Snail Art
LESSON 6
Children will use their knowledge of snails and spirals to create snail art, reviewing previous lessons on snail habitats, behaviors, life cycles, and spirals in nature.
Art supplies for snail art of choice. Supplies for a couple ideas below, or additional ideas linked here.
Materials
Cardboard Snail with Spiral Bean Shell:
Cardboard sheets
Scissors
Glue
Beans (various colors)
Markers or crayons
Painted Paper Snail:
Sheets of cardstock, cardboard, or watercolor paper
Various colors of paint or oil pastels
Paintbrushes
Cups of water
Protective coverings (for tables and clothes)
Preparations
Gather materials for snail art of choice.
Facilitate a discussion to review children's knowledge about snails.
Provide clear instructions and demonstrations for creating cardboard snails.
Guide children in creating spiral designs using beans and glue.
Support children in painting and decorating their spiral designs, encouraging creativity.
Assist children in assembling their painted spiral shells and snail bodies.
Objectives for Teachers
Children identify and discuss the characteristics of snails and the concept of spirals observed in nature.
Children create a spiral design on the snail's shell using beans and glue practicing fine motor skills.
Children paint and decorate paper to create spiral designs.
Children assemble and attach the painted spiral shell to the snail body cutout, completing a creative snail art project.
Objectives for Children
Collect and Connect
Practice saying the poem “Snail Shells” together with the actions you came up with.
Snail Shells
A curly suit of armor,
That’s the snail’s spiral shell.
It protects the snail from drying out,
From hungry mouths as well.
A shell is like a caravan,
It allows the snail to roam.
But if you take one from the garden,
It will find its way back home!
Activity Flow
Begin by reviewing the previous lessons:
Reflect on the habitats you created for the snails.
Recall the observations made about the snails and their behaviors.
Discuss the life cycle of snails.
Review the concept of spirals in nature, referencing the book "Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature."
2. Next, introduce the art activity, explaining that today they will use their knowledge of snails and spirals to create snail art. Show examples of different types of snail art they can create. Ideas linked here.
3. Gather materials needed to create snail art of choice. I’ve shared instructions below for creating snails using cardboard and beans and painting paper snails.
Cardboard Snail with Spiral Bean Shell:
Provide each child with a piece of cardboard cutout to resemble a snail. If a child is able, assist them in cutting out their snail shapes.
Demonstrate how to glue beans onto the shell part of the cardboard snail to create a spiral design.
Encourage the children to carefully place the beans on their snail creating a spiral.
Allow glue to dry before finding a place to display your snails.
Painted Paper Snail:
Provide each child with a piece of paper, cardboard, or watercolor paper and various colors of paint.
Show the children how to paint a spiral design. Encourage them to use different colors to make their spirals vibrant and unique.
Allow the painted spirals to dry completely.
Once the paint is dry, help the children carefully cut out their spiral designs. Make sure they follow the spiral lines closely to preserve the design.
Provide each child with another piece of paper or leaves. If old enough, demonstrate how to draw a simple snail body shape on the paper. This can include the head, tentacles, and the area where the spiral shell will attach.
Assist children in cutting out their snail body shape.
Once the body shape is cut out, let the children paint or decorate it to resemble a snail's body.
After the snail body is dry, help the children attach their painted spiral shell to the snail body cutout using glue.
Encourage them to position the spiral shell so it fits well with the body shape.
Once dry, find a place to display the completed painted paper snails.
