Different Lines in Art

It is important that kids learn the vocabulary of line in Art and practice making different kinds of lines themselves.  Both National Math and Art Objectives also demonstrate the practice of learning how to make patterns of importance for your kids.

One really fun way to ask your kids to practice both skill sets is to give them the freedom to doodle decorate their names.  Older children should be able to figure out how to make hollow block letters for their names, younger kids might need to be handed their name pre-printed.  I used this exercise to introduce the vocabulary of the different kinds of lines in art and to review patterns.

For the very young student, you might give them only a large block letter Initial.  To teach the lines first, you may want to give them something like the picture here - this is my sample for Alice.  I asked her to begin by figuring out which kind of line was missing from my letter.  Once she'd practice finding all the types of lines in my letter (except vertical), I then asked her to find all the patterns that were there and describe those patterns. 



Lastly, I gave her a paper with her full name in block letters and let her have some fun with it.  She even included a self portrait of herself upside down hanging into the open space in the A from above.  She was able to use a range of colors as well, so some of her patterns were made with alternating colors, but she used thin and thick lines, wavy lines, curves, bends, zig-zags, horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines as well as spirals and she included a few of her favorite shapes such as diamonds and hearts which I pointed out to her use different lines meeting in order to form the shape.