Learning to draw animals is a fantastic way to spark creativity in children. Last month, my kindergarten class explored the animal kingdom through art, focusing on fun farm animals like owls, sheep, and of course, cows! This lesson plan is designed to enhance basic drawing skills while introducing young artists to the charming world of cows.
Before we picked up our oil pastels, we had a brief, giggle-inducing chat about cow anatomy. Big heads, multiple stomachs, hooves, and udders – a little farmyard fun for suburban kids!
Drawing Your Cow: A Simple Tutorial
We used oil pastels for drawing and vibrant liquid tempera paints for bringing our cows to life. To guide my students (and you!), I always start by demonstrating on the whiteboard. Talking through each body part, especially the head (which can be a bit tricky!), helps simplify the process.
While I have a handy cow drawing guide in my Drawing Animals PDF, here’s the breakdown of our simple method:
- Start with the Eyes: Draw two small dots for the cow’s eyes.
- Head Outline: Above the eyes, draw a horizontal line for the top of the head, adding small, droopy ears at each end of the line.
- Horns: Draw two short horns on top of the head, between the ears.
- Connect the Face: Connect the ears with a large “U” shape to form the cow’s face.
- Nose Time: At the bottom of the “U” face, draw a square for the muzzle, adding two small nostrils.
- Body Basics: The body is quite straightforward. Draw a large oval shape extending from the head.
- Legs First: Add the two legs on the side of the cow closest to you.
- Udder Detail: Draw a simple udder underneath the cow’s belly.
- Back Legs Last: Finally, add the back legs to complete the cow’s body.
Painting Your Cow Picture
For painting, we used black, blue, green, and pink liquid tempera paints on white Tru-Ray construction paper. I encouraged the children to paint the background and their cows, sometimes leaving areas like fence posts and the cow’s body base unpainted for contrast. Once the paint dried, we outlined our cows with black tempera paint. You can find all my favorite art supplies on my Art Supply List page.
Why outline with black paint?
Outlining with black paint is a fantastic way to develop fine motor skills in young children. They learn brush control – how to use just a little paint on a small brush and avoid pressing too hard. These are essential skills to learn early on in art education. If you’re hesitant about this step, give it a try! It’s a valuable technique.
Kindergarten Cow Art: A Gallery of Delight!
Each painted cow created by my kindergarten students was unique and utterly charming!
Looking for more cow-themed art ideas? Check out this other Cow Art Lesson I did with my kindergarten classes.
Want to dive deeper into the world of Holstein cows? This website about cow facts is a great resource!
For more farm animal art inspiration, download our free lesson guide using our Chicken Little template!
