Print a list of emotions off of the Internet and talk about what they mean and feel like to your kids. Next, write the emotions on index cards and place them into a fishbowl. Have each child close her eyes and draw out an index card. Provide paper and crayons and ask each child to draw the emotion listed on her index card. Once the children are done with their creations, have them share about what they drew and why.
Read a favorite story to your children and then ask them to list all the important people, places and things in the story. Provide them with basic art materials and ask them to draw the story. You could have them work together on one story board or have each of your kids create their own and then share them with each other.
Spend an afternoon gathering eye-appealing materials with your children. Choose interesting paper, fabric, cut-outs from magazines, plastics, foils and more. Next, provide each child with a canvas or sturdy piece of tag board, along with scissors and glue. Ask them to think of a happy day in their life and to create a collage using the materials gathered throughout the day. When they are done, take video of them as they collectively explain the process of creating their collages, and then share the video with family and friends.
Modeling clay is a lot of fun to work with, because it is easy to shape, feels cool on the hands and comes in lots of bright colors. Spend the day learning to make bowls and cups with modeling clay. You might also bring out an anatomy book and try learning to sculpt various body parts. It can be fun to try to sculpt family members' faces or to try and create a sculpture of the family pet. Be sure to take photos of each creation as you go, as they would be great fun to share with parents or to put in a scrapbook.
Ask your children to write down a dream they have had while they were sleeping. Share one of your own dreams and then break out the art supplies. Give each of your kids a watercolor set and ask them to paint the dream they wrote about. Talk about using colors that reflect the emotions of the dream and about different paintbrush techniques that give different effects. Once the paintings are done and have dried, have them framed and display them on your classroom walls.