If art teachers had a quarter for every time they heard a student say, “I’m done. What can I do next?“… we would retire early and comfortably. While it takes a bit of extra work in the beginning, it can be really beneficial throughout the year to have some plans in place to help with this scenario.
If a student is truly finished with their work and all caught up with missing work, I have a few go-to early finisher activities. These various activities have proven to be effective over the years at keeping those creative minds from being idle during valuable class time.
Hope ya find something useful!
Jigsaw Puzzle Corner
Depending on the space in your classroom, you might want to consider setting up an area with an art themed jigsaw puzzle that can be worked on throughout the year. This Mona Lisa 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle was pretty difficult and held the attention of my students for nearly an entire year! While students are searching of the pieces, they are also analyzing the colors and details found within the composition. It’s a win-win!
Perhaps you don’t have the space to leave it out or you are reasonably worried that students will mess with the pieces. Because truly, is there anything worse than finishing a puzzle to find out 1 piece has gone missing at the hands of a “funny” adolescent? Consider investing in a Jigsaw puzzle mat roll up.
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Origami Challenge
Consider having a box of pre-cut origami squares with an origami book or printed out directions. In my class, I like to give the paper crane challenge. For early finishers who make a paper crane, they get a piece of candy. Candy might not be your thing, but it motivates my middle schoolers to make paper cranes and I’m okay with that.
Play Hues ‘N Cues
Got more than 1 kiddo who is finished early? My students LOVE this game called HUES and CUES! Not only will it entertain those idle hands, but it ties in great with color theory art vocabulary. Heads up- it can get very competitive… in a good way!
Jewelry making
From beads to rubber band looms to embroidery string, jewelry making is always a hit. One of our class favorites is to turn cardboard scraps into circle looms. It’s easy for all and keeps young creatives busy and focused. Check out this video tutorial here by Arts&Crafts.
Wooden Color Puzzle
MindWare Pattern Play Color by Design comes with 40 wooden blocks to make 40 different designs that are provided with 40 different cards! It’s fun, relaxing, and a positive creative challenge for those early finishers.
Sidewalk chalk
Do you have a small outdoor patio space within view? Depending on your students, weather, and classroom setup, some classic sidewalk chalk exploration is a great activity for early finishers.
Play Oui-si
If you haven’t heard of OuiSi Original: Games of Visual Connection, you’ve got to check it out! In the game box, there are 210 beautifully printed cards with a variety of games and activities that can be played with a group or solo.
Collaborative Coloring Bulletin Board
If you have an open bulletin board, consider making a collaborative coloring corner or doodling “zen zone” wall. Check out my blog post here for a free printable poster!
Lego wall!
Depending on your classroom space, consider creating a vertical lego wall (to save space) or lego table for early finishers.
MASH!
Kidding…. or am I? If you don’t know what MASH is… you didn’t grow up in the 90’s.
Shrinky dinks!
While this requires access to a small craft oven, Shrinky Dinks can be a fun, open-ended doodle activity for those early finishers. It’s not realistic to turn the craft oven on for one random shrinky dink, so have those early finishers put their names on the back and put them aside to bake ‘n return on a later date. We love to hole punch ours so they can be used as jewelry charms.
Collaborative rock garden
Prime a few rocks with gesso and allow your early finishers a space to paint some rocks. Consider creating a collaborative rock garden that you can add painted rocks to throughout the year.
Water painting on the Buddha Board
No mess…. easy set up… that sounds like an early finisher activity I can get down with! Check out the Buddha Board. This is a mindful, ink-less board you can paint with water. Over a short time, the marks fade and the board can be repainted. I LOVE THIS for early finishers.
Collaborative Tessellation Mural
While free-draw is always an easy option for early finishers, consider a more guided activity such as pre-printed tessellation cards which can be combined to create a collaborative mural.
Custom Cursive Name Practice
If you have some lined paper around your classrooms, create a custom cursive name practice sheet for early finishers.
Thanks for checking out this blog post. I would love to hear your from you! Feel free to tag me on Instagram and possibly get featured in this site! Also, please follow Make a Mark Studios on Facebook to keep up with the latest posts! Thanks in advance!
-Stephanie Villiotis, creator of Make a Mark Studios
So many great ideas! Such fun and interesting activities! Love your blog