SUPPLIES
- Liquid watercolors in various colors (Art Closet)
- Watercolor trays, 1 for every 2-3 children (Art Closet)
- Small cups for water, 1 per child (Art Closet) *Fill cups with water in the classroom sink.
- Paint brushes, 1 per child (Art Closet)
- Black crayons, 1 per child (Art Closet)
- Scratch paper, 1 per child (Art Closet)
- Paper towels (folded) to blot wet brushes, 1 per child (please bring a roll from home)
- Doublesided Seahorse Handout, 1 per child (Art Closet) *Make copies for the children in the teacher workroom.
SCRIPT
Allow 1 to 1.5 hours of classroom time for this lesson
Good Morning Friends!
Today, we're going to talk about a magical creature called a seahorse! What can you tell me about seahorses?
- Where do they live?
- What do they look like?
- What do they do?
- Have you ever seen one in real life? Where?
- Is there anything else you want to tell me about seahorses?
SHOW IMAGE #1 ON ELMO/OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
There are about 50 different types of seahorses that live in the oceans throughout the world. They are very small, around 6 inches long (but sometimes as tiny as 1/2 inch or as big as 1 foot) and they live for about 1 year. They spend their whole life in the water, breathing through gills, but they're very different from other fish. Can anyone tell me what makes them different? {Their head looks like a tiny horse's head.}
SHOW IMAGE #2 ON ELMO/OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
SHOW IMAGE #3
Unlike many other fish, seahorses do not have tail fins; some people think a seahorse tail looks like a caterpillar and many people compare it to a monkey tail! That's because the tail of a seahorse can curve to form a hook and grab things. A tail that can do this is called a "prehensile" tail. Other animals that have prehensile tails are some monkeys, possums, lizards, and just a few other animals.
SHOW IMAGE #4
Seahorses can wrap their tails around sea grass to anchor themselves or hold steady in rough waters. Seahorses often swim in pairs with their tails linked together. And sometimes baby seahorses hold on to one another to form a chain.
SHOW IMAGE #5
When you look at a seahorse with its horse-like head and monkey-like tail it's hard to believe it's even a fish! Instead of being covered in scales like other fish, the seahorse is covered with bony plates that are arranged in rings. Tiny knobs mark the spot where the plates join together {Art Rep, point out bumps on photo}. Scientists call this an "outer skeleton." For a long time, no one knew exactly what kind of an animal a seahorse was. In fact, it's scientific name is "hippocampus" which means "horselike sea monster."
SHOW IMAGE #6
Seahorses are also known for their very large, unique eyes and excellent eyesight. Their eyes can move independently of each other, which means one eye can look left while the other eye looks right. They can also look forward and backward at the same time! This is very helpful when looking for food.
SHOW IMAGE #7
Can you imagine a fish that is not a good swimmer? Seahorses swim very, very slowly. It takes them 90 seconds to swim 1 foot. Most male seahorses stick to a very small area of the ocean, about the size of your desk. Females roam a little further, in an area about the size of this classroom. Even though they are not strong swimmers, they are masters at steering and could easily navigate around a small blade of grass. Seahorses always swim in an upright position and move by using the small fin on their back {dorsal fin—Art Rep, point out on image #7}. The smaller fins on their heads are used for steering {pectoral fins—Art Rep, point out on image #7}. Because they are not strong swimmers, they like to live in calm, shallow waters near the shore. Instead of hunting, the seahorse will wrap its tail around a piece of sea grass or coral and wait for smaller sea creatures to swim by. It uses its long snout to suck its prey into its mouth. Seahorses must eat constantly to stay alive. They are always hungry and can eat up to 3000 small brine shrimp in 1 day.
SHOW IMAGE #8
Because the seahorse is not a fast swimmer, it cannot easily escape from a predator or enemy. How do you think the seahorse protects itself? {Art Rep, take responses} This fish has a very clever way of hiding and it's called camouflage. Can anyone tell me what camouflage is? {Art Rep, take responses} The seahorse changes color to blend in with its surroundings. A seahorse floating in red coral will turn a fiery red. If hiding in sparkly blue and yellow coral, it will turn into one of these bright colors as well. Black seahorses sometimes turn white!
