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Category Archives: all grades

Art Projects that Go Along with Children’s Books

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A selection of children's books on a gradient background, featuring titles like "It's Okay to Be Different," "Elmer," and "The Shape of My Heart." Each book boasts colorful, engaging covers and inspires art projects that beautifully complement the stories within.

Are you looking for art projects that go along with children’s books? Here are 10 art projects that go along with children’s books!  I love to include children’s books in my art lessons.  It’s a great “hook” to capture their interest and also it provides a way for students to see beautiful illustrations and learn about concepts, cultures and other people.   In this post, I share a few of my favorite children’s books that go along with art projects.  Amazon … Read more… →

Magnetic Building Blocks | Early Finisher Idea

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A box filled with vibrant, patterned magnetic building blocks. Text above reads, "Early Finisher Idea!" Perfect for sparking creativity and fun for those who complete tasks ahead of time.

I wanted to share with you something that is sure to be a hit in your classroom. These are some really fun magnetic building blocks my kids love to build with! This is a great idea for an early finisher center in the art classroom. As an art teacher, I’m sure you have encountered the situation (pretty much every day) that kids finish at all different times during the class period. Some of them work really quickly and others take … Read more… →

Grabie 100 Watercolor Set: My New Favorite

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Discover the Grabie Watercolor Set, a favorite among artists. This exquisite collection features 100 vibrant watercolor paints in a sleek metal case, complete with paintbrushes, a colorful floral box, and a blank watercolor sheet ready for your creativity to unfold.

As you may know, I have a little collection of watercolor sets and I love trying out new ones. Previously, my all-time favorite watercolor set was the Sakura Koi travel set. It was just so portable, handy and the colors are vibrant. When I saw this new set by Grabie, I was intrigued and wanted to try it out. 100 yummy colors! Grabie sent me a sample to try out and review for the blog. I was NOT disappointed! (Amazon … Read more… →

Do You Want More Art Teacher Resources?

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Promotional image for a Cyber Monday sale featuring art supplies and essential art teacher resources around a sign. Text reads "Up to 25% off. Code: CYBER24.

Of course you do! And wouldn’t you like 25% off!?   On Monday and Tuesday you can get a full 25% off in my shop using coupon code CYBER24.  There are all kinds of fun and ready-to-print resources at my shop.   …. and much more! Check out lots of great art resources at TPT: https://www.teacherspayteacher… Winter Art Projects for Kids In this bundle, you will receive two popular winter art activities for elementary school- Snow Globes and Pop Art Snowman Drawing Lessons! … Read more… →

Free Elementary Artwork Reflection Sheet with Questions

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Hello! Are you looking for a simple and effective way to help your elementary students reflect on their art? One of my goals this year has been to find creative ways to get students talking about their artwork and thinking more deeply about their process. My co-worker and I brainstormed some thoughtful questions for this sheet and we came up with a quick reflection sheet that your students can fill out after finishing a piece and then attach to the … Read more… →

Gift Ideas for Kids Who Love Art

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Gift ideas for kids who love art, showcasing colorful art supplies like crayons, markers, paints, and a crown kit. These vibrant gifts are perfect for young creators and set against a playful grid background.

Are you looking for some fun gift ideas for kids in your life who love art? This list of art gift ideas are things my own kids and my students really enjoy. Click on this link, which has a list of my favorite art gift ideas for children. (This is my Amazon affiliate storefront, in which I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. This money helps to maintain my blog.) Thanks for reading!

Easy Printable Art Sub Plan for Elementary: A Balancing Act

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The lesson plan, "A Balancing Act," is perfect for elementary students, featuring goals, steps, and an illustrative sub plan. It showcases a balanced stack of colorful objects, including animals and household items—an engaging way to explore art and balance through printable resources.

This is a sub plan that is perfect for upper elementary. If you wake up sick one day, it’s a good idea to have prepared sub plans that are easy for any teacher to follow (even if they don’t have an art background). This is a simple, one page art handout with goals, steps and an example. I saw this idea on a Facebook group many years ago and created this handout to share with other teachers. This drawing activity uses … Read more… →

Test Driving Some New Art Materials!

