Do you have students who always finish their art projects early? Then you know how quickly it can disrupt the class when they start asking, “What should I do next?” To help keep the creativity flowing, we reached out to art teachers to ask about their favorite art activities for early finishers. Check out their top suggestions to keep young artists engaged until the final bell rings!
Student-choice art activities
- I have a choice board with simple materials (pencils, drawing paper, yarn, markers, etc.) that gets changed out every few weeks. Giving students the choice in what they do keeps them more engaged, and still doing art while in my class. – Lindsey T.
- My go-to project for early finishers is an activity grid they can use to pick an activity to work on. They use the grid bingo style. They have to pick an activity in a different column or row for each new project. Some activities are quick, and others may take several days to complete based on how early they finish the original assignment. Some activities are simple, such as a coloring page (I teach high school, and my teenagers love the simplicity of a coloring sheet after a day of high school and college classes), while others are more in-depth and could be used as projects to be entered into fairs, craft, or art shows. I try to keep diamond dot art kits and other supplies handy. – Elizabeth H.
- For my younger early finishers, I have a cart that stores supplies, a variety of papers as well as drawing books to choose and draw from. For my older early finishers, I have them work independently on past-due projects if they have any, choose from the free-drawing choice board, origami, or the how-to-draw books. – Gretchen K.
- I have an art choice board and a box of simple materials available. I change the choices every few weeks so repeat early finishers aren’t doing the same thing over and over: drawing paper, markers, colored pencils, etc. Then they have some choice in what they’re doing, but they’re still doing something art-related. – Lindsey T.
- Early finishers have a choice of quiet mandala coloring, time to read some of our great art books, art jigsaw puzzles, artist word searches, or free drawing. – Kristin K.
- My early finishers can weave on our large classroom weaving loom, read art books in the reading corner, or draw with the how-to-draw books! – Jackson Elementary Art Studio
- For early finishers, I have an “I’m Done” folder where I keep Art Choice Boards. These packets are loaded with step-by-step drawings or creative prompts that give students a new drawing idea for when they are done with their assigned project. I also have a cozy reading corner with some beautifully illustrated books that students can read as well. – Jenni F.
- Options are our choice board (free-draw, origami, cartooning, etc.), enrichment activity that connects to the unit, special helper, or study hall time (middle school). – Celeste M.
- My go-to activities for early finishers are free-draw time, mindful coloring, or if the student needs structure, I will give them an activity from Judith and Richard Wilde’s book “Visual Literacy.” –H eidi L.
Sketchbooks, coloring pages, and journaling for early finishers
- I keep their sketchbooks in my classroom, so the ability to free-draw in their sketchbooks feels special. I remind them to go back and finish something we started in their sketchbooks that they have not finished. Worksheets to “finish the comic” by Jarrett Lerner have also been a big hit — as long as they don’t want to do them so much that they skip or rush through their other work to get to it! – Danellen D.
- Extra time projects: I used Magic School AI idea generator to get different ideas for art prompts on topics that I know my students like. – Nicky S.
- When my kiddos are done early, they LOVE making artist trading cards or doing a challenge prompt in their sketchbooks! – Bethany B.
- If they finish a zentangle animal early, make a copy to color with colored pencils! – MOC-Floyd Valley HS Visual Arts
- Carla Sonheim’s “Lazy Line Drawings” technique. Make lines and then look for a face or a creature and color it in. – Arly H.
- Early finishers will continue working on making their artist journal pages. Acrylic markers, color sharpies, stickers, and patterned papers are always needed for artist journals. – Tamila T.
- Every day I have a sketchbook prompt on the board. Anyone who finishes early can work in their sketchbook on the prompt. Most prompts are funny: Draw a birthday party for a guinea pig. Draw a flea circus. Draw a mouse on a skateboard, etc. – Silver B.
- I have a variety of choices! My go-to is our sketchbooks for free-draw or an elements and principles of art activity. For K–2 it’s how-to-draw sheets and coloring, for 3–5 it’s a design challenge (design a zoo, storefront, etc.). “Iggy Peck’s Architect Workbook” has great resources! – Sydney F.
- I have a GIGANTIC list of sketchbook springboards that help students to expand their repertoire! – Kurt R.
Social-emotional learning art activities
- Beeswax modeling. It’s calming and engaging. Free drawing if they wish. –Katie A.
