Hippie Van Sub Plan

I guess while I'm on the subject of favorite sub plans, I will share my 'hippie' van. I am rarely gone, but this year I had a few extra absences at the end of the year so I whipped up a few extra 'sub' plans. (Submarine Sandwich, The Art Sub)

I saw this idea on insta or pinterest and wanted something that the kids could draw with a sub and then complete the painting part with me. Nothing too fancy, just draw, trace in sharpie, erase old pencil lines, color small details (pressing hard with wax crayon) and paint with watercolor or tempera cakes. 

I made a packet for each student to look at, with views of the 'hippie van' in side, frontal or 3/4ths view. They could draw whichever view they wanted. 

Here is what the substitute was supposed to read:
  Dear students, Mrs. Mitchell and her husband have purchased a Volkswagon Van. The van is an old ‘hippie’ van that has a lot of potential. It is needs to be fixed up as it was made in 1969. When it was new, it had new white leather interior. Now, the seats, steering wheel and tires all need to be replaced. The van used to be turquoise and white, but somebody painted it all white so now it is like a blank canvas. Mrs. Mitchell needs your help! She wants a spiffy new paint job that matches her personality. Mrs. Mitchell and her husband are planning to remodel the inside of the van so that it is like a little camper, with a bed, table and little bench seat. Their plan is to take the van on an epic road trip down the Route 66. Please help design the coolest, most colorful van ever!

1. Explain that students will LIGHTLY sketch the van in one of those positions, trace in sharpie and then color SMALL DETAILS only with crayons today. Next time, we will paint the rest of the van and background with watercolor paint. This is called a wax resist.
2. Pass out the individual sheets, (tell students NO TRACING and don’t write on these) and the white watercolor paper. This paper is great for painting, but it is kind of expensive, so please tell them to draw lightly in pencil first. If they make a mistake, they can erase or flip it over, please don’t give them extra paper unless they REALLY need it.
3. Ideas for redecorating the van: recreate a famous work of art, draw ‘cute’ animals, make it travel themed, colorful classic ‘hippie’ design, design with art supplies.
4. After they draw in pencil, they should trace in sharpie. IF their sharpie doesn’t work good, you can give them a fresh one from the bin. Last, they should color small details with crayons pressing hard. We will paint the rest of the image next week.
   
   

The lesson was so successful with the sub's results, that I ended up doing it with every class. It was fun to see how creative the students were! Sometimes I think they are better before they add paint.....

Initially, I was leery of calling it a 'hippie' van, but our school alternates cowboy and 'hippie' day for halloween every year so I figured it was okay. 

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