Pupils can produce masterpieces from simple items: a sheet of paper, black and white crayons and a pot of blue paint mixed with a lot of water. Ask them to sketch the outline of a large old house that almost fills the page, colour the walls of the house in with black crayon and the roofs with white crayon for snow.

Have them paint over the entire page with their wash of blue paint. Combine their pictures and the result is a stunning display of an old village of snow covered houses with a background of clear blue sky. Lack of perspective helps to make the buildings appear full of character. Every pupil can be proud of their contribution, and, may become the next Pieter Brueghel, a painter of landscapes such as Hunters in the Snow (above)

Rosemary Westwell is a teacher in Cambridgeshire