Hi Reader,

Well, I just finished my first week of school. Maybe you are in about the same place, or maybe you are just getting started. No matter where you are, I hope your students are learning the expectations and charming you with smiles and hugs!

My kindergarten students do NOT have good pencil grips, so I decided to pull out a lesson I used when I taught older students and see if I could adapt it to sneak in some pencil grip practice. And it went great!

I have also used this project with older students ( a bigger piece of paper, more complexity....).

Lesson Plan at a Glance

We started by reading When Pencil Met Eraser by Karen Kilpatrick. The illustrations in the book are a perfect introduction to subtractive art—creating a picture by taking something away rather than adding something to the page.

Then the students get to try it themselves!

✏️ First, they use the side of a pencil to cover a small piece of cardstock with pencil marks.

☁️ Next, they use a cotton ball to smudge the pencil marks and create a dark background.

😊 Finally, they use an eraser to “draw” a picture by removing the pencil marks.

The activity gives students a chance to practice pencil control and fine-motor skills while they create something that feels a little bit magical. And because kindergarten hands can get tired quickly at the beginning of the year, I cut the cardstock into quarter sheets. That makes the project much more manageable!

I especially love using the illustration of the smiley face in When Pencil Met Eraser as my model. Simple pictures—smiley faces, stars, hearts, suns, and rainbows—work beautifully.

👉 Read the full blog post and see how I set up this art project in my kindergarten classroom.​

It includes the materials, prep tips, step-by-step directions, and some of the things I learned from doing this project with my own students.

Have a wonderful week, and carve out some time for yourself.

Happy Teaching!

Susan

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