Colorful Turkey Project for Kindergarten
For those of you who celebrate, I hope you all have a very warm and happy Thanksgiving with your family.
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Mixed Media Self Portraits by 3rd Graders
A self portrait is one of those art projects that is always fun to do with kids. Kids often struggle to portray an accurate likeness of themselves (at least in their opinion), but their personality always shines through. I did not come up with this lesson all on my own. I saw something similar in an art ed. magazine years ago and adapted it and reused this one many times. In my opinion, that’s a great way to collect a … Read more…
Look What a Student Brought In Today… A Painted Skull
One of my students paints deer skulls when he visits his grandparents. His grandpa paints them as a hobby. He brought one in to show us today! He is in 3rd grade.. isn’t this beautifully done?
Alphabet Art Project for 1st Grade
This is a great project to try at the beginning of the year or as your students are reviewing the alphabet and beginning to learn to write words and phrases. I got this idea from the book Dynamic Art Projects for Children. Ours are not exactly as the ones in this book, but very similar. We started by looking at the art of Stuart Davis and reading the phrases, words and numbers that we saw in his artwork. The … Read more…
5 Fabulous Things
I haven’t done one of these for awhile and I’ve been coming across all kinds of fabulous things to share with you. I was reviewing this Youtube video again for planning projects and I just LOVE this “note to self” by Chuck Close. If you teach about Chuck Close, this is great to show your students. CBS This Morning: Artist Chuck Close Writes Note to Younger Self Great money & future planning advice for high schoolers from the Simple Dollar, … Read more…
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…
Poppy Posters for Veteran’s Day
Monday, November 11 is Veteran’s Day in America. My 5th and 6th graders had the privilege of a visit from a lady from our local senior center whose husband is a veteran. She talked to the students about the symbolism of the poppy and read to the students the poem “In Flanders Fields.” The students were invited to create a small artwork that honors all of the veterans. They also had the opportunity to write a poem in response to … Read more…
Clay Pinch Pot Monsters by 2nd Graders
These cute pinch pot monsters were made by my 2nd grade class. Here is a handout you could use about how to make a pinch pot. After making a pinch pot, the students turned them on their side, squished the mouth down a little and then added eyes, noses, horns, ears, tongues and teeth. Make sure to score and add water in between each part. (Some people make slip, but I have found that with our consistency of clay, just … Read more…
Building Castles from Clay (5th and 6th grade)
Hi friends. I have so many projects back-logged to show you. I did clay with all of my classes during the month of September. We are building on to our school and because of construction, our kiln will be out of commission at the end of November through the end of the school year, so we have to get all of our clay done now! My 5th/6th grade classes made clay castles. They will be studying the Medieval period later … Read more…
Art History Sketchbook Prompts: Set #2
My first set of Art History Sketchbook Prompts have been popular and I recently made a second set with all different artists and prompts. This new set has 16 NEW art history prompts! 16 DIFFERENT artists. These art history cards feature a selection of inspiring artworks with a prompt that can be used to spark drawing and writing. Print off the cards on cardstock, cut in half and laminate to protect them. You can print off as many copies … Read more…
Halloween Pumpkin Painting Art Project for 1st Grade
Happy Halloween! These painted pumpkins were a hit with my first graders. Every year I do some sort of pumpkin project with my students. Whether it is actually painting on little pumpkins or creating an oil pastel drawing, creating art based on the seasons is exciting for the kids. These are similar to Artsy_T’s painted pumpkins. We mixed our paints with a little bit of paper mache (Elmer’s Art Paste) to make them a bit more translucent. (Not a necessary … Read more…
Clay Flowers made by 3rd Grade
I’m in love with these gorgeous clay flowers my 3rd graders made. This summer when I was on vacation in Michigan, I saw some lovely clay wall hangings in an artsy shop. They were layered clay flowers and they were HUGE! They were so awesome. I thought my students could make something similar on a smaller scale. The kids learned how to roll out a clay slab. Then, they cut out various flower templates, traced them and cut them from … Read more…
Digital Portfolio vs. Paper Portfolio
In response to the blog post Art Teacher Portfolio Ideas, Abby Rappel asked, “Can I use my website portfolio instead of a paper portfolio on interviews or do schools still want to see paper form portfolios?” That is a great question! When I was in college (12 years ago), we were required to make a paper portfolio in a binder. Digital portfolios were not as big as they are now. I believe the college now requires the students to make … Read more…
Abstract Art inspired by Joan Miro
1st graders drew imaginary creatures, people and abstract imagery after looking at the art of Joan Miro. Miro has always been one of my favorite artists! We talked about the difference between abstract and realistic artwork where artists get their ideas oil pastel and watercolor resists As the students drew their creatures and designs, they looked at the Roll-A-Miro sheets for additional lines and shape inspiration. Here are two other really nice Miro art project ideas: The Elementary Art Room … Read more…
Postage Stamp Art Project
Here are two templates to use for postage stamps: one full stamp or a sheet of nine. You could also just draw them in boxes and then cut them out with those craft scissors that have the funky edges. My 4th/5th grade class designed their own postage stamps. I brought in a box of stamps for them to look through and see up close. I also showed them a short Powerpoint about stamps throughout history. There is information on the … Read more…