Popsicle Stick Drawings

I've already shared one of my end-of-the-year staple Kindergarten projects, the rainbow cities, and here is the second!  I started this one my first year of teaching as the last project the kiddos do, and it has stuck.  I like to use it because by this point, the kids are crazy and excited about summer vacation and I'm often trying to get my room organized and get artwork passed back to students to take home.

On the first day, I give students about 15 minutes and a handful of Popsicle sticks.  They aren't allowed any glue yet.  We talk about using the sticks to make a skeleton of their drawing.  They can create a realistic picture (houses, people fences, etc.) or an abstract picture full of shapes and colors.  They get 15 minutes to rearrange the sticks and then when I approve their design, they get to glue the Popsicle sticks down.  (Also, they aren't allowed to stack the sticks tall on the paper.)

I think this Popsicle stick drawing was the most creative one this year!  First time I've had a student think about doing a rocket ship!  Love it!

On the second day, they finish their drawings.  We use markers to color the Popsicle sticks and crayons for the background.  A lot of the time, some of these are just random scribbles and leaning more towards the abstract side, but I can always tell which students are really into art, their composition and still willing to be creative and think about their project at the end of the year based on their designs!