Sometimes the most simple idea for an art project for kids ends up being a favorite. I love how these projects turned out! I also love when I can mix math and art into one activity.
We have been working on shapes in math with my students at school. My own kids, at home, have also been learning their shapes. I created this activity to extend their understanding and recognition of shapes into fun math art projects!
I am so proud of how focused my children and students were when creating them. They loved this activity and I hope you, and your kids, do too!
Materials
One of the main things that I love about this art project for kids is the fact that you only need really simple materials that you probably already have on hand if you work with children.
You will need:
- Glue
- Construction Paper (An assortment of Colours is ideal)
- Cardstock (Optional)
- Scissors
That’s all you need!
To prepare for this art project, cut the construction paper into different shapes. The more variety of shapes and sizes, the better. Cut a variety of small circles, and large circles and a variety of any shape you can think of.
If the children you are doing this project with are focusing on certain shapes, you could simply only cut out the shapes that you are working on.
For older grades and older children, you can add in some more complicated shapes, such as parallelograms that you want children to recognize and work with.
Once you have all of the shapes cut out, you are ready to begin!
Math Art Project for Kids – Steps
Since I teach young kids, I need to be organized so that I can quickly get supplies out so kids can start working, but also so that everything can be cleaned up quickly.
I find having small bins to keep everything together and ready to be set on each table works best for me.
If you do this activity at home, having an assortment of different sized shapes and colors is a great way to introduce the activity.
Fill each bin with different colored construction paper that is cut in a variety of shapes of different sizes (squares, rectangles, circles, triangles etc).
Next, give each child a piece of cardstock or construction paper for their background. I liked using cardstock simply because it is a bit heavier and stronger so it works well for a background. Construction paper will also work.
Once the paper was handed out, children began choosing pieces of the different shapes. I avoided handing out the glue right away because I wanted children to create and experiment with the shapes first.
I loved hearing the conversations as children created their pictures. They recognized the shapes and talked about what shapes they were using, such as, “I need 4 triangles for my tree!”
Children then began creating any picture that they wanted, only using the shapes that were in the bins. (If there was a shape that they really needed, I did have some extra construction paper and scissors on hand.)
Their art was amazing! I was so impressed with what they came up with. I encouraged them to keep adding shapes and details to enhance their pictures.
Everyone was very focused in creating their picture. It was a great way to bring some math into our art class!
Being able to create art using specific 2D shapes is a skill taught throughout the primary grades. This is a simple art activity that easily incorporates math. It is an easy way to get kids excited about both math and art in one great art project for kids!
Extend Your Math Art Projects
Children loved this activity so much, that I ended up extending it to do something similar again. There are lots of additional projects that you can do using the same idea.
Another activity that I tried that integrated math and art, was cutting out various 2d shapes out of cardboard. I then wrote the name of the shape on the cardboard.
I wrote the name so that children began to recognize the shapes and names as they used them. For older children you don’t need to do this, but it is always a great review for everyone.
Next, children traced the shapes onto construction paper and then did one of two things. (They had their choice.)
They could either trace the shapes onto the paper and then cut them out themselves to then create a picture. This was a great way for young children to work on cutting and fine motor skills.
The other option was for children to draw a picture on construction paper by tracing the shapes. This took some thought and planning as children had to lay the various shapes onto the paper first and then begin tracing.
If you were doing this activity virtually with children at home, you could simply have a page with a bunch of shapes filling the page and then have children cut out the shapes. These are then the only shapes they have to work and create with.
A free printable full of shapes is available to get you started. Simply print, cut out the shapes and challenge children to create an amazing picture using only the shapes on the page.
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This art project for kids is a really simple idea, but simple often ends up being amazing! The children loved creating and they were learning at the same time. Happy creating!
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For More Hands-On Math Activities and Art Projects for Kids Visit Below
If you enjoyed the math art project for kids above, check out my other hands-on activities below. There are lots of fun math, art projects, and even escape rooms that are tried and tested in my classroom and at home with my own kids.
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