Art Around the World: My Fall Art Class Adventure

My art classes this fall are built around the theme "Art Around the World." This idea started back in July when I ran two one-day art camps where we traveled to different countries and did fun projects. I loved it so much that I decided to expand it into a full fourteen- or fifteen-lesson plan for the fall. Best of all, I'm teaching these classes in my brand-new home studio—which includes a dedicated classroom space for the first time!

Getting Started

I began by deciding on class times. I tested Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons to see what worked best for families. I offered classes for everyone—from kindergarten through high school—and even added family time slots so parents could drop off multiple kids and I could teach them all together.

Since I wasn't sure how many people would be willing to drive to my home for classes, I posted about them on my personal Facebook page, the Simpsonville community pages, and even some local homeschool groups. I was amazed by how many wonderful new families I connected with—many of whom homeschool or have preschoolers!

To start, I kept prices low at just fifteen dollars per lesson. I wanted to get a feel for what families were willing to pay, and honestly, I was still figuring out my teaching rhythm.

The Real Work: Lesson Prep

As I began planning the lessons, I realized something important: the preparation time varies dramatically depending on the ages I'm teaching. For the younger kids, there's a lot of hands-on setup—cutting pieces, helping with fine motor skills, preparing materials. For the older kids, it's more about mental preparation—figuring out how to teach a new technique so they can apply it independently.

Tina's Great Adventure

To tie everything together, I created a story about a young girl named Tina who was very tiny but wanted to go on a great big adventure to see the world. Here's how her journey has unfolded:

South Carolina: Learning Colors

Tina started in her home state, where she climbed into a hot air balloon. There was a rainstorm that morning, but as the balloon rose into the air and broke through the clouds, it passed through a rainbow that colored the balloon in all the most beautiful rainbow colors. That became our lesson on color!

Kansas: The Sunflower Field

Next, Tina flew to Kansas and landed in a sunflower field. When she woke up one morning, the sunflowers were dark and closed. But as the sun came up, they opened wide to face the sunshine—and Tina got to see their beautiful, big faces.

For this lesson:

• Younger kids: We used black construction paper with a sunflower outline drawn in glue. Once it dried, students blended chalk pastels to add color and dimension.
• Older kids: They drew their own sunflowers and painted them with watercolor, or used chalk like the younger group. I was still finding my rhythm with mixed ages!

Mexico: Printmaking and Lizards

Tina climbed back into her hot air balloon and flew south to Mexico. When she landed and stepped out of the basket, something tickled her toes—a lizard!

This became my favorite project so far. We did printmaking using green silk screen paint on leaves I pulled right from my yard—long leaves, short leaves, all kinds. We painted them and printed onto Bristol paper.

• Younger kids: I pre-printed and pre-cut lizards, which they colored with magic markers. (Pro tip: cutting around all those tiny lizard toes was tedious—I'll refine this for next time!)
• Older kids: They drew their own lizards and painted or marked them. For extra flair, we used one color marker, then a clear marker to add polka dots and patterns. These were truly magic markers! We added googly eyes and hot-glued tiny feet to make them pop off the page in 3D. The goal was to use cool green (from the printed leaves) against warm lizard colors to make everything really pop.

Panama: Toucans and Waterfalls

Next stop: Panama! Students will be drawing or cutting out toucans.

• Older kids: They'll create a circle waterfall using the "circle waterfall" technique, glue it onto twelve-by-twelve cardstock in a green shade, add colorful leaves and flowers around the circle, then layer paper toucans they've cut out and glued onto a branch. The branch and toucan will sit just above the waterfall for a layered effect.
• Younger kids: They'll work with larger pre-cut toucans on thirteen-by-eight construction paper, practicing their cutting and layering skills. They'll add the beak, layer the bird, create trees and leaves for the background, and add detail work.

What's Coming Next

We're currently at September sixteenth, heading into Friday's toucan class. The week after that, Tina is heading to Peru—and I'm thinking llamas! I want to keep it simpler for now: drawing mountains, drawing a llama, adding color. For the little ones, I really want to incorporate some weaving to make a fun blanket, but I'm experimenting with doing it on a smaller scale so it doesn't take too long.

The Learning Curve

I'm discovering that one of my biggest challenges is adapting the same project for all ages. I want everyone to have a meaningful experience—whether they're four or fourteen. Some projects need to be simplified for younger hands, while others can be expanded for more advanced students. It's a fun puzzle to solve, and I'm learning as I go!

I'm so grateful for this fall session and for all the families who trusted me with their children's art education.

—Miss Chris