Like many other art teachers around the world, my students participated in International Dot Day. The students dressed up in polka dots, we watched the story of The Dot and sang along to The Dot song. If you have not read the book The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, it’s a must-have for the art teacher! Two of my classes made the giant 3-d stuffed dots. These were super fun to make. I traced a hula hoop onto a large … Read more…
At the beginning of the year when Kindergartners are learning how to write their letters I like to read the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and teach an art lesson using the alphabet. Most of the kids have already read this book, but it is a quick read and has a great rhythm. The kids do love the book. If you want to get a laugh though, read the one-star reviews on Amazon, lol. Start by painting a paper with … Read more…
I was happy to receive a review copy of I Heard You Can Draw: A Story for Class Artists Everywhere, written by M. D. Savran, who is an art teacher and author/illustrator in the Tampa Bay area. I’m always happy to support other art teachers! The description reads: “Sarah loves to draw. When Mrs. Earl catches her drawing a picture in math class, the entire second grade discovers her talent! Suddenly, everyone asks her to draw pictures for them (strange … Read more…
Hey friends.. I always love seeing what other people are interested in (especially art books and products) so let me show you what’s on my Christmas wish list this year! 1. The Big Book of Art, an interactive book for preschoolers. Partly for my inspiration, partly for my daughter… Here is what the description says, “This is your first book of art! Grab it, flip through the pages, turn it upside down?what do you see? Scribbles and splotches, shapes and … Read more…
This is one of my favorite lessons and is a great way to start off the year. Many of you have seen the book The Dot and this lesson is inspired by that book. There is a cute animated video from the book that you can see here and there is a whole website about the International Dot Day which is September 15. The kindergarteners start by tracing lids on colored paper and cutting out the circles. They are glued … Read more…
Our local public library partnered with us to have a bookmark contest. The kids in grades K-5 each designed a bookmark based on a favorite book. We provided a template for them to compose their drawing. The library will pick a number of winners to print as bookmarks for distribution at the library. We’ve done this before at school and when the designs were returned to us, we chose other designs and copied them at an office store on card … Read more…
Welcome to the 3rd post in my series On Teaching Art. The first post and the background behind this series is On Teaching Art: Art vs. Craft. The second post was On Teaching Art #2: Organizing Curriculum. The question posed for this installment is: How can art be integrated into math, science, social science, and literacy? That is a great question and I very often connect art lessons with their units of study in the classrooms. Integrating art with other … Read more…
This week, I received two books that had a few of my activities published in them! I responded to a call for lesson plans by Gryphon House and was happy when mine were chosen. These look like fun books for a pre-school or kindergarten teacher. The activities are geared for early childhood. I have been seeking out various outlets for publishing, since I have always wanted to be a writer. It’s also fun to get free copies of the publications … Read more…
First, DON’T FORGET TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY FOR THE PICK AND DRAW GAME!! I will be picking a winner on April 1. Rainbow Fish is an awesome kids book to go with fish art projects. The kindergartners made rainbow fish sculptures from water bottles. I learned about this idea at the NAEA conference. The lady who presented it did it with large 2 liter bottles, but I used little water bottles instead. Steps:1. Cut off the bottoms of the water … Read more…
I love to read. Of course I do, I’m a teacher.Here are some of the books I’m loving now! I can’t say enough good things about Lynda Barry’s collages and drawings. They are just so fun and chock- full of inspiration. She came to Madison recently to do some artist-in-residency programming and I am kicking myself now that I did not get tickets to her lecture. Apparently, she brought Matt Groening with her to speak!!! He is the creator of … Read more…
The 3rd graders have been learning about China in their social studies class. They practiced brush painting with Chinese calligraphy brushes. These were made into a little accordian book. Watercolor painted covers were glued on to the front and back.
If you haven’t seen Beautiful Oops yet, you must find a copy and look at it.. It’s my favorite book ever! The first graders looked at this book in class and then they were presented with a creative challenge. Each child chose a piece of colored paper with a hole in it. Holes of various sizes were pre-cut into papers of various colors. They had to figure out how to turn this “oops” piece of paper into a work of … Read more…
Tom Lichtenheld, an author and illustrator, will be visiting EAGLE School at the end of October. To prepare for his visit, many of the classes will be seeing his art and listening to his books. The Intermediates are focusing on his book Everything I Know about Pirates. After reading his book, the students are drawing pirate pictures!
During the first week of school I like to read books to my younger classes to introduce art. I think it is good to tie literature to all subjects and allow them to see connections through storytelling. These are ones that I am going to read this first week: Kindergarten: 1st Grade: 2nd Grade: 3rd Grade:
I am going through this book called The Element, by Ken Robinson. I’m actually listening to it in my car on cd! I find that listening to books on cd is a good way to pass the time in the car. I’ve only listened to about a half an hour, but I already recommend it. It is all about creativity, nurturing different types of intelligences, finding and developing talent and pursuing a career that utilizes all of your creative talent. … Read more…
