In the Art Room - Gators

I saw a project on Elementary Art Fun for GIANT alligator paintings.  I loved the idea, but I don't have the space for 30 first graders to spread out and make a giant painting on butcher paper.  So, I altered it slightly and got great results.  First I had the kids sponge blue paint on half of their background paper for the water, then they added white to their blue paint making a tint.  They used the light blue to paint the top half for the sky.  They used spoons to scratch in clouds in the sky.  We had an alligator drawing lesson and I let them use gold and blue paint to add some scale details to their animals.  Last they cut out their gators and glued them on!  This took about two whole class periods to complete.

Here is one from Elementary Art Fun: