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Easy Printable Art Sub Plan for Elementary: A Balancing Act

By Marcia Beckett | November 17, 2024 - 8:01 pm |November 17, 2024 all grades, drawing, fifth grade, first grade, fourth grade, freebie, second grade, sixth grade, substitute lessons, Teachers Pay Teachers

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Substitute plan poster titled "A Balancing Act" features an illustration of a whimsical stacked tower. This Art Education piece includes goals and steps for using color and shape to create a balanced picture, serving as an ideal Art Sub Plan.

This is a sub plan that is perfect for upper elementary. If you wake up sick one day, it’s a good idea to have prepared sub plans that are easy for any teacher to follow (even if they don’t have an art background). This is a simple, one page art handout with goals, steps and an example. I saw this idea on a Facebook group many years ago and created this handout to share with other teachers. This drawing activity uses … Read more… →

What To Do On the First Day of Art Class

By Marcia Beckett | July 30, 2024 - 9:24 am |August 11, 2024 1st grade, all grades, art teacher tips, books, fifth grade, first days of school, first grade, fourth grade, kindergarten, second grade, third grade

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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… →

3 Back to School Ideas

By Marcia Beckett | July 28, 2019 - 6:18 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, all grades, first days of school, first grade, fourth grade, second grade, Teachers Pay Teachers, third grade

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Colorful and creatively designed children's backpacks with various patterns and drawings, featuring rainbows, hearts, and unicorns. Ideal for back to school, these backpacks inspire imaginative ideas among young students.

During the first week of school, you want to be teaching routines and expectations for your art class. I always like to ease into the school year with some simple, yet creative projects to get to know my students. I am going to share with you three fun Back-to-School ideas that you can try in your art classroom. 1. Creative Backpack My students used the template created by Hey Art Mama to make these creative backpacks. (I do not receive … Read more… →

Decoupaged Stool and Romero Britto Inspired Hearts Canvas

By Marcia Beckett | May 13, 2019 - 8:11 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, abstract, all grades, art teacher tips, art teaching, collaborative artwork, fifth grade, first grade, fourth grade, group artwork, painting, second grade, third grade

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Colorful decoupaged stool seat with abstract designs and inspirational words like "Strong" and "Creativity," against a black background.

My students and I recently made two colorful artworks for our school fundraiser. We painted a stool with acrylic paints. I had kids from grades K-3 come up two or three at a time to take turns painting the sections. After the base layer was dry, we used magazine cutout words to decoupage the stool. Black sharpies were also used to outline and accent the edges. Students in grades K-3 helped with this project and I had some older kids … Read more… →

Shape Monsters Art Project

By Marcia Beckett | October 16, 2018 - 3:58 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, first grade, Halloween, kindergarten, shapes

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I found this cute book called My Very Silly Monster Book of Shapes. I read this book to my Kindergartners and then we did a shape monster art project similar to the shape monsters seen on this blog. After reading the book, the kindergarteners were given the choice of several different shape templates: rectangles, ovals, stars, hexagons, squares, etc. They traced the template onto construction paper. Then, I demonstrated how to make eyes by cutting circles from white squares, then … Read more… →

9 Kindness Books for Kids

By Marcia Beckett | July 31, 2018 - 9:45 pm |July 5, 2024 all grades, art teacher tips, art teaching, book review, books, bulletin board, character education, drawing, first days of school, first grade, fourth grade, kindergarten, second grade, third grade

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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… →

Fingerprint Plates for School Auction

By Marcia Beckett | May 9, 2018 - 11:15 am |July 5, 2024 1st grade, animals, clay, collaborative artwork, first grade, second grade

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A hand-painted plate with a panda holding colorful balloons, surrounded by butterflies, featuring the text "Upper Primaries 2017-2018." This delightful piece would make a wonderful item for a School Auction.

We made 3 fingerprint plates for our school auction. The materials we used were Bisque fired dinner plates from Mayco. Underglaze in various colors Fine line writer bottle (filled with glaze) Clear Gloss Glaze The first was a Dr. Seuss themed “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” plate for the Kindergartners. The fish are made from their fingerprints. The second was a bird plate for the 1st graders. All of the birds were made from the kids’ fingerprints. Their … Read more… →

Milk Carton Sailboat Tutorial

By Marcia Beckett | March 16, 2018 - 8:07 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, all grades, crafts, first grade, Girl Scouts, science, sculpture, social studies, summer, summer camp

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Craft your own "Milk Carton Sailboat" using a colorful sail and a repurposed milk carton.