- My go-to, finish-early project is for my teenagers to create daily journal entries describing their everyday thoughts and feelings. Then students are instructed to illustrate those feelings! This assignment helps my kiddos to epitomize their feelings and therefore to obtain an opportunity for calm, reflection, and a moment of cathartic peace. – Susan C.
- I have early finishers create small pieces, and we then distribute them in random places for others to enjoy and claim. – Linnea R.
- My early finishers work on our classroom wall where they “leave their mark” by adding to a living mural I have in my classroom. It’s been going on for the last several years and they love it. – Maryanne M.
- The first day of school I had them write down in their sketchbooks 25+ things that make them happy. Then when they have early-finish time, they get their sketchbooks, pick one of those things, and draw until the others are finished. – Melissa B.
- My go-to project for early finishers is the Frayer Model. The students write a sentence using vocabulary and then draw a picture to represent that sentence. – Vasha T.
- I keep a box of creative challenges that the students can do with versatile supplies like pencils, markers, colored pencils, and paper. For example, they love creating rebuses, so I give them phrases. I like that they have to think, and they like having their friends try to guess them. – Greg S.
STEAM early finisher activities
- I have coloring sheets and beads for bracelet making. – Kelley H.
- I have a free-draw center with how-to drawing books and there is scratch paper for the students. I also have a loose-parts center with tinker toys, Legos, a marble maze, and other items. The Legos are a hit item. – Danny L.
- Discovery Box: a box where I keep cardboard scrap pieces, small jewelry boxes, empty towel rolls, pipe cleaners, colorful wire, yarn, and string. The real magic happens when I take that box out for early finishers and their imaginations take over. –B oxofsmocks
- Paper airplanes! – Pam H.
- Free-draw, dry-erase board drawing, drawing tablets, Legos, and magnetic blocks. – Emily M.
- 3D building toys such as Legos, Magna-Tiles, straws with connectors, etc. – Ellie M.
- Bin full of scrap wood! The kids love to build and paint on wood! Nice change of pace! – Krystina F.
- Just like Dory, our artists just keep swimming! Children can free-draw, work on artist trading cards, modeling clay, and sometimes architecture! – Dawn L.
- For my early finishers, I have them free-draw, use coloring sheets, play chess, work art puzzles, play pick-up sticks for had eye coordination, weave on plastic looms, and build. – Laura D.
- Early finishers can free-draw, coloring sheets, free-paint, or centers (Legos, building blocks, friendship bracelets, stamps, chess, etc.). – Carey G.
Alternate art projects for early finishers
- Early finishes get to pull an extra project from the magic art hat and use a limited special supply. – Tera M.
- This year my 8th graders are repurposing donated small solid wood furniture. Students love painting these small treasures in bright colors for use in my art room. – Silver B.
- One of the choices I have available for early finishers is an art contest board with dates and details for local student art contests. – Hannah B.
- Altered books are my go-to for early finishers. Each student has a book scheduled for recycling from our media center. I have a list of activities that each student will complete during the year. In addition, when they finish early, they may choose any of the techniques listed or create their own to add to their altered book. Activities focus on media techniques that extend beyond the scope of our regular classroom lessons such as India ink with nibs, cut-out windows with cellophane, tunnel book pages, and cardboard pockets to hold remembrances. This is one of my student’s favorite activities, and I have a hard time getting enough books! – LN Marie
- Early finishers can visit my inspiration station with lots of sensory objects, books, etc., to brainstorm their next art piece! – Simone T.
Projects that cover techniques and art principles for early finishers
- Elements of art workbooks I put together stay in their folders, and they work on the pages when done with projects. When workbooks are done, they are handed in for a full extra credit grade. – kidscreationsart
- Early finishers are charged with developing skills. They use how-to-draw books, task cards, and online tutorials to challenge themselves. – Ms. Masone
- I give different small activities to early finishers that usually relate to the big project they just finished. For example, my students learning about value right now have a few sheets of value practice coloring sheets to choose from using dark tones, medium grey, and empty white space. – Carly M.
- I have 9–12 Digital & Studio Courses. When they finish early, they get to photograph or export their projects and complete their electronic portfolios, all in preparation for critique! – Lindsey K.
- We do coloring pages of famous masterpieces, but they have to create a new color scheme. Students also have the opportunity to edit older major projects and re-submit for a higher grade. Right now, we make a few unusual techniques/media available for students to try, such as pyrography and linoleum carving/printmaking, at stations around the room. – Michelle O.