Help third grade students create nurse-themed decorative art. Make a sculpture that looks like a human nurse out of common objects. Provide a toilet paper roll for each third grade student along with other craft items such as fabric scraps, buttons and yarn. Instruct the students to make a nurse sculpture using the items.
Create a collage. Have third grade students cut pictures of nurses, medical supplies or people in need of medical help out of magazines along with words that represent nursing such as "care," "love" and "health."
Create an art project that helps third-grade students learn more about nursing. Read a book that will give students a sense of the daily life of a nurse such as, "A Day in the Life of a Nurse (The Kids' Career Library)" by Liza N. Burby. Have students draw a series of pictures that show some of the things that a nurse does on the job. Examples might be a drawing of a nurse taking someone's temperature, assisting a doctor or working on her computer.
Instruct students to paint a picture. Take a field trip to a hospital or a doctor's office and observe the duties of a nurse. Ask the third-grade students to take notes and make sketches to use as a reference for their final art project.
Have the third graders draw a picture depicting their favorite memory of a nurse. Turn these pictures into greeting cards to give to a nurse. For instance, a child can draw a picture of a nurse tending to his broken arm and send it to the doctor's office with a thank-you note.
Make a poster or banner to give to a local hospital. Write "Thank You" on a poster or banner. Let each child add a drawing or a message thanking nurses for their hard work onto the banner. Present the banner to a local hospital for display. Children coming into the hospital will enjoy seeing the banner, as will other patients and guests.
Create a useful art project for a nurse. Have third-grade students make a nurse-themed mug to give as a gift. The mug could feature a picture of a nurse, an old-fashioned nurses' hat or stethoscope. Buy white coffee mugs and enamel paint. Ask students to decorate the mugs with a nurse-theme and then take a field trip to a hospital to give the mugs to some deserving nurses.
Have students decorate a paper bag with nursing symbols, such as a stethoscope. Fill the bag with healthy treats and deliver them to a hospital.