Drawing with Jan Brett's "How to Draw an Elephant"

Children love to draw things that look realistic. Kindergarten children draw with a special joy and ease that makes it fun to teach them new skills. Kindergarteners spend the first half of their art year learning about lines/shapes and how that is what makes a drawing. After lots of practice with various lessons the children are introduced to Jan Brett's "How to Draw an Elephant" video from her website. I have tried several of the Jan Brett's lessons and the drawing that is the most successful is the elephant drawing. The children are thrilled with the results! Before they begin to draw, they watch the demonstration video all the way through. When the demo ends I have them get their Sharpie markers ready and I replay the video slowly stopping with each step and emphasizing the directions. Instead of finishing the drawings with water colors (like Jan Brett does ) we use colored chalk. The drawings are done on the first day and a lesson on using chalk is done on the second day.

The instructions for chalk drawing have to be made very clear. The children use a tissue as a "blending tool." I repeat the instruction of "color lightly" and model what that means several times. I show the children how to layer colors, how to use the tip or the side of the chalk, and how to keep their hands clean with an extra tissue. Once the lesson is over, I have them take their drawings to a clean spot so their tables can be cleared for cleaning with a wet wipe.