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A selection of art materials, including new markers, watercolor crayons, gel pens, and metallic outline markers, awaits on a table for some creative test driving.

One of my favorite hobbies is discovering and finding new art supplies. Watch as I test out some fun, new (to me) art materials. I’m not sure how new they are, but they were all exciting finds for me. As an Amazon influencer I receive a small commission through links on this blog (at no extra cost to you.) The earnings go to support the upkeep of this website. I am completely honest in my reviews and won’t tell you … Read more… →

Art Sub Plan for Elementary Students- Animals in Cars!

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Illustrated animals in cars shaped like food items provide the perfect creative art assignment for elementary students, including detailed drawing guidelines ideal for an engaging art sub plan.

Hello! I have been working on a series of “print and go” substitute teaching plans for elementary art class. These will be set up with goals and steps clearly written for a sub. You can print off these handouts for the students, gather supplies and have things all set to go in case you have an emergency illness and need to stay home. Some I will be offering for free on my blog and others will be in my shop. … Read more… →

Yearly Elementary Art Curriculum Plan – Scope and Sequence

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Yearly Elementary Art Curriculum Plan for grades K-5, spanning August to May, detailing monthly art projects and activities by grade level. This comprehensive Scope and Sequence ensures a structured and engaging art education throughout the school year.

Here is a yearlong elementary art lesson guide with lots of my favorite projects sorted by grade level. Each one links to a picture, blog post or lesson plan to help you get an idea of what the lesson is about. I’m posting this to help other people, because I know as a new teacher I felt overwhelmed trying to come up with lessons for every grade level constantly! This is a rough outline of projects I love to do … Read more… →

What To Do On the First Day of Art Class

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Colorful watercolor frame with a paintbrush and palette surrounding the text "First Day of Art Class, Projects & Books.

Hello! I am already seeing lots of posts in Facebook groups asking what to do in the first few days of art class. In this post, I will walk you through what I plan to do this year in my classes. This is very similar to what I have done in other years. First, I start all classes with basic introductions and talking about the room and art class. We go over the rules and expectations. I use a video … Read more… →

Best Hacks for Art Teachers and Back to School Bundle

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Students’ art supplies, paint bottles, and artwork are shown with the text "23 Best Art Room Hacks" at the bottom—perfect tips for art teachers gearing up for back to school.

Are you looking for the best ways to save time, save money and spruce up your room? Of course you are! I teamed up with Glitter Meets Glue and some of my blogger friends to compile a list of 23 Art Room Hacks. Hop on over to Glitter Meets Glue to read this post. Back to School Resource Bundle As you are planning out your next year, be sure to think about how you will start the new school year. … Read more… →

Creative Sub Plans: Cut Paper Art Idea

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Paper collage of a campsite featuring a blue tent and a campfire, set against green hills and a sky with white clouds.

I found this post in my draft folder. I had written the post and then it was right before Covid hit, so somehow I missed posting it! This is one of my go-to sub plans. Use up the paper in your scrap bin and make a picture just using cut paper shapes. All you need to do to prepare is leave the scrap box available and provide a few examples. You can print these out or make your own! I … Read more… →

Summer Art Challenge 2024

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A colorful art project with paint splatters, a hand painting, and the text "Summer Art Challenge 2024 BINGO" overlaid on the scene.

It’s back! I used to host a Summer Art Challenge with my classes before Covid, but it kind of fell off the radar. I’ve decided to give it another go this year and see what cool stuff the kids come up with. Here’s how it works: I’ll hand out a list of art challenges for the kids to tackle over the summer. I’ll be slipping flyers into their lockers and including it in our final school newsletter. The kids can … Read more… →

  • Banner with colorful artwork promoting an art shop featuring kindness coloring pages, artist activities, and resources for teachers.