More then a coloring book

 I came across this Fall leaves coloring book in the check out line at the grocery store the other day I was draw to it like a moth to a flame. Like any other good teacher trying to get the most for their money I of course made xerox copies of the pages for the kids to color on. I have used it for my after school program and recently as a pen and ink study and a collage mixed media material for the charter school I teach at.This is book would also be great for science lessons and for learning plant identification.

Pen and ink leaf drawings

I'm using my day off today to prep a lesson for the charter school I will be teaching at this Friday. Students will be using India Ink and a quill (feather) to draw with the ink. I use a disposable container to put the ink, since it stains. I also put down newsprint on my work surface. Students will start with pen and ink techniques making a value strip that practices the techniques going to dark.

Then using pressed natural leaves students will draw a contour outline of the leaf and use the pen and ink techniques to draw the leaf.