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Category Archives: books

Snowman Art Project, Dog Portrait, Smiley Art Faces and More! (5 Fabulous Things)

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Three fabulous drawings of snowmen at night: left and right snowmen have hats and scarves, while the middle one sports a striped hat. Each stands in a snowy landscape adorned with trees and crescent moons.

Hello! A long time ago I used to do round-up posts of random things I am currently loving. Some have to do with art, some are just fun! I decided to bring that idea back. Hopefully some of my current favorite things will inspire you. 1. My Dad’s artwork My Dad has been making art for many years (mostly colored pencils and pastels) and recently I was reminded of how much I love this colored pencil drawing he did of … 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… →

Drawing Activities with Lynda Barry

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A drawing of a smiling monkey holding a heart that says "I'm so glad you're here!" with numerous hearts surrounding it on a whiteboard.

In April, I had the pleasure of attending the National Art Education Association conference in Minneapolis. I was really excited because Lynda Barry was going to be one of the keynote speakers. I have been a fan of her work for many years. Lynda is a comic/graphic novel artist, author and teacher and is known for her quirky, autobiographical work. Her raw and expressive comics encourage readers to explore their own creativity through writing and drawing. She has taught creative … Read more… →

Sweet New Children’s Book

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A sweet children's book titled "If You Are An Artist" by Meg Auchenbach, featuring an illustration of a child painting a rainbow with a butterfly nearby.

I came across a sweet new children’s book that I’d like to share with you. It is called If You Are an Artist, (Amazon affiliate link at no extra cost for you) by Meg Auchenbach. I always love finding new inspirational books for my young students and this one is a charming book that shows what it’s like to think as an artist. The illustrations are whimsical and the book is delightful. Before I buy a book I like to … Read more… →

Giveaway and Interview with Cindy Ingram: Art is About Being Whole, A Memoir

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Book cover with abstract art and the title "Art is About Being Whole: A Memoir" by Cindy Ingram, featuring an exclusive interview.

**** Art is Basic is giving away one FREE copy of this book to a lucky reader. To be entered, simply leave a comment on this blog post. I will choose one random winner after November 3. ***. Book links are Amazon Affiliate links which means I receive a small amount of compensation at no extra cost to you which go to supporting the blog’s upkeep and expenses. Today I have a very special book to share with you and … Read more… →

Latinx Heritage Month Art Books

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Colorful book cover titled "Maybe Something Beautiful" features a child painting flowers and buildings in the background, celebrating creativity during Latinx Heritage Month.

From Wikipedia, “National Hispanic Heritage Month is a period from 15 September to 15 October in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States.” Our Spanish teacher invited us to bring some children’s books that highlight Latinx authors and artists to our classroom this month. With the librarian, language arts teachers and Spanish teacher, I brainstormed books to read to my classes. These are some of … Read more… →

Birds Activity for Kids Free Printable Downloads

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The cover of the book "Birds" by Carme Lemniscates features a child sitting under birds in a park with trees, offering an engaging kids activity.

Hi! The winner of the Createures game is Karen Riehle. Congrats! I love GIVEAWAYS. Another one will be coming soon in the next couple of weeks! (Amazon Affiliate links have been used at no cost to you.) Candlewick Press sent me a review copy of the book Birds by Carme Lemniscates, along with a few free activity downloads to share with you. See the bottom of this blog post for the bird activity printable downloads. Birds is a thoughtful, poetic homage … Read more… →

ABC Books for the Art Room

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ABC Books for the Art Room

Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win the new drawing prompt game Createures. Enter by reading the details on the last blog post. I love using children’s books in the Art classroom. Over the years I have collected variety of books related to art, artists, themes we study or simply have inspiring pictures. This blog post is a round-up of several ABC books that I like to use in Art class. The first one is called B is … Read more… →

Peter H. Reynolds on Creativity

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At the 2019 NAEA Conference, a projector screen displays the colorful text "CREATE BRAVELY" with an audience in dark view. FableVision and Peter H. Reynolds' logos are visible.

One of the presentations I was most looking forward to going to at NAEA ’19 was the author Peter H. Reynolds. Most elementary art teachers are familiar with his books.. they are all so colorful and teach about those concepts we want our students to learn. The Dot The book called The Dot is the one that I think most people have heard of. I have done lots and lots of projects about dots using this book. You can see … Read more… →

I am Human, a book by Susan Verde & Peter Reynolds

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Cover of the book "I Am Human: A Book of Empathy" by Susan Verde, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, featuring a boy with arms open.

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… →

Positive Words Banner: Inspiring for Back to School

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An inspiring display with colorful words like "Curious," "Amazing," "Creative," "Awesome," and "Imagine" drawn on a whiteboard, adorned with various decorations.

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… →

9 Kindness Books for Kids

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A collection of children's books about kindness, arranged vertically. Text above and below reads "Books for Kids.

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… →

Back to School Ideas

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Colorful image with text: "Let's Get Start-ed!" and lockers with an "Art Class" sign. Art Ed Blogger's Network logo above, perfect for back to school inspiration.

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… →

Found Object Puppets

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Two colorful cardboard face masks with yarn hair, painted features, and button decorations on sticks make charming found object puppets.

My 1st graders had a blast making these found object puppets from recycled materials.  We read this book by Hanoch Piven. To get the full lesson plan with materials list, parental note, background info and student reflection sheet visit my Teachers Pay Teachers shop to download.

“Not Just a Scribble” Creatures

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“Not Just a Scribble” Creatures

(Affiliate links are used in this blog post, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Art is Basic!) In my last blog post, I told you about a children’s book called I’m Not Just a Scribble. The author, Diane Alber, gave us a behind the scenes interview about her process and her future books. After reading this book, some of my students in grades K-3 created these cute scribble creatures with BIG personalities! (The one on the … Read more… →

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