I Am an Artist Book Unit

If you’re looking for a joyful, creative way to explore art and sensory learning in your homeschool, this I Am an Artist book unit will show you exactly how to turn a simple read-aloud into a rich, hands-on experience. Perfect for younger children, this delightful book celebrates imagination, self-expression, and the beauty of creating without limits.

I Am An Artist

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In our homeschool, we paired this story with a Five Senses theme, incorporating nature, creativity, and sensory play to bring the book to life.

Why I Am an Artist Works for Homeschooling

This charming picture book encourages children to see themselves as creators. It’s playful, a little messy, and wonderfully affirming, making it ideal for:

Building confidence in creativity
Encouraging imaginative thinking
Supporting early art exploration
Connecting learning with sensory experiences

As part of our read alouds and go along books, it fit beautifully into a themed unit focused on the senses.

Theme: The Five Senses

We extended the story into a week of sensory exploration, helping the children connect art with:

Sight – observing colors, shapes, and nature
Smell – flowers, spices, and natural scents
Touch – petals, leaves, and textures
Hearing – outdoor sounds during nature walks
Taste – (discussed conceptually while exploring the senses)

I Am an Artist Book Unit: Our Sensory Homeschool Activities

🌸 Petal Perfume (Smell + Touch + Sight)

We began with a gentle nature walk in the garden, chatting about what we could see, smell, hear, and feel.

Each child collected flowers and petals in their own basket.

Both girls splitting the petals from the stems

Back inside:

They separated petals from stems
Placed petals into jars
Carefully poured hot water over them
Sealed the jars and left them to infuse

The excitement of creating their own “perfume” was magical! We’ll leave the jars for a couple of weeks before straining the fragrant water.

To make them extra special, we:

We gathered together the smashed petal labels, ribbon, material and elastic bands and a pen

Created smashed petal labels
Decorated jars with ribbon and fabric
Turned them into beautiful handmade gifts

🌺 Making Potpourri (Smell + Touch)

Gary had bought me a gorgeous bunch of flowers a few weeks ago which were past their best. I always dry any roses he gives me, but the rest I let the little girls have to make pot pourri. They pulled all the petals off the flowers and mixed them into an oven tray

Ready to go with my homemade pot pourri kit

Our ‘kit’ comprised of dried flowers, dried lavender, lavender powder, lavender essential oil, a couple of gift bags and some pretty ribbon which matched the material used for their petal perfume the day before.

Using dried flowers (including treasured roses), the children made their own potpourri.

They carefully measured all the ingredients into their bags

Steps included:

Pulling petals from flowers
Drying them slowly in the oven
Mixing them with lavender, essential oils, and powder

After they finished they gave it a good shake

We packaged everything into little gift bags with matching ribbons, perfect for thoughtful handmade presents.

🎨 Painting with Spices (Smell + Sight)

This was a huge hit!

We created natural “paints” using:

Sweet spices: clove, ginger, nutmeg
Savory spices: turmeric, curry, cumin

The only rule?
Smell before you paint!

The children loved exploring the different scents, some more than others, and created vibrant, fragrant artwork.

🧺 Sensory Nature Tray (All Five Senses)

All the girls got together and made some lovely nature pictures which now adorn their bedroom walls

The children gathered natural treasures to build their own sensory baskets:

Acorns
Leaves
Flowers
Twigs

A5 spent hours playing with her basket of goodies.

They used these items to:

Create nature-inspired art
Build imaginative small worlds
Turn acorns into little characters

During play, we discussed how we use our senses:

Eyes to see
Nose to smell
Ears to hear
Mouth to taste
Hands to touch

Factual Books to Pair With This Theme

To deepen learning, consider adding simple nonfiction books about:

The five senses
Plants and flowers
How we smell and taste
Nature exploration

These complement the imaginative tone of I Am an Artist with real-world understanding.

Reflection Questions

After reading and exploring, use these questions to encourage deeper thinking:

What kind of artist are you?
What materials do you love creating with the most?
Which of your five senses do you use most when making art?
How did the flowers and spices make you feel?
What did you notice on our nature walk that you hadn’t seen before?
Do you think anything can be used to make art? Why?

I Am an Artist Book Unit: Final Thoughts

This I Am an Artist book unit highlights just how powerful a simple picture book can be when paired with meaningful, hands-on experiences. By weaving together creativity and sensory exploration, you create learning that is memorable, engaging, and deeply personal.

Even after multiple homeschool cycles, it’s refreshing to revisit familiar resources in new ways. Sometimes a shift in approach, like focusing on the senses can breathe new life into well-loved books.

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