I wanted to share with you a new book that just came out that I discovered! It is called I am Human and it is written by Susan Verde and illustrated by Peter Reynolds. I LOVE the illustrations of Peter Reynolds. The two of them have collaborated before on books before that I’ve enjoyed in my classroom, including I am Peace and The Museum. Peter is also the author of the very popular art book The Dot, which has inspired … Read more…
This summer, my kids and I had fun hunting for Buckys! Bucky Badger is the mascot of the University of Wisconsin. Bucky on Parade was a community and public art event. 85 painted Bucky sculptures were placed all over the city and surrounding areas. Kids (and adults) followed the maps to find the Buckys. Prizes were awarded as kids checked them off their list. The Buckys were auctioned off to raise money for charity. Here are some pictures of our … Read more…
I’m going back in my archives! I’ve got lots of folders of photos I’ve been meaning to share but haven’t yet. One of these is the Dot Day collaborative circles. Four students complete one section each of the circle, and then they are put together for display. Nic Hahn shared this lovely idea and template. Visit her TPT shop for a free download of the template. International Dot Day is celebrated September 15-ish! More information can be found here. … Read more…
I have a few new products in my shop you may be interested in. First is the Little Doodle Sketchbook. Learn all about Inchies, Twinchies, Thrinchies, Artist Trading Cards and Artist Trading Coins in the Miniature Artwork Package! Need a simple Artist Award? I’ve got one!! Click here to check it out. Big Bundle of Growth Mindset Coloring Pages— fun for early finishers
At the end of the year last year, my students created this colorful and inspiring banner that we are displaying in the hallway now. We loosely marked out the ABCs on a large banner and kids thought of positive words to go along with each letter. Then, we used letter stencils of varying sizes to write the words. These were colored in with patterns and designs. I had this project set up as a choice activity after they were done … Read more…
I was on a mission last year to find some excellent books about KINDNESS for kids. I found NINE books to recommend to you. There were others I came across, but these were my favorites. If you have any good recommendations for books about kindness, please share in the comments! Thank you! (Amazon Affiliate links have been used in this post at no extra cost to you.) I think kids need to be taught kindness. They need to be made … Read more…
I am not quite ready to go back to school yet and I am guessing you are not ready either. But, the Art Ed Blogger’s Network is here to help you start planning! Our topic this month is the “first week of school”. A few years ago, I compiled a huge list of tips for the first days of school. These tips were submitted by art teachers all over the world. This gigantic list of tips will help you get … Read more…
Isn’t this graphic the cutest?! I am part of an Art Ed Blogger’s Network which is a collective of writers who blog about a certain topic each month. At the bottom of the post is a link to all the participating bloggers. The theme this month is about Summer Art. What is an Art Journal? An art journal is a visual diary… it is place for artists to express themselves using imagery, words, colors, patterns and designs. An art journal … Read more…
About 6 years ago I came up with the idea to do a Summer Art Challenge, based on the fun I had as a girl doing those summer reading programs where you earned a little prize at the library. You can see the first one my students did back in 2012 here. They brought in their summer artwork and we had a great display! In 2015, I did another summer art challenge with printable handouts on my blog. I think … Read more…
We made a few updates to our mural at school. We painted the original in 2015. This year, after some unfortunate defacing with Sharpie, we cleaned it up and realized some areas needed touching up. So my helpful middle school study hall kids decided to touch up and help me with some additions. They added the chicks and chicken at the front (every other year our Science department hatches chicks). And then we decided to add a tree branch with … Read more…
Every year my students and I create artworks for our school’s auction. If you look here, you can see some of the auction artworks from previous years. This year, each student in grades K-8 made textured clay circle tiles. We glued them on to several mirrors. The process to make the clay circle tiles is quite simple, yet it teaches the kids several important skills for working with clay. First, roll out a flat piece of clay (called a “slab”). … Read more…
Coloring for kindness!! Kindness and character education are important topics in the classroom. Unleash the therapeutic benefits of zen-coloring for mindfulness! These fun and unique coloring pages feature inspirational phrases, perfect for accompanying lessons on kindness or just for anytime! Check out my TPT shop for these Kindness Coloring Pages. Coloring helps people of all ages to de-stress and spark creativity. It can be a way to meditate and focus on the moment. This set includes 10 KINDNESS- themed coloring … Read more…
This month, the Art Ed Blogger’s Network is talking about how to enrich art class for students who finish early. I think this is an ongoing concern for most art teachers. Kids work at all different paces. Some students will finish their artwork lickety-split with half the class period left. Others will work on the same technique or project and spend multiple periods working on the same piece. So you will often have students at all different paces and at … Read more…
Earlier this year, my co-worker Jayne found the idea to make a collaborative school-wide paper mural based on the artwork of Thank YouX. The idea for a student mural originally came from Jenell Novello and you can see the lesson plan write-up on Artsonia. She also so generously provided the lesson plan and templates on Google docs. Thank You X got his name by accident. In 2009 Andy Warhol’s spray painted portrait was spotted on a city street in L.A.. … Read more…
I went to a really fun painting workshop last summer for a weekend which I never shared on my blog…. until now! The workshop is called Zen Painting and it was taught by Jodi Ohl. I have been following Jodi Ohl’s blog for many years. When I was looking for some hands-on professional development for the soul, I noticed she was teaching at Shake Rag Alley, which is only 45 minutes away from my house. My co-worker Martha, who teaches … Read more…
