Here's an expanded 2-hour version that adds more depth and a second project:

🎨 Art Class: "Draw What You See" — Animals in Lines

Age group: 6–9 years | Duration: 2 hours | Max class size: 15–20 kids

Learning Goals

By the end of the class, children will be able to break complex subjects into simple shapes, control pencil pressure for light and shadow, use mark-making for texture, and compose a scene with a foreground subject and simple background.

Materials

HB and 2B pencils (one of each per child)
Plain white A4 paper (5–6 sheets per child)
Erasers
Rulers (optional, for kids who want them)
Printed or projected animal reference images
Coloured pencils (for the second project)

Class Plan

Warm-Up — Loose Lines (5 min)

Same as before — fill a page with wavy lines, zigzags, spirals, and loops to loosen up hands.

Say: "Your hand is waking up — let's get it ready to draw!"

Mini Lesson 1 — Shapes Inside Animals (10 min)

Draw a cat on the board step by step using circles, ovals, and triangles. Ask kids to spot the shapes in other animals on the reference sheet.

Key idea: Every animal is just simple shapes put together.

Practice Round — Shape Sketching (10 min)

Kids pick one animal and sketch it using shapes only — light pencil pressure, no details yet. Circulate and help anyone who's stuck.

Project 1 — My Animal Drawing (25 min)

Build on the shape sketch:

Refine the outline into a clean silhouette
Add a face — eyes, nose, mouth
Add texture — short strokes for fur, scales, or feathers
Use the 2B pencil with heavier pressure for shadows under the chin and belly

☕ BREAK (10 min)

Let kids rest, move around, and look at each other's work in progress.

Mini Lesson 2 — Adding a World (10 min)

Now teach them how to place their animal somewhere. On the board, demonstrate:

A horizon line (where the ground meets the sky)
Placing the animal on the ground line
Adding 2–3 simple background elements: a tree, sun, grass, rocks, water

Key idea: Big things in front, small things go further back.

Project 2 — Animal in a Scene (30 min)

Kids draw a fresh picture — their animal (same one or a new one) placed in a habitat or setting of their choice. This time they use coloured pencils to finish it:

Light colours first, layer darker colours on top
Press harder in shadow areas, lighter in bright areas
Encourage them to colour the background too, not just the animal

This is the piece they take home.

Share & Celebrate (10 min)

Display all finished scenes. Each child shares:

What animal they drew and where it lives
One thing they learned or tried for the first time today

Give specific, observational praise: "I love how you made the grass darker behind the cat — that makes it really pop!"

Contact the host of Drawing program - Private - Flexible date(s)