At the end of last year my students created some inspirational quote artworks using artistic lettering and their choice of media. I typed up a list of inspirational quotes (below) for them to choose from. Many of the students had their own ideas and wanted to use a quote they already knew and liked. I saved the artwork for the beginning of this year so that we would have some artwork with inspirational sayings on them for the start of … Read more…
I like to start the first art class of the year with a children’s book about art and something quick and easy to get the kids making art. Here are some of the books I have used over the years on the first day of school or throughout the year. I like to read general books about art & creativity on the first day. I save the books about specific artists or topics for when we study those. Here are … Read more…
I have something to share with you that I’ve been working on for a long time. Well, a couple of months. It takes forever for me to accomplish anything lately (I have a clingy toddler who doesn’t like to sleep) so I work in short spurts whenever I get a chance. Many of you probably know of Ian and Melissa from Apex High School. They have developed a list of Artistic Behaviors for the high school level. I have been … Read more…
We had our first week of school! Beth Carter posted wonderful pictures of her students drawings on the first day with the title “I had art today!” I borrowed the concept and made sheets for my kindergartners and first graders to take home on their first day of art class. Here is the PDF download of “I Had Art Today!” I had my students draw a picture of themselves as an artist or a picture of themselves in class with … Read more…
Are you looking for something fun to do on the first day of school with your kids? There is a huge list of ideas on this blog post of tips for the start of the school year. Another idea is to have your students fill out an “artist profile” about themselves. I have five new Getting to Know You sheets in my TPT shop. The first is a colorful 11″x17″ poster size the kids can draw, write and color on … Read more…
Are you nervous about starting the school year? Or are you excited to get things going? Even though this is my lucky 13th year teaching, I still get anxious to go back. It’s a combo of nerves, excitement and anxiety about getting back into a different routine. I still have dreams that the class is out of control, I forget that I am scheduled to teach or I oversleep. Recently, I asked readers to share their top tips for starting … Read more…
One of the first projects my first graders made were these “All About Me Crayons”. I had seen and taught this lesson probably 10 years ago and decided to revisit it. I can not remember exactly where I saw this idea, but as many lessons are, we get ideas and see projects all over the place. I try to credit when I can, but some of these I have been doing so long! We started the day by reading … Read more…
I hope you are enjoying your first few weeks back to school! Here is a Reach for the Stars bulletin board my students made as their first art projects. The tape letters were made by 1st graders. I don’t know how people use painter’s tape for this technique, because it just caused my paper to rip. I discovered the Post-it Label Roll which worked great to block out the letters. The kids painted over the label tape with a crayon … Read more…
Welcome back to school! Are you ready? We start our staff meetings tomorrow and then the kids come on Wednesday! With the new school year starting, I thought I would highlight some old posts that might be helpful to you. Create a Welcome to Our School bulletin board! Making a collaborative bulletin board display is a great way to start the year. I have some new ideas for this year, but here is an example from the past! Here are … Read more…
Well, another school year has begun! We’ve had one week of classes and I have been pleased with my student’s behavior, effort and creativity thus far. What I was not pleased with was catching strep throat the first week of school! I had to stay home the second day. 🙁 My daughter got sick the week before, so I that is where I got my illness from. I am mostly back to normal now, so let’s hope the rest of … Read more…
All of my classes have been busy making sketchbook covers. Here are a few more assignments by grade level: 1st Grade Initials:I saw this idea at Art Projects for Kids. The background has crayon texture rubbings and watercolor paint. 3rd Grade: The students wrote their names in cursive and then surrounded the name with repeating colorful lines. 4th/5th Grade Names: They drew their names and then covered the negative space with patterns. Similar to this idea… Name Tangles. … Read more…
It has been a busy 2 weeks and a rough transition back to school. The actual “school” part has been just fine. The problems have been with coordinating my schedule and “life balance.” I will talk about that more at the end of this post, but first I will show you some pretty pictures. We have been making sketchbook covers from donated file tab dividers. My sister-in-law works in medical records and they were transferring everything over to digital, so … Read more…
Juan Miro is one of my favorite artists. I used artwork by Miro to help the kids learn the difference between abstract and realistic art. The kids analyzed his artwork and we categorized prints. Then, they drew a squiggly line with their eyes closed. Then they turned their paper around to view it from many angles. The kids tried to find different things in their picture.. faces, hands, animals, etc. They could add details to their drawing. Some added … Read more…
The first week of school we decorated our sketchbook covers… went over rules…. Now the classes are starting their first projects.. for example 2nd graders are making Andy Warhol style self-portraits, 1st graders are painting sunflowers… pics will be coming soon! The company that makes Smart Fab sent me 2 sample rolls to try and perhaps share about on my blog. I’m not sure what to do with it yet, but I was excited to get it. I will have … Read more…
Welcome back to a new school year! Clean Classroom Origami Hanging from Ceiling Conduct Contract taped to inside of sketchbook Decorating the sketchbook covers with our names
