kindergarten is a completely different ball game than any other grade level. They’ve never  been in “real” school before and are learning how to do everything!! Their little minds and bodies can’t handle sitting still for too long. So what do you do when they come to your art class once a week? Teach them a new art technique for 15 minutes and then expect them to be able to work independently? No. Actually, no grade level is that simple. One of my favorite things to do with kindergarten at the beginning of the year is line stations. 

I start the year off with lines for kindergarten. It is an absolute basic that they can learn and then build off of. Two introductions I LOVE are The Line Song by Scratch Garden. We watch the video over and over again and the kids love singing and dancing along. My other favorite is the book, “The Straight Line Wonder” by Mem Fox. Both of these are great introductions you can show at the beginning of class and then practice drawing the different lines. Then we paint over them to see what happens. After a fun line introduction and letting them settle into kindergarten more, I bring out stations. 

Each of the stations I have for lines is very intentional. They work on different types of fine motor skills (something this age is working really hard on) such as cutting and pinching with little fingers. Below is a quick rundown of what stations I do.

• Tracing: Students trace different types of lines with a dry erase marker either on laminated pages or in a plastic sleeve.
• Cutting: Students practice cutting different lines that are pre drawn on colored construction paper.
• Stickers: Work those pinchers! Students put small stickers along different pre drawn lines on colored construction paper. They have to stay on the line!
• Building: Pattern blocks or something similar are put out so students can create lines with a different type of material.
• Play-doh: Work those hand muscles! Students create a variety of lines and match what is on pre-made ½ sheets of paper. 
• Stringing beads: pipe cleaners and pony beads. Either have them string beads in a line and then take them off for others. OR have them create bracelets that they can take home that very day! They will love it. 

I have tables in my room where I have one activity on each table. During COVID, I put a variety of these activities in pencil boxes and called them “stations in a box.” Each student had their own and could move through the activities at their own pace. However, you choose to set it up, the kids will have so much fun! You don’t have to do all of these activities at once. You can pick and choose which ones to include. Maybe do other ones at a different time. Either way, you are killing two birds with one stone. You are teaching about lines and giving them a lot of exposure to many different types of lines. And they are practicing their fine motor skills, which I think we can all agree is something kids need practice in these days!  

Do you do stations to teach certain art concepts? What do you do? How do you se them up? 

Keep blending,

Laura