This is a very large canvas we painted during our summer camp! A family donated some big canvases that they decided not to use at home. This canvas is about 5 feet tall! This was available for the kids to work on throughout the week during summer camp when kids wanted to take a break from the other proejcts they were doing. It is now proudly hanging in our stairwell.
It’s back! I used to host a Summer Art Challenge with my classes before Covid, but it kind of fell off the radar. I’ve decided to give it another go this year and see what cool stuff the kids come up with. Here’s how it works: I’ll hand out a list of art challenges for the kids to tackle over the summer. I’ll be slipping flyers into their lockers and including it in our final school newsletter. The kids can … Read more…
I have been a fan of Jodi Ohl‘s artwork for many years. She has a fun, whimsical style. Last summer, I went to a workshop taught by her and had so much fun that I signed up for another weekend painting class with her. The theme last summer was Zen Painting (in an abstract style). This summer, the class I signed up for was Zen Houses, which uses similar techniques taught in the Zen Painting class. I loved both of … Read more…
Isn’t this graphic the cutest?! I am part of an Art Ed Blogger’s Network which is a collective of writers who blog about a certain topic each month. At the bottom of the post is a link to all the participating bloggers. The theme this month is about Summer Art. What is an Art Journal? An art journal is a visual diary… it is place for artists to express themselves using imagery, words, colors, patterns and designs. An art journal … Read more…
About 6 years ago I came up with the idea to do a Summer Art Challenge, based on the fun I had as a girl doing those summer reading programs where you earned a little prize at the library. You can see the first one my students did back in 2012 here. They brought in their summer artwork and we had a great display! In 2015, I did another summer art challenge with printable handouts on my blog. I think … Read more…
I went to a really fun painting workshop last summer for a weekend which I never shared on my blog…. until now! The workshop is called Zen Painting and it was taught by Jodi Ohl. I have been following Jodi Ohl’s blog for many years. When I was looking for some hands-on professional development for the soul, I noticed she was teaching at Shake Rag Alley, which is only 45 minutes away from my house. My co-worker Martha, who teaches … Read more…
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…
This summer I taught a one week art workshop called Artsy Animals. The camp had kids going in to grades 1-4 and it took place for 3 hours every day. Now camp was much more laid back than regular art class, so we did not accomplish *as much* as 3 hours of school time, but I think the kids had a really good time. We made Shrinky Dink necklaces! Each student got one sheet of Shrinky Dinks Crystal Clear paper. … Read more…
Are you a fan of Legos? Did you know there is a new documentary film coming out July 31 called Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary? You can see the official trailer here. Have you heard of the Lego Brickworld Convention? In June, I went to the Lego Brickworld Convention in Schaumburg, IL. My husband went for the entire 4 day convention as an exhibitor with his Lego User Group. I attended with my kids for the afternoon on the … Read more…
