Kid Art Lesson: Painting the Sistine Chapel

The election of a new pope is exciting world news. Here’s a great way to connect kids to the history which is unfolding in real time as well as teaching them a lesson in art history. Letting children practice painting their very own Sistine Chapel is fun work that engages them fully.

Painting the Sistine Chapel Lesson

To Prepare

Tape paper to a flat underside of a table. You can tape a Sistine Chapel Coloring Sheet to the paper or just leave it free style.

Make a sign with a cross to remind them that this is a real church.

A drop cloth and smock are musts, as are thick paints to prevent dripping.

Before the Lesson

Look at pictures of the Sistine Chapel together. Point out the ceiling. Discus what you see. Note the most famous part of the piece, Adam and God touching fingers. Explain what a fresco is (a painting painted directly to the wall).

Introduce the artist, Michelangelo, to your children. Tell them that it took him 4 years to paint the Sistine Chapel. You can relate that to their own lifespan. Explain that the pope asked him to paint it and that it shows the glory of God.

Choose a few key points to repeat throughout the lesson. For preschoolers I suggest these facts:

The Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo a long time ago.
It took him 4 years to paint it.
It is a church which shows the glory of God.
A fresco is a painting on a wall, not a paper or canvas.
Right now the cardinals are choosing a new pope inside the Sistine Chapel.

Let your child paint

The best way to learn is by doing, so just let him give it a whirl.

I acted as an assistant and handed paintbrushes to my kids. They asked for the color and the thickness of brush and I readied it for them. This made it a very clean project. Older kids might benefit from dealing with the paint themselves, but preschoolers might end up struggling too much.

As they paint talk about how it feels. If they can’t reach a part of their ceiling, encourage them to problem solve. Admire their work.