My 1st graders are working on these fun boats now to go along with their explorer unit. Okay, I know they are not really explorer ships, but we can pretend, right? And they are so fun and cute. The kids love them! How to Make a Boat: Gather empty milk cartons from the lunch room. Wash and wash again to get rid of all those icky germs. Let dry overnight. Use a utility knife to cut the milk carton down … Read more… →

“Not Just a Scribble” Creatures

By Marcia Beckett | March 7, 2018 - 12:21 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, abstract, book review, books, drawing, first grade, second grade

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(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… →

Heart Art Projects for Kids

By Marcia Beckett | January 10, 2018 - 4:50 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, abstract, all grades, artists, drawing, first grade, hearts, holiday, pattern, Teachers Pay Teachers, Valentines Day

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Now is the time to start planning for Valentine’s Day art projects. I am going to share with you a few heart art projects I have taught in my school. First is the Map of My Heart. It is one of my favorites. I found the heart map idea in this book, Playful Learning. Start by drawing a heart in pencil on your paper. Think of all the things that you love or that are important to you. What is … Read more… →

Back to School Letter Art for Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st grade

By Marcia Beckett | September 3, 2017 - 7:23 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, drawing, first days of school, first grade, kindergarten, pattern

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A child's hand is coloring a large letter "C" with crayons on a piece of paper, creating delightful Letter Art ideal for Pre-K projects.

Hi all! I hope your school year is off to a great start. This project is how I began the year with my youngest students. First, I read them two short books about creativity and making art. First, we read Think Big. It’s very short and simple (about two words on each page), but it shows different ways people express themselves.. dancing, sewing, cooking, woodworking, theater, art, etc. The title Louise Loves Art has two meanings. Ask your students if … Read more… →

Art Using Train Tracks

By Marcia Beckett | April 1, 2017 - 9:57 am |July 5, 2024 1st grade, abstract, book review, books, first grade, second grade

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Wooden train tracks and drawing activities. Blank outline drawing of train tracks colored in vibrant patterns and artful designs.

In my last blog post, I reviewed the book Old Tracks, New Tricks. It is a super cute and creative book. The book itself is good for up to about 1st or 2nd grade, in my opinion. The kids at my school saw me drawing this train track picture and some of the 3rd graders wanted to try it. I’m thinking 1st through 3rd grade might be best for this art project. I will test it with the Kindergartners and … Read more… →

Abstract Shape Collages and Artist Reggie Laurent

By Marcia Beckett | November 26, 2016 - 8:58 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, abstract, collage, first grade, kindergarten, pattern, second grade, shapes

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Abstract painting with colorful, irregular shapes and patterns. Artist Reggie Laurent's influence is evident in the vibrant abstract shape collages.

Reggie Laurent: Contemporary Artist Reggie Laurent is a self-taught artist living in Georgia. He creates very intricate abstract shape paintings. I saw his paintings online and I was immediately drawn to all of the fun patterns and colors. My first graders learned about his abstract pictures. They are filled with lots of different shapes, fitted together like a puzzle. His artworks are highly detailed and very colorful. Student Shape Collages The students learned about and used organic (freeform) and geometric shapes … Read more… →

What Do Artists Do? Signs about ARTISTS and Artistic Behaviors

By Marcia Beckett | March 8, 2016 - 8:18 pm |July 5, 2024 1st grade, all grades, art history, art teacher tips, art teaching, artists, bulletin board, fifth grade, first days of school, first grade, fourth grade, kindergarten, second grade, sixth grade, third grade

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Colorful poster with art supplies at the edges and the text "What Do ARTISTS DO?" in the center, highlighting various artistic behaviors.

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… →

Stuffed Animal Still Life Drawings with 1st Grade

By Marcia Beckett | March 2, 2016 - 10:31 am |July 5, 2024 1st grade, animals, artists, contemporary artists, drawing, first grade, Uncategorized

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1st Grade children drawing stuffed animals with crayons and markers. Text reads "Stuffed Animal Still Lifes.

Do you want to know what will really get first graders excited about drawing still lifes? Have them bring in their own stuffed animals! I invited the kids to bring in their favorite stuffed animals to draw. I also had a garbage bag full of my own stuffed animals from home in case someone forgot to bring in one. I demonstrated how to observe the shapes and positioning of the stuffed animals and then I let the kids get to … Read more… →