Are you looking for some holiday gift inspiration? This kid-created DIY directed drawing calendar makes the perfect keepsake gift for someone special!
How to Make a Directed Drawing Calendar with Your Students
Directed drawing is definitely a fan favorite in my classroom. Students love having directions to follow and being able to put their own twists on their drawings as well. When it comes to family holiday gifts, my go-to is always my kid-created directed drawing calendar.
This directed drawing calendar is the perfect holiday gift for someone special in students’ lives. Mom, dad, grandparents, family friend, or even neighbor – Everyone will appreciate this special homemade DIY project turned gift!
Why Kids Love Directed Drawing
Directed drawing is a great way to help students feel more confident when it comes to art. Many students do not feel like they are “good artists.” Using directed drawing helps change their point of view.
Other skills directed drawing helps students with:
- following directions
- focusing on details
- confidence
- ability to adapt
- helps with visual-spatial skills and visual-motor skills.
Handy Tips for Getting the Directed Drawing Calendar Done
You’re probably thinking, “I absolutely love this drawing calendar, but there is no way I have time for this!” It can seem time-consuming, but I promise it can easily fit into your class schedule!
Snack Time
Make this drawing calendar a snack-time activity. Students should only need 15 minutes to draw; you can use the next day’s snack time for the coloring part! Each page can be done as a whole group or independently.
Center Work
If you have students who work well independently or are lucky enough to have a teacher assistant in your classroom. Use the DIY drawing calendar as a center. Although it looks like just drawing to others, you know all the benefits!
Sub Plans
Making sub plans is often one of the worse parts of being a teacher. The calendar is the perfect activity to leave for a sub. Leave 2-3 pages and have students work on them during a block of time when you feel like they may just need some downtime to recharge.
Fun Friday
Fun Friday is a weekly event many teachers give students. Some things often included are extra recess or time to relax before heading into the weekend. Use this time to complete a calendar drawing.
Directed Drawing Calendar
The directed drawing calendar is the perfect DIY calendar for kids, making it the perfect gift for Christmas, Hanukkah, Grandparents Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day, and so on.
With 24 different picture options, you can decide which drawings are the perfect fit for students and which are culturally important for your group.
There are also many design options available when putting this DIY calendar together. This calendar is almost entirely customizable, with editable options for you to add your own holidays and special events!
The best thing is this directed drawing calendar is continuously updated with new calendars. Every update will include the new year and the next two! Just head back to the file and redownload for the latest calendars.
Fun Directed Drawing Choices
Ready to get kids excited? There are many drawing options within this DIY calendar. Take a look through the options and select your favorites from the two drawing choices each month.
My students definitely have their favorites, and when we decided which to do each month, these drawings were the winners every year!
Some of my students’ chosen drawings were:
- The snowman because they loved designing the scarf.
- The earth because of the eyes and its cute, huggable body
- The sandcastle because it reminded them of summer vacation.
The cover of the calendar is yours to do with what you want.
Here are a few options for the cover:
- Self-portrait
- Child’s choice
- Any of my other directed drawings
- Unused cute calendar drawings
Making the Directed Drawing Calendar
There are a couple of ways you can put the drawing calendar together. Do what is easiest for you!
Binder Rings
Binder rings are easy to use when putting together your calendar. Put the papers you wish to use in order, use a 3-hole punch in their papers, and then slip each binder ring into the holes. The papers will easily move around the binder rings.
Comb Binding
If you are one of the lucky ones, your school may have a comb binder available to use! If not, you can buy the supplies and the machine on Amazon. It’s a good investment and time saver if you plan to use this directed drawing calendar for multiple years in a row!
Ribbon
Ribbon seems like the easiest way to put this calendar together. But it often is the trickiest. You will want to cut and tie the ribbon for your kiddos because it is often challenging for them to tie a bow that is not on their shoes. Plus, they always seem to tie it a little too tight, causing the pages to rip.
Don’t Forget: You want the calendar double-sided!
Gifting
Looking to wrap the directed drawing calendars?
Grab packages of white boxes from the dollar store and have students decorate with colored pencils, markers, or crayons. Wrap the calendar with tissue paper and seal it inside the box.
Gift bags are also a simple and easy way to wrap. Let students pick their bag and colored tissue paper, or get brown gift bags and let them decorate them!
A Resource to Help you Teach Directed Drawing
Free Fall Themed Directed Drawing
Give directed drawing a try in your classroom with this FREE fall-themed directed drawing resource!
Click the image below to grab a copy.
Directed Drawing Calendar
Try the Directed Drawing Calendar by Proud to be Primary. It includes 24 fun drawing options to make the perfect keepsake gift for someone special at any time of year.
If you like this resource, you’ll love the year-long bundle of Directed Drawing Mats.
More Directed Drawing Ideas
Directed Drawing In The Classroom
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FREE Directed Drawing Email Series
Sign up for the directed drawing email series filled with tips to get you started, strategies for success, and tons of FREE tutorials you can access right away. Everything you need to build drawing confidence and have fun at the same time!
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