Wordless Wednesday (no words, just pictures)… Sunflowers!
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Creativity Banner
I was approached by a representative from Build a Sign to review a product from their website. They have a variety of types of signs (metal, vinyl, etc.) and also things like bumper stickers, magnets and license plates. I chose the 3 foot x 6 foot vinyl banner! I thought it would be fun to make a banner for my art room and also to hang up when we have an art show at school. I used the feather and … Read more…
Butterfly Paintings with Kindergarten
Beautiful spring butterflies are a great way to end the school year. Paint dotters give colorful results without a ton of mess. Kindergartners drew these with pencil first. I read a suggestion from Patty Palmer on the art teacher Facebook group to use tracers for the top set of the wings to get the size proportional and then have the kids draw the bottom of the wings on their own. Then they used paint dotters to create symmetrical designs on … Read more…
Book Giveaway Winner
HEATHER KORDSMEIER you are the winner! Congrats and email me your address. Heather Kordsmeier May 20, 2014 at 5:05 pm I teach 3rd grade language arts and social studies. After our standardized test in April, I start Art and Art History. I have been puting together an artist timeline. We have learned about artists, their techniques, and do some sort of project using their techniques.
Somerset Studio Gallery Magazine
I was super thrilled to receive an email that I was going to have an art journal published in the Somerset Studio Gallery magazine (Summer 2014 issue). I had submitted this book over 2 years ago and I had pretty much forgotten all about it. You can see all the pages in a video here.
Book Review & Giveaway: A Child’s Introduction to Art
** This giveaway is now closed. ** I received a copy of a great new art history book to share with you! The book is A Child’s Introduction to Art: The World’s Greatest Paintings and Sculptures, written by Heather Alexander. The publishers are also giving away ONE free copy to a lucky winner. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on the blog telling one way you introduce art history to your kids. I will pick one winner on Friday … Read more…
Make a Magical Wand
Every so often, I host after school art classes. I try to have some fun projects that I wouldn’t normally teach during the school day. These magical wands were a hit with both the boys and girls who signed up for this class. Use dowel rods or natural sticks as the wand base. Twist, tie, wrap and hot glue fabric, ribbons, feathers, pipe cleaners and colored tape around the stick. Tie on flowers, add glitter glue and sequins and use … Read more…
Creativity Sign
Art and the Brain: How do kids imagine their brains?
[cryout-pullquote align=”left|center|right” textalign=”left|center|right” width=”100%”] How do you experience your brain? What does your brain do for you? How can you express the feelings of your brain? [/cryout-pullquote] Students at our school connected with a scientific researcher to create diverse and artistic representations of their brains. I teach art at a school for gifted and talented children. Our students are highly interested and curious about science, so when I was contacted by Ayla Kruis to work with her on a project … Read more…
Interview Questions for Art Teaching Job
I opened up my email this week and was thrilled to read the following message: I wanted to thank you for your post regarding portfolios and interviewing. I was recently hired at a fantastic school, and the interview wouldn’t have gone well without your advice about preparation. Yay! I love it when someone finds something useful in something I’ve written! The post she was referring to was Art Teacher Portfolio Ideas. Later, I posted an article about digital portfolios. I … Read more…
Pinteresting Art Ideas!
It’s no secret art teachers love Pinterest. In this new blog series, I will round up some of my favorite Pinspiration for art teachers. If you’d like to see all of my Pins, follow me on Pinterest. It’s a great way to plan projects, find handouts and ideas! If you have other ideas that fit this theme, add them in the comment section. I was inspired to pick the theme of FACES for this blog post, because I came across … Read more…
Welcome Baby Desmond
Hi! For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you probably have seen some of the baby pictures. Desmond was born this past weekend! Desmond Arthur Beckett was born on Saturday, April 19 at 9:47 am. He weighed 10 lbs 6 oz! The c-section went smoothly and even though I was SO nervous beforehand, the doctors and nurses were very reassuring. After I realized that I actually was not going to feel any pain during the surgery, … Read more…
Drawing Maps for Figurines with 2nd Graders
I came up with this idea from my daughter’s obsession with playing with her figurines and maps. She has a few of these map sets that come with a large fold-out map, a book and a bunch of related figurines (they have these at Barnes & Noble). This project taps into children’s natural interest in miniature toys! I showed the 2nd graders this map with some figures (many of them had similar maps at home) and told them to bring … Read more…
Art Discussion Signs for Bulletin Boards
I have been dreaming about how I will be setting up my art room next year, as we will be having two art rooms and I will have a lot more space! The art discussion cards that I created have been popular and I thought that these questions would make an intriguing bulletin board. I designed 33 colorful signs with interesting art discussion prompts that can be used in classroom critiques or art history discussions. There are 4 additional “title” … Read more…
Carving Rubber Stamps with 5th and 6th Graders
Before I left for my maternity/medical leave, my 5th and 6th graders were carving rubber stamps. They were turning out so well and I can’t wait to see all of the finished projects. Here are some of our stamps from previous years. We looked at African Adinkra symbol stamps and the students created their own personal symbols. We print our stamps by applying acrylic paints with a foam brush. A light touch is best. Students can also test their stamps … Read more…