Hi! I recently finished rewriting my K-6 art curriculum plan. We are required to do this every 4 years. You can see my first blog post about organizing curriculum that I wrote a few years back. I use the curriculum plan as a guide for my yearly planning. If students are interested in one area of art more than another, I tend to adapt my plans. If I have a brilliant idea for something new I want to try with … Read more…
Every year our school has a family FUNdraiser with a silent auction portion. My art classes always contribute a few artworks to the auction. This year, I came across an idea on an art teacher Facebook group. The canvas had the words “You are my sunshine” written across the middle. Each student contributed a sunshine drawn with Sharpie markers or paint markers. We used painted white wooden cradled canvases similar to this one. First I did You are My Sunshine … Read more…
For Earth Day, my 4th & 5th grade class drew endangered trees and birds using oil pastels. The entire lesson took about 3-4 class periods to finish. The students each used a picture of their tree or bird to recreate on a piece of 9″x12″ paper. We talked a little bit about layering and blending colors with the oil pastels. We were able to go outside on Earth Day to enjoy the sunshine while drawing. Our Earth Day committee came … Read more…
There is a huge sale in my shop today and tomorrow! Almost everything is 20% off, plus use the code CELEBRATE for additional savings. Happy Teacher Appreciation Day.
My second graders recently learned about simple ways to show depth in an artwork. I gave a demonstration on my new document camera and showed them how rivers and roads that go back in space would be wider in the front and narrower in the back. I demonstrated how things that were far in the distance would be smaller than things in the front. The use of overlap is also a way to show depth. I showed the students this … Read more…
My 3rd and 4th grade class just finished making woven God’s Eyes (Ojos de Dios). Students chose yarn and wrapped the strands around the sticks. Then they were all tied to a large stick I found in my neighbor’s yard. Some kids made multiples so they could take one home right away. I was surprised how almost all of them had never made these before. I guess I went to a lot of summer camps where we made stuff with … Read more…
What are Kwik Stix? Today I will share with you my first vlog. What is vlogging? Video blogging. In this video, I will share with you a new product I am loving and tell you my opinions. In the picture below, the butterfly was painted with paint dotters. The background designs were drawn with Kwik Stix. The designs drawn on top of the shapes are drawn with Kwik Stix. You can blend the Kwik Stix with water and a paintbrush. … Read more…
Many of you probably know of Ian and Melissa from Apex High School. They have developed a list of Artistic Behaviors for the high school level. I have been following along and seeing how they teach their students. Seeing their list gave me the idea to create posters that shows kids what artists do and what exactly is an artist. I decided to simplify the behaviors for elementary school students and start from the basics. Start from the ground and … Read more…
I wanted to explain to you how our art class periods are structured. Students have art twice a week for 40 minutes. Typically, we start with a 5 minute art warm up drawing in a sketchbook. Then we move to instruction, demonstration, art history or literature connections. Finally, for the majority of the time, the students work on their artwork. Students work at all different paces. Some students work very quickly and others take as much as double the amount … Read more…
This project was a huge hit with my 5th/6th grade classes. There’s something about the feel of sand through your fingers that is soothing. I’m telling you, every kid was very engaged. I got applause after one of my demonstrations. Applause! When was the last time you had your class cheer and applaud after a demonstration? We used Sand-O Adhesive Boards and X-Acto knives to make our pictures. First, we drew the design with pencil. Then we carefully cut one … Read more…
I want to show you a beautiful book I discovered called Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book by Brian P. Clearly. The book was illustrated by Betsy E. Snyder and I think the pictures are fantastic. The style of the book is reminiscent of Eric Carle’s painted paper collages. Aren’t they beautiful? On each page of the book are pictures that feature things that start with one letter of the alphabet. My first grade students created an … Read more…
In my last post, I wrote an overall recap of the National Art Education Association conference. I also gave a summary of the artist Jesse Reno’s speech. In another post, I put together a little art history quiz of artworks from the Art Institute of Chicago. Today I am going to share with you some highlights from a few of the presentations. If you would like to see all of the handouts from the presentations that were uploaded, they are … Read more…
Hi, artsy friends! It’s taken awhile for me to gather all my pictures and information from the National Art Education Association conference and compile them into a recap. At my school, if you go to a conference, you present something about your experience at one of our weekly staff meetings. So I am “killing two birds with one stone”. If you have never been to an art conference, it is really fun! There are many, many sessions to choose … Read more…
When I found out that Jesse Reno was going to be at the National Art Education Conference this year, I was stoked. I’ve been following his artwork and blog for several years and I love how layered and complex his paintings are. You have to watch his process of transforming one thing into another while painting. He has several videos on his blog where you can watch him paint. I was excited to hear him talk, but it would have … Read more…
How well do you know artists throughout history? Take this quiz to test your knowledge. If you are reading from a blog reader or email, you may need to click on over to the actual blog post. Art History Quiz from Marcia Beckett This past week I had the pleasure of attending the National Art Education Association conference in Chicago, IL. I have lots of information to share with you from some of the great sessions I attended. Coming … Read more…
