Cat in the Hat Drawing Tutorial for Kids

Credit for this project goes to deepspacesparkle.com for their amazing drawing tutorial. I did have to sign up for their newsletter to receive access to the printable tutorial, but the results were totally worth it, and I will likely use their ideas for future craft projects.

I did this project with a class of students in grades 1-6.

Supply List

• White copy paper
• White cardstock
• Colored construction paper
• Watercolor paints
• Black permanent marker
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Drawing instructions

Classroom Directions

1. Pass out copy paper, drawing instructions, and a pencil to each student. This piece of copy paper will be their “practice” drawing. Let the kids know this ahead of time so they don’t waste a lot of time making this one look perfect.
2. With your own paper and instructions, go through the instructions step-by-step, modeling each step as you go. I found that some kids opted to go ahead on their own and not wait for the class, while others fell behind as I did the steps on the board. Since they all have the instructions in front of them, letting them work at their own pace was just fine for my classroom.
3. Once the kids are satisfied with their practice drawing, have them draw it again on cardstock.
4. When their cardstock drawing is to their satisfaction, have them trace their pencil lines in permanent marker.
5. Then the students can paint their background paper and their cardstock drawing with watercolor paints.
6. Once their cardstock is dry enough, have the students cut around their drawing, leaving a small margin of white between their marker line and where they cut.
7. Have the students glue their cut-out cardstock onto the background.

Tips and Tricks

• Originally, I had the students paint their background first, then draw their drawing. My thinking was that the background would have time to dry while they worked on their drawing. This didn’t quite work, as some of the messier kids got their drawing papers wet from drips and spills. I think it would be better to just save all the painting for the end.
• Providing each student with a print-out of the instructions gives them no excuse to ask what they should do next, which is a time-saver. It also encourages them to follow directions and think critically.
• My cardstock wasn’t the same size as the construction paper, leaving the cat’s hat ending in an odd place. Consider trimming the construction paper to be the same length as your cardstock to prevent this from happening.
• Be sure to communicate to the students the importance of leaving white space when they cut out their cat. The perfectionists in the room will want to cut right along the black line, but leaving space gives it an artistic look.
• Students will complete this project at different times- some took much longer than others. Consider an alternate assignment for students who finish early.