Animal observation drawings with pastel

First graders are learning about animals growing from babies to adults in their classrooms right now. I just acquired an assortment of plastic animal figurines and thought they would be helpful for my observational drawing unit. Each first grader was allowed to blindly pull a figurine from my assortment.  We discussed the many parts that animals have and using the space to fill up the paper. Once we finished drawing, students were given pastels to add color to their work. We did this in one 45 minute class period.