The Art Olympics #1 Indoor events

Picture this... It's the end of the semester.. you've got classes full of 7th and 8th graders who are just DONE... and truth be told, you are also DONE! 

Two weeks left.. you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. How do you keep your students motivated to make it to the finish line?

I thought of this idea last year after I saw a similar idea on Pinterest. 

The Art Olympics consisted of both indoor and outdoor events. 

Day one: The Indoor Events

Event 1: Collaborative Painting
Students were given a piece of colored roll paper, paint brushes and black paint. They had to work as a team, to plan and execute a collaborative table painting. The subject could be abstract/non-objective, or realistic. I set a timer and gave them 20 minutes to complete the painting. 

Event # 2: Blind Partner Drawing

Each group chose two students to participate. One was the describer, the other was the artist. They were given 10 minutes to complete the event. The student who held the picture, was to describe what they were seeing, only they could not reveal what it was, they could only describe its details. The artist was not allowed to see the photograph and had to rely solely on the describer to create their picture. 

Event # 3: Foot or Mouth Painting: groups were to choose one one person to participate. That student chose whether they wanted to complete a mouth or a foot painting. They were each given the paint they needed and a simple picture of a flower to paint. Time 5-10 minutes

Event # 4 : The Matisse Challenge. 

Henri Matisse was losing his eye sight in his older age but still would paint using a long handled brush, sometimes it would be a paintbrush attached to a long stick. Groups chose one student to complete the task: They were given a picture to draw and used a marker attached to a wooden dowel. Time: 5- 10 Minutes

Event # 5 the final event for the day: Relay Race drawing: Students were given a picture of a boy that was broken into 4 sections. They had to choose the order they would go in. At the start of the time, student #1 would run up and draw the first portion. When finished they would run back tag the next person who would run up and complete the second section.. etc. 

The kids LOVED this day! They were so excited to come back the next day to see what the outdoor events would entail.. stay tuned for part 2!!