SHOW IMAGE #9
SHOW IMAGE #10
Another interesting thing about the seahorse is that it's one of the only animal species where the male gives birth. The "dad" seahorse has a pouch like a kangaroo, and he protects and carries the eggs for several weeks in the pouch until the baby seahorses are born. Male and female seahorses mate for life.
SHOW IMAGE #11
The seahorse is related to another fish that is one of the strangest-looking fish in the sea! Does anyone know what this fish is called? A Sea Dragon.
SHOW IMAGE #12
What does the Sea Dragon remind you of? Does the skin look like seaweed or like leafy branches coming out of its body? What do you think of it? The Sea Dragon is bigger than the seahorse and lives in Australia. Both of these fish have lived in the ocean for millions of years and people have been fascinated by them for centuries.
Now that you've learned about seahorses, we're going to draw and paint our very own! Your seahorses might look like the real ones that live in the ocean or they might be imaginary ones you make up, like the ones you see in storybooks or on your handout. Whichever you choose, please make your artwork COLORFUL because your art will be used for the Square1 Art fundraiser and turned into fun things like totes and coffee cups that your family can buy.
{Art Rep: turn off Elmo and turn the lights on in the classroom.}
PAINT
- Look at your handout. Take a few minutes and think about what you want your seahorse to look like. You can use the handout for inspiration OR create your own. We are going to draw 1 big seahorse on the Square1 paper (2 seahorses maximum). Think of this as a seahorse portrait or a zoomed-in photo so please draw BIG. You can sketch on the scratch paper first if you like.
- Using a pencil draw your seahorse on the Square1 paper. We are only drawing the outside lines of the seahorse or what we call the "contour" lines. You can add an eye, a mouth, and a few details like bumps or spikes, but try to keep it very simple. Art Reps, for more info on how to draw a seahorse, including a video tutorial, please scroll to the bottom of the lesson.
- VERY IMPORTANT: Do not draw all the way to the edges of the paper, Keep your seahorse about 1" away from the edges so Square1 does not cut off your drawing. Press lightly with your pencil so you can erase any lines that you don't like. Remember to draw big and in the center of the paper.
- Once you're done drawing your seahorse, trace your pencil lines with black crayon. We will be doing what is called a "watercolor resist." The wax in the crayons creates a barrier that stops the watercolors. The crayon will repel the watercolor away from it so the colors don't blend together.
- Write your first name and year (e.g. Melineh 2018) in black crayon near the center of the paper, away from the edges. Write large enough that you can easily read all of the letters. Remember that your art might be reduced down to a very small size on the Square1 products.
- Paint! Start painting the seahorse first and leave the background for later. Make your seahorse colorful — red, orange, pink, yellow, purple. You can use more than one color on your seahorse. Save the blue and green colors for the background. Blending watercolors is really beautiful, but if you don't want to blend leave a tiny bit of space between them when you paint. MAKE SURE TO SWISH YOUR PAINT BRUSH IN THE WATER TO CLEAN IT OFF IN BETWEEN COLORS.
- When your're done paining the seahorse, paint the background ocean with blue and green. You can add details like seaweed, or add a little bit of yellow or purple to the background color. {Art Rep, as you walk around the room, look at the children's artwork. If you notice a child is using all 1 color or all dark colors encourage them to add pops of pink, yellow, purple. We want the art to be bright and colorful}
- Remember to take the background color all the way to the edges to cover the entire paper with color.
TIP Remind the kids to clean their paint brushes with water and blot on a paper towel in between colors.
ART REPS If you want more info on how to draw a seahorse, the following handouts in the Art Closet might be helpful. While you're teaching, try drawing a seahorse on the whiteboard as a demonstration for the children. You can walk them through the process. The image below breaks down the seahorse into simple shapes the children are familiar with, like circles and rectangles. You can display the image on the ELMO/Overhead Projector and ask the class to sketch first on scratch paper. Point out the four circles, the rectangles for the snout and the fin, and how they are all connected by simple lines.
Here is another helpful break-down of simple lines and shapes (find a copy in the Art Closet).
If you want to practice drawing the night before or pick up a few tips before teaching the class, here's a helpful video tutorial. Do not play this to the students in class as it will take up too much time:
How to Draw a Seahorse Video by Shoo Rayner