Valuable Owls - Grade 4

I saw this lesson over at http://drawthelineat.blogspot.com/2012/10/owl-silhouette-collage.html and decided it was a great way to instruct my students on how to create a value scale where they would easily create and see the transition from light to dark in a fun way!
We began by painting the moon high up on our drawing paper with white paint.  The students were given  two different shades of blue paint plus black and white.  From there the students mixed colors beginning with the lightest tones first.  As they worked their way towards the edges of their paper they were instructed to mix darker tones by adding more paint then the time before.  The students were able to mix anywhere from five to seven tones from light to dark.
During week two and three the students drew their owls and the branches of their tree on black construction paper using white chalk.  The concept of long, medium and short were discussed for the branches as well as composing a balanced composition on their painted paper.
Who could resist the awesome results of this fun lesson on color, composition and design!