Adapting Projects for Grade Levels

My afterschool watercolor class is filled with a few kinders, a lot of 1st through 3rd graders, and a few 4th and 5th graders. Rather than separate them, because grade is often irrelevant to ability, I choose projects that are adaptable. In my class today, the “beginners” practiced just drawing several separate crayons, the “mid levels” tried layering a few of them, and “advanced” used curves to make them look like tubes. All used a skinny 6" x 1.5" cardboard template, the size of the wrapper, to help them make parallel lines. This art was made by Sarah C., a talented 3rd grader.