MEXICAN ART UNIT: SOMBRERO & PONCHO

My third grade classes are a creative and energetic bunch. They have a hard time sitting still. Instead of trying to reign them in, I take a different approach: offer a lesson as energetic as they are.

For my Mexican Art Unit, I selected the sassy sombrero and colorful tunics. The kids loved it and the art room was an explosion of color and style

Here’s what you’ll need for the Mexican art sombrero:

• 18″ x 24″ sheets of bright colored paper (I used red, orange and yellow)
• Black oil pastel for drawing sombrero
• Scissors
• White glue
• Tubs of bright tempera paints
• Lots of brushes
• Pans of sequins or other embellishments like pom-poms
• Black paint
• Tissue paper and paper scraps.

What to do:

The students followed a simple directed line instruction for drawing the sombrero. Afterwards I brought out paints and placed six tubs of paint per table. My solution for keeping things relatively under control is to provide one brush per paint color. If that color is being used, a child must use another color. I rarely have more than 5 students at one table, so it seems to work.

At this point, we set the sombreros on a rack (barely fit!) and allowed them to dry.

The next class, children add more paint details and then outlined all of their patterns with black paint.

Set a tray of sequins or embellishments, yarn and some paper scraps on a table and allow the children to decorate according to their tastes. This was a fun project. I didn’t work too hard trying to enforce standards, although we did look at the color wheel.

Third Grade Sombreros

Poncho Art

I began a unit on Mexico this week, celebrating the vibrancy of the Mexican Culture. Like the sombreros, the ponchos were a huge hit with first and second grade students. This is a magical age in which kids love to stand up and move around, finding the perfect embellishment or color of yarn to add to their art.

Starting with a 12″ x 18″ piece of colored paper, first grade students cut a 5″ slit down the center of their paper. Then, they cut a triangle from both sides of the slit. This creates the neck opening. Next, cut another skinny triangle from each corner of the paper to form shoulders. The fringe was next.

The students snipped the paper to create a fringe. If you have more time and want to elaborate on this project, a fringe made from snipped yarn would also be cool.

Using oil pastels, kids drew lines across the poncho, making some plain and others decorative. Then they cut strips of old painted “placemats” and glued them to the collars.

Time for the paints. I kept pre-mixed tempera paint in pint sized plastic containers (with lids). I set 4-5 various colors on the table. For many kids, painting the poncho with the actual poncho in mind was rare. Most kids experimented with mixing, spreading and reveled in the joys of painting.

For first grade, this is exactly what is expected. Older kids can be more refined. Although some kids indeed painted stripes and decorations with serious consideration. For the kids who finished the painting, we stapled yarn at the neckline for a tie.

When I see these kids next week, I might have them outline the stripes with a black oil pastel and give them an opportunity to add a string closure. But if we don’t have time, I won’t worry about it. The process was so much fun and the art room was awash in color.

This lesson took forty minutes.

Want another lesson idea for your Mexican unit? Download this free PDF by clicking below and we’ll send you our Sugar Skull Drawing Guide or click HERE for more Dia de los Muertos inspired art lessons!