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

Lunar New Year Art Projects and Book | Chinese New Year

Cover of "I Love Lunar New Year" by Eva Wong Nava and Xin Li. Features a child holding a dragon decoration against a festive red and gold background with lanterns.

Hello! Are you looking for some fun art projects to do during January? The Lunar New Year is coming up Wednesday, January 29, 2025 this year. I have a few fun art projects planned for some of my classes and I wanted to share with you these great ideas! First, I’m going to read some of the classes this book: I Love Lunar New Year (Amazon Affiliate links used at no extra cost to you. Money earned goes towards maintaining … Read more…

15 Easy Winter Art Projects for Kids

15 Easy Winter Art Projects for Kids

Hey, Elementary Art Teachers! Are you looking for some fun winter art project ideas to do right now?  I have lots of winter art projects I have done over the years.  Save this blog post, because you can look at these ideas later when you are out of ideas. If you have signed up for my newsletter, you have already received this fun round-up, but I figured it was something that would be useful to other art teachers as well who haven’t … Read more…

Magnetic Building Blocks | Early Finisher Idea

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…

Snowman Art Project, Dog Portrait, Smiley Art Faces and More! (5 Fabulous Things)

Three crayon drawings capture the essence of a festive snowman art project under a crescent moon. Each snowman is uniquely decorated with hats and scarves, set against a backdrop of snowflakes and trees, their faces radiating joy reminiscent of smiley art faces.

Hello! A long time ago I used to do round-up posts of random things I am currently loving. Some have to do with art, some are just fun! I decided to bring that idea back. Hopefully some of my current favorite things will inspire you. 1. My Dad’s artwork My Dad has been making art for many years (mostly colored pencils and pastels) and recently I was reminded of how much I love this colored pencil drawing he did of … Read more…

Grabie 100 Watercolor Set: My New Favorite

Discover the Grabie Watercolor Set, a favorite among artists. This exquisite collection features 100 vibrant watercolor paints in a sleek metal case, complete with paintbrushes, a colorful floral box, and a blank watercolor sheet ready for your creativity to unfold.

As you may know, I have a little collection of watercolor sets and I love trying out new ones. Previously, my all-time favorite watercolor set was the Sakura Koi travel set. It was just so portable, handy and the colors are vibrant. When I saw this new set by Grabie, I was intrigued and wanted to try it out. 100 yummy colors! Grabie sent me a sample to try out and review for the blog. I was NOT disappointed! (Amazon … Read more…

Chalk and Oil Pastel Landscapes using Stencils

Two childlike chalk pastel landscapes: one with a purple sky, sun, birds, tree, and waterfall; the other with a red sky, birds, trees, a river, and mountains.

Are you looking for a highly engaging art project using chalk pastels? I must admit, chalk pastels are not my favorite. The dust, the crumbles, the mess… and not to mention that chalk gives me the heebie-jeebies (as one kid said at school!) But, this project, the kids LOVED! They thought it was so exciting. And I love this project because it allows for a lot of creative freedom. It also give students the chance to see the difference between … Read more…

Free Viking Ship Templates | Art Project

Four colorful Viking ship artworks with decorative sails on a blue and white background; text reads "Viking Ship Artwork, free templates for your next art project!

My first grade students had a blast making these Viking ship pictures. They have been studying about the Vikings in their Language Arts & Social Studies class, so it was a fun cross-curricular project. (See more images of Viking ships here.) I have provided free templates for you to use! You can find them for free at my shop here. Here’s how you use them: I hope you enjoy this project as much as my students did! It was a … Read more…

Do You Want More Art Teacher Resources?

Promotional image for a Cyber Monday sale featuring art supplies and essential art teacher resources around a sign. Text reads "Up to 25% off. Code: CYBER24.

Of course you do! And wouldn’t you like 25% off!?   On Monday and Tuesday you can get a full 25% off in my shop using coupon code CYBER24.  There are all kinds of fun and ready-to-print resources at my shop.   …. and much more! Check out lots of great art resources at TPT: https://www.teacherspayteacher… Winter Art Projects for Kids In this bundle, you will receive two popular winter art activities for elementary school- Snow Globes and Pop Art Snowman Drawing Lessons! … Read more…

Free Elementary Artwork Reflection Sheet with Questions

Hello! Are you looking for a simple and effective way to help your elementary students reflect on their art? One of my goals this year has been to find creative ways to get students talking about their artwork and thinking more deeply about their process. My co-worker and I brainstormed some thoughtful questions for this sheet and we came up with a quick reflection sheet that your students can fill out after finishing a piece and then attach to the … Read more…

Gift Ideas for Kids Who Love Art

Gift ideas for kids who love art, showcasing colorful art supplies like crayons, markers, paints, and a crown kit. These vibrant gifts are perfect for young creators and set against a playful grid background.

Are you looking for some fun gift ideas for kids in your life who love art? This list of art gift ideas are things my own kids and my students really enjoy. Click on this link, which has a list of my favorite art gift ideas for children. (This is my Amazon affiliate storefront, in which I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. This money helps to maintain my blog.) Thanks for reading!

Easy Printable Art Sub Plan for Elementary: A Balancing Act

The lesson plan, "A Balancing Act," is perfect for elementary students, featuring goals, steps, and an illustrative sub plan. It showcases a balanced stack of colorful objects, including animals and household items—an engaging way to explore art and balance through printable resources.

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…

Test Driving Some New Art Materials!

A selection of art materials, including new markers, watercolor crayons, gel pens, and metallic outline markers, awaits on a table for some creative test driving.

One of my favorite hobbies is discovering and finding new art supplies. Watch as I test out some fun, new (to me) art materials. I’m not sure how new they are, but they were all exciting finds for me. As an Amazon influencer I receive a small commission through links on this blog (at no extra cost to you.) The earnings go to support the upkeep of this website. I am completely honest in my reviews and won’t tell you … Read more…

Free Art Sub Plan: Primary Color Hands

The "Primary Color Hands" art lesson for grades K-2 offers a creative activity ideal as a free art sub plan. Goals include using primary colors to create unique patterns and enhance tracing skills. Students trace their hands and design vivid patterns, resulting in colorful hand designs.

This is an art project perfect for a kindergarten to 2nd grade substitute lesson plan. When you have to take a sick day, you never know if your sub is going to have an art background or not. This is a simple, one page art handout with goals, steps and an example. In order to print out the full, high resolution handouts, visit my TPT shop for the FREE download! This was a lesson idea a former colleague shared with … Read more…

Art Sub Plan- Free! Geometric Shaded Animals

Illustration of a black and white shaded animal with geometric patterns and instructions for shading. It includes steps for choosing, drawing, and using pencil within shapes, along with defined goals and value scale—an ideal art sub plan.

This is an art project perfect for a substitute lesson plan. When you have to take a sick day, you never know if your sub is going to have an art background or not. This is a simple, one page art handout with goals, steps and an example. The second page has a value scale to practice shading on. In order to print out the full, high resolution handouts, visit my TPT shop for the FREE download! This was actually … Read more…

Eagle Mural with Summer Camp

A colorful abstract depiction of an eagle, reminiscent of a summer camp creation, seamlessly blends vibrant, overlapping shapes against a stark black background.

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.

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