Drawing Activities for the Entire School Year: 111 Ideas Without a Stack of Worksheets

The hard part is not finding one activity. It is finding the next one, and repeating that all year. 111 activities in one book per student.

By Ricardo Demi · Published September 17, 2026

With 111 different drawings there are enough activities for a full school year at three drawings per week, and a comfortable margin at two per week. When each student works in an individual book that includes step-by-step instructions, tracing practice, and space for independent drawing, teachers do not have to continually print, distribute, collect, and organize new worksheets.

The hard part is not finding one drawing activity

A teacher can find a cat drawing online for Monday. The harder part is finding another for Thursday, then another next week. Then printing it, passing it out, collecting it, and figuring out what to do with all the finished pages. And doing it again all year.

As an elementary classroom resource, the biggest advantage of How to Draw 111 is not any single drawing. It is that 111 ready-to-use activities are organized in one system and kept in one place.

How long 111 activities actually last

Three drawings a week covers a full school year, about 37 weeks. Two a week covers the year with room to spare, and the remaining drawings give a teacher choice rather than an obligation to use every one.

There is no need to follow the book in strict order. Drawings can be selected to match a classroom theme, a season, student interests, or simply to give children a choice.

What one activity looks like

Each subject gets a full two-page spread. First the student sees how the picture is built, usually in about six steps. New lines are black and previous lines are gray, so students see what changed without the teacher explaining every line to the class.

Next the student traces the finished drawing along dotted lines, then draws the same subject independently in the space provided, and colors it if time allows. The format repeats throughout the book, so students do not learn a new activity structure every time.

Why an individual book beats loose worksheets

One worksheet is easy to manage. Dozens of worksheets over a school year become another organization task. With an individual book the routine changes: get the book, open the activity, draw, close the book, put it away.

There is no page to file after every session, student work does not get mixed together, and at the end of the year each child takes home a book filled with their own drawings in the order they made them.

Where 15 to 20 minutes of drawing fits

Not every drawing activity needs to become a full art lesson. Step-by-step drawing works for morning work, early finishers, independent art time, classroom art centers, homeschool activities, or part of an elementary art lesson.

The instructions are visual, so students do not need to read a paragraph before they start. This is especially useful in early grades, with beginning readers, and in classrooms where students have different levels of English proficiency.

One book can tell the story of a year

In May, open a page a student completed in September. Around it are months of that child's own drawings. For a teacher it is a record of practice, for the student a chance to look back, for the family a finished book that goes home.

At the beginning of the year it is a book with 111 activities. By the end of the year it has become that child's book.

What the book gives a classroom

111 different activities in one system
15 to 20 minutes per session, with no teacher prep
Nothing to print, distribute, or collect
Visual instructions work across reading levels
Each student ends the year with their own book in order

Frequently asked questions

How many drawing activities do you need for a full school year?

At three drawing activities per week for 37 weeks, you need 111 activities. That is exactly how many different drawings are included in our book. At two activities per week, 111 drawings cover the year with room to spare.

How can teachers use step-by-step drawing in an elementary classroom?

One drawing works as a short independent activity of about 15 to 20 minutes, with coloring added when more time is available. It fits morning work, independent art time, art centers, or other openings in the school day.

Are drawing worksheets or individual drawing books better for regular classroom use?

A worksheet works well for a one-time activity. For regular drawing throughout the year, an individual book eliminates repeated printing, distributing, collecting, and organizing. Each student's drawings stay together in one place.

Can visual drawing activities work with different reading levels?

Visual drawing instructions do not require students to read a paragraph before beginning. In our book, each new line is shown in black while previous lines are gray, allowing students to identify the next action visually.

What is a good screen-free early-finisher activity?

A self-contained step-by-step drawing works well for early finishers because the student can begin independently and complete a finished piece of artwork without needing a new worksheet. The instructions, tracing practice, and drawing space are all on the same spread.

Why use an individual drawing book instead of loose printables?

An individual book keeps months of student work together. At the end of the year, students can look back at earlier drawings and take home one completed book rather than a stack of separate pages.

Try it with your class for free

Ten spreads from the book are free to print and hand out, with no registration, so you can see how the activity works in your own classroom.

Books Free coloring pages to print