Printing the Seasons

This is a print making lesson that involves the four seasons. In this lesson you will need four small square foam boards and four small square stock board cards. First, go over the four seasons with your students and talk about the colors and images that represent those seasons. Then, have your students take a piece of foam board and draw an image that represents a season, do this for each season. When this is completed have the students pick the appropriate color to the season, have them roll the right color of paint onto the foam board. It is important to emphasize the amount of paint to use, not too little or it won't show up and not too much or it will blur. When their foam board is covered in paint, have them transfer it to the stock board card. It will need to be paint face down on the card and the students will need to apply even pressure to make sure it transfers. Last, lift up the foam board and look at the picture!

An extension activity for this project would be leaf printmaking. The same concepts are used but leaves are substituted for the foam boards. Have your students go out and choose some leaves, all different shapes and sizes. Then, have them lay the leaves on a piece of wax paper and very carefully roll the desired paint over the leaf. Last, take the wax paper with the leaf on it and flip it onto your canvas and then with a clean roller, roll over the leaf to apply pressure. When all is done, lift up the leaf and check out the design.