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Category Archives: books

“I Heard You Can Draw!” Book Review

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“I Heard You Can Draw!” Book Review

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… →

On My Wishlist This Year…

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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… →

Dot Artwork by Kindergarteners

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Dot Artwork by Kindergarteners

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… →

Making Bookmarks with Kids

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Making Bookmarks with Kids

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… →

On Teaching Art #3: Integrating Art with Other Subjects

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On Teaching Art #3: Integrating Art with Other Subjects

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… →

Books and Question about Kiln Shelves

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Two children sitting on grass blowing bubbles, one catching a bubble on her hand while the other blows through a wand.

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… →

Kindergarten Rainbow Fish Sculptures

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Colorful paper fish crafts titled "Rainbow Fish" hanging from strings against a solid background, showcasing the creativity of kindergarten students.

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… →

Books I’m Loving Now

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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… →

Beautiful Oops

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A child's drawing of a green, round creature with a big smile, yellow background, and "WAW" written beside it captures the creativity often seen in a children's book like *Beautiful Oops*.

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… →

Inspirational Book I’m “reading”

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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… →

Book Review 2

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Open sketchbook with colorful, abstract drawings of whimsical creatures and patterns, held by a hand at the bottom—a visual delight.

Linda Barry combines funny comics, drawings, and text in a book for adults about how to get your drawing juices flowing.  There’s how tos are more for an adult who just wants to get started drawing.  Her own comics and art are what is really inspiring for me!  I also enjoy her commentary and questioning about the drawing process and creativity.  In one comic the dialogue says, “If you use coloring books past the age of ten, you will wreck … Read more… →

Book Review 1

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A hand holds a book open to a factory scene with workers and conveyor belts sketched in blue.

I love using children’s books in my lessons about art.  Even the older kids like being read to.  It’s a way to spark their interest in art, encourage a love of reading and make their learning connections much richer.  And, it doesn’t really take that much time to incorporate a short story in the period.   I know class time for art is limited, so you want to make the most of every minute.  Consider just reading a portion of a … Read more… →

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