Easy School Auction Canvas Idea

About every other year our elementary school does an auction to raise money for the PTA. Each class contributes a project. Sound familiar?

When my daughter was in second grade, another mom and I worked with her class to design and paint a canvas for the auction. We wanted to do something that the kids would really participate in and feel connected to. We decided to do the project in two steps, the first was to ask the kids to think about what it meant to be a friend and the second was to make the art that represented those traits. 

As a class the kids brainstormed all of the things that they thought were important to being good classmates and friends. The children came up with an amazing list; everything from respect and fairness to creativity and laughter. 

On our second visit to the class we brought a large canvas (16" by 40") and each child used water color pencils to artistically interpret one of the words that the class had come up with. Each child thoughtfully composed their section of the canvas. I added the stitching and lettering with a black paint pen. The children were thrilled by how it turned out and it made some money for the school, but what I appreciated the most was the time spent with these wonderful kids. Listening to them encourage each other and watch them create together is one of those little things that I won't forget.

Making the canvas is easy! We used a long canvas (but any size would work) divided into even sections, water color pencils, paint brushes and water to blend the pencils, and a black paint pen. The canvas is sealed with Mod Podge.  

Do you have a great school auction project to share?