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

Category Archives: free time activities

Magnetic Building Blocks | Early Finisher Idea

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A box filled with vibrant, patterned magnetic building blocks. Text above reads, "Early Finisher Idea!" Perfect for sparking creativity and fun for those who complete tasks ahead of time.

I wanted to share with you something that is sure to be a hit in your classroom. These are some really fun magnetic building blocks my kids love to build with! This is a great idea for an early finisher center in the art classroom. As an art teacher, I’m sure you have encountered the situation (pretty much every day) that kids finish at all different times during the class period. Some of them work really quickly and others take … Read more… →

Perler Beads- Mario and Among Us

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Perler Beads- Mario and Among Us

My 1st grade son has been really on a Perler bead kick lately. He made all of these designs this week. Here is a beginner’s guide to Perler (or fuse) beads. I thought this might be something my readers would be interested in learning about as a gift idea for a young child in their life. My son looked at some examples on the internet for Mario designs and then made them by looking at the pictures. These are from … Read more… →

Ancient Egyptian Art Choice Menu

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Ancient Egyptian Art Choice Menu

We recently had an inservice at our school and they talked about making choice menus to give the students different ways to show understanding.  I decided to make a few that could go along with different units I taught.  This one would go along with my Ancient Egyptian art lessons.  The free digital download is here in my shop. I plan to use this with my students after they have completed our main art project as an extension activity.  Feel … Read more… →

Halloween Themed Choice Menu

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Halloween Themed Choice Menu

At a recent inservice, we were introduced to ways to give differentiation to learners of different paces and allow them to pursue activities or topics they may be interested in.  One of these ways is a tic-tac-toe choice menu.  You can make menus for students for the main project in a unit (for example, different products to make to show understanding after reading a novel).  I like the idea of having menus as enrichment or extensions of a unit.  I … Read more… →

New Products in Shop: Little Doodle Sketchbook & More!

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New Products in Shop: Little Doodle Sketchbook & More!

I have a few new products in my shop you may be interested in. First is the Little Doodle Sketchbook. Learn all about Inchies, Twinchies, Thrinchies, Artist Trading Cards and Artist Trading Coins in the Miniature Artwork Package!   Need a simple Artist Award?  I’ve got one!! Click here to check it out. Big Bundle of Growth Mindset Coloring Pages— fun for early finishers

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… →

Ideas for Early Finishers in Art

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Activities for Early Finishers" text on lined paper with doodles of stick figures and art supplies.

This month, the Art Ed Blogger’s Network is talking about how to enrich art class for students who finish early. I think this is an ongoing concern for most art teachers.  Kids work at all different paces.  Some students will finish their artwork lickety-split with half the class period left.  Others will work on the same technique or project and spend multiple periods working on the same piece.  So you will often have students at all different paces and at … Read more… →

The Value of Independent and Exploratory Art

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A vibrant exploratory art painting with various geometric shapes and swirls in multiple colors, dominated by red, blue, and yellow.

I wanted to explain to you how our art class periods are structured.  Students have art twice a week for 40 minutes.  Typically, we start with a 5 minute art warm up drawing in a sketchbook.  Then we move to instruction, demonstration, art history or literature connections.  Finally, for the majority of the time, the students work on their artwork.  Students work at all different paces.  Some students work very quickly and others take as much as double the amount … Read more… →

Pick and Draw Game

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Pick and Draw game cards and activity book on a white surface, featuring cartoon drawing elements and guide sheets.

Hello friends, I hope you’ve had a good holiday break so far and a happy new year.  You may have noticed one of my affiliate links on the side of my blog, which is Pick and Draw.  I only tell you about things I have used and trust myself.  I wrote about these cards a few years ago and I decided that since it’s been a few years, there are probably new teachers out there who haven’t heard of these … Read more… →

Easy Collaborative Art Banners with Motivational Words

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Colorful "Word Banners" header featuring illustrated words: Read, Wonder, Succeed, Smile in vibrant patterns.

  At the end of the year in June, I posted about a collaborative word banner project I did with all of my students.  Write inspirational words using block or bubble letters on large banner paper.  Outline with paint.  Color patterns and designs inside with markers.  Use printouts of Romero Britto‘s artwork for pattern inspiration. I also used this as an option for students who finished their other art projects and wanted to help out.  I saved them for the … Read more… →

Art Games and Puzzles for an Enrichment Center

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Enrichment Center featuring colorful blocks, toys, puzzles, and games, including Spot It!, Floor Puzzle, and Pick a Paint.

I have a bookshelf in my classroom that students can go to when they are done with their class assignments.  I also have free choice days where students can select from a wide range of activities.  Since students finish at all different times it is a good idea to have art enrichment activities for them to do.  I like to have low mess activities with little extra guidance needed for those students that finish early.  Here are some of the … Read more… →

5 Art Center Ideas to Try

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5 Art Center Ideas to Try

If you are looking for some new art center ideas for your classroom, look no further!  Today I’m going to share with you 5 art centers my students have been enjoying lately. After visiting two choice-based art classrooms, I’ve decided to incorporate some free choice days into my class schedule.  I think it is important to let students try out different art materials and ideas at their own pace.  However, I am still continuing my art curriculum and will teach … Read more… →

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