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Crazy for Clowns Art Lesson Plan
Lesson Plans » Lesson Plan | Crazy for Clowns

Crazy for Clowns! 🎪🤡

Process

Day 1 – Drawing the Clown
  1. Discussion & Inspiration
    • Talk about clowns—what they do, where they’re found, what they wear.
    • Show examples of clowns and various hats.
    • Review geometric shapes (draw examples).
  2. Drawing the Head & Collar
    • Using a black crayon, draw an oval or circle for the head.
    • Draw a collar using zig-zag lines or loops.
    • Remind students to fill the whole sheet.
  3. Facial Features
    • Use geometric shapes to make eyes, nose, mouth, and optional ears.
    • For the mouth, draw a small smile, then a larger one around it, connecting the ends.
  4. Hat & Hair
    • Draw a hat (show 2–3 styles).
    • Add hair: colorful lines, curls, or cloud shapes at the sides of the head.
  5. Patterns
    • Add patterns (stripes, polka dots, zig-zags) to the shirt, collar, and hat.
Day 2 – Coloring & Painting
    1. Color with Crayons
      • Color all parts of the clown (except the face) with bright colors.
      • Press hard for rich color.
      • Leave the clown’s face white for now.
    2. Borders
      • If desired, add a decorative border using crayons, paint, or construction paper.
    3. Painting the Background
      • Choose a background color that hasn’t been used in the clown drawing.
      • Discuss complimentary colors
      • Use tempera cakes to paint the background.
    4. Finishing Touches
      • Add rosy cheeks, lines around eyes, eyelashes, earrings, etc.

Age Group

Grades K-1

Time Needed

2–3 sessions (45–50 min each)

🖍️ Materials

  • White 8.5″ x 11″ art paper
  • Black crayon (for outlining)
  • Colored crayons
  • Tempera cake paints
  • Examples of clowns (photos, illustrations)
  • Pictures of different types of hats
  • Optional: construction paper (for a border)

Shared by:

Margaret Scully, Art Educator  @ Pinehurst, NC

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