10 ways you can use Life of Colour pens in schools
1) Recreate the art of renowned artists
Lesson plans involving renowned artists from Australia, New Zealand and the world take on a deeper meaning when children and teenagers get to recreate the artist’s style and visual story by using age-appropriate materials and tools.
Painting, drawing and other forms of art help develop visual-spatial skills. Arts and crafts projects also reinforces their developing executive function (improving their memory, mental flexibility and self-control).
To experience the world through the eyes of an established artist, helps the students realize how valuable their creativity can be for them and society as a whole.
Take a look at activities led by Visual Arts educator Kate Driscoll:
“Year 1s had fun creating @zeller_karin inspired kitties playing with balls of wool. We used the Life of Colour silky paint stix which are so vibrant and easy to colour with.”
“Our first finished beautiful mixed media @grottilotti inspired birds by my Year 5/6 class. They finished their details today using our new Life of Colour paint pens.”
2) Rock painting as an activity to unwind
The list of benefits of rock painting for children is endless, but today we want to focus on how rock painting helps us and the kids engage in a mindful activity, connecting our feelings, our senses through painting on a very tactile surface.
By creating a rock painting space in your classroom, you can help the children discover it's not about the level of skill, but about connecting to yourself and others through art - a skill that will help them with their self-steem in the long run.
Daphne Birett
Em Hanson
Shari Chapman
3) Make their own cards for special occasions
Creating handmade cards is a very fun activity for the classroom, and it doesn’t have to be messy at all! We know with today’s busy schedules, it’s harder to set up a classroom craft activity involving paper cuttings, glue, glitter and more.
With glitter and metallic paint pens, kids can add the sparkle without the mess.
Using washi tapes they can decorate envelopes, borders, collage different shapes and patterns - and more.
Watercolour pens are the perfect addition to the pen station, they are easy to use and bring a fun, watery element to the lesson without the need for messy water jugs and cleanup.
4) Crafting with different materials, without the mess
Recycling materials for crafting is one of the best activities to do at school, we teach the kid how any material can be repurposed into something artistic and fun. It doesn’t have to be messy, and the setup can be quick to allow for more creative time.
Paint pens are multi-purpose, so the classroom can enjoy creating art projects on virtually any surface: fabric, textile, canvas, metal, pottery, treated wood, plastic, stone, terra-cotta, polymer clay, rock & more.
These are just examples that can be adapted to different ages:
5) Create sets of story stones for class
Story stones are sets of painted/pictured stones that are used to tell a story. Each stone has a picture prompt such as a character, scene or object to assist the compilation of a whole story.
Children love participating in rock painting using our Life of Colour paint pens and this is a perfect group activity!
Creating science story stones you can encourage children to sequence natural processes such as life cycles and the seasons - by using phrases like: “first” “then” “after that” “next” and “finally”.
Rocks by Stacey Montford
6) Colouring in activities
The watercolour brush pens are very easy to use for kids of all ages, their soft bristles in combination of the water brush, allow them to experiment with the art tools to create fun colouring in effects.
Add the paint pens for a creamy matte finish that will be opaque, to turn an everyday task like colouring in on their notebooks or art class into an even richer activity.
7) Create their own notebook covers
Each student can draw inspiration from their own likes to create a unique notebook cover that makes them excited to take notes in class!
Some examples are mandala notebook covers. Drawing mandala and zentangle patterns is therapeutic and can be done in various mediums: paper and paint pens pens, painting on wood, coloured sand, painting with acrylics on canvas, etc.
They can also use colourful combinations to make vibrant covers using letters, emojis, doodles and more!.
8) Paint on fallen leaves using patterns
Gather dry leaves and show the children how to draw freestyle patterns using acrylic paint pens to make straight and squiggly lines, dots and more.
Art by Julie @pipdotart
Use different colours on each leaf to make it more fun - and add details in black and white on top.
This is a fun activity to signal the change from summer to autumn.
9) Decorate unique library bags
Teach the kids how to paint a tote bag using fabric pens they can later use to carry books or other learning materials that don't fit in their backpack.
The fabric pens can be used to paint on any fabric material permanently, so after painting the library bag, the class can keep using the Life of Colour fabric pens to embellish aprons, t-shirts, banners and more!
10) Recreate their favourite book on a rock
Choose the children’s favourite storybook to create a beautiful personalised rock that features a scene from the book or the cover illustration.
Using paint pens you can recreate any story book cover design on a rock.
Take a look at some examples created by the Life of Colour community:
Michelle Lavers
Karlee Hewitt
About Life of Colour
Life of Colour is a boutique supplier of art and stationery products based in Sydney, Australia. We specialise in creating high quality, modern and innovative art tools and accessories at affordable prices. We aim to bring more colour to the world with our incredible art supplies.
We look forward to being a part of your school and welcoming you and your students into the Life of Colour community!
We are offering schools 15% OFF*, please request the discount code by email to hello@lifeofcolourproducts.com or by signing up below
* Minimum order: $100. Order must be made with school email address to qualify. Discount doesn’t apply to bundles
