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

Vassily Kandinsky and Abstract Art

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Abstract painting featuring geometric shapes, bright circles, and dynamic lines in various vivid hues.

Vassily Kandinsky was one of the first pioneers of abstract art.   Abstract art is art that does not attempt to show things realistically, but uses lines, shapes, colors and textures to show emotions and meaning.   Kandinsky was from Russia and initially went to law school.  He was always fascinated by color and in his thirties, he decided to go to art school.   Kandinsky thought showing the inner beauty was most important.  He believed that color could express … Read more… →

Large Group Weaving on a Garden Fence

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A fabric weaving activity displayed on a pink bulletin board with a decorative border.

Thank you to all who voted for my blog in the AOE Blog of the Year contest.  While I did not win, I am still happy to have been a finalist.  Congrats to all of the bloggers in the contest! Today I am going to show you a super fun project that my students worked on this week. This summer we planted a garden.  My husband diligently set up a plastic fence to keep out the rabbits.  We watered it … Read more… →

Why I Love Collage

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A collage of various objects and patterns, featuring watermelon slices, oranges, and the word "awesome" in the center.

Collage became a part of Modern art in the early 20th century. Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were credited with naming this type of art. The word collage comes from the French word coller, which means to glue. Collages can be made of many materials.  I have an assortment of student collages to show you. Collage art is unique because you take already existing materials and arrange them into a new art form. Collage is all about playing around with … Read more… →

Paul Klee Castle Collage

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Colorful abstract collage of a whimsical cityscape with geometric buildings, clouds, and a castle against a white background.

Paul Klee was an important painter in the history of modern art.  I have always been drawn to his colorful, abstract pictures.  Children can relate to the simple geometric shapes and bold colors.  His art has been related to Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. Swiss artist Paul Klee painted the Castle and Sun with simplified shapes, but viewers can easily see the way the shapes form a castle or city-like scene.  For this lesson, we are going to paint colorful swatches … Read more… →

Artist Trading Card Swap Received

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A collection of colorful, small Artist Trading Cards arranged on a white background, showcasing various designs and styles.

We have received our artist trading cards from Mini Matisse‘s MEGA HUGE ATC SWAP! My students were very excited to receive their cards.  I divided the cards up into bags for each class and then the kids randomly chose numbers to pick their order.  Then, they were able to come up to the front and make their selection.  They were very pleased to find out where the card came from!  Here are the cards that were mailed to us from … Read more… →

Flower Paintings by First Grade: Learn about Van Gogh and Hundertwasser

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First-grade children's artwork featuring abstract flower paintings with petals in various designs and bright colors on a blue background.

I’m proud of this lesson and how colorful and unique each of these pictures turned out!  I like to introduce a bit of art history to the younger kids, but I didn’t want the kids to copy a famous painting. Artistic Behaviors: Artists develop their own style. Artists create art that honors someone or something. Skills & Concepts: Discuss the differences and similarities between two artworks of a similar theme. Develop hand/eye coordination through painting and collage. Learn various techniques … Read more… →

Sand Painting with Kids

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Lively abstract painting featuring various shapes and patterns in red, blue, yellow, and green.

If you are looking for something to add a new dimension to regular painting, sand painting just might be the ticket!  The tactile experience is something exciting for children. I recently taught a unit on painting with sand to my third and fourth grade class.  You may remember my “how-to” blog post about this technique.  If you are wondering how we did our sand paintings, check out that post for all the details.  For a more advanced technique using adhesive … 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… →

Mixed Media Snowmen Art Project for Kids (1st Grade)

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Two snowmen with scarves and hats stand in a colorful, whimsical winter scene with stars and snowflakes.

Are you looking for a fun new way to make snowmen with your kids?  I got the idea to use makeup remover pads  from Happy Hooligans. I did this project with 1st graders. Start by mixing shades of blue paint with white and other cool colors.  Explain to kids that when you mix white with a color, it makes a lighter tint of that color.  Paint a background for your snowmen.  Let it dry. Next, set out makeup remover pads, … Read more… →

Spirals, Flowers and Patterns: Learning about Hundertwasser

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Colorful drawing of two abstract flowers with spiral stems and a bright, Hundertwasser-inspired background pattern resembling a sunburst.

“A good picture is when the picture is full of magic, when you can feel the happiness in it, when it makes you laugh or cry, or when it makes something happen. It should be like a flower or a tree. It should be like Nature. It should be that we miss it when it isn’t there.” Hundertwasser Friedensreich Hundertwasser believed that nature and beauty was the key to happiness. He was born Fritz Stowasser but created his “artist name” … Read more… →

Snowman Puppets

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Three homemade snowman puppets on sticks made from paper and colorful materials, featuring a princess, a snowman, and a superhero.

Ah, winter break!  It is the perfect time to catch up on blog posts.  We did a few winter themed projects before the break.  Some of my students made adorable snowman puppets. We used white poster board to cut out a body and then glued or taped a jumbo craft stick to the back. We cut out hats, arms, clothing and accessories for our snowmen.  Some of the materials used were felt, foam shapes, buttons, construction paper, washi tape and … Read more… →

Sand Art Paintings

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A colorful abstract sand painting with bold shapes and lines in purple, red, blue, pink, and yellow.

Are you looking for a fun art project that your students will definitely be excited about?  Create a COLORED SAND PAINTING!  Kids love the tactile experience of touching the sand and the bright colors are so appealing.  Using sand is a novel experience and kids have fond associations with playing in sand boxes or on beaches. Today I am going to show you an easy way to create beautiful sand paintings using paints, Elmer’s glue and colored sand.  My students … Read more… →

Girl Scout Daisy Ideas!

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Four handmade stick puppets with different designs, colorful outfits, and drawn faces on a white background.

Because I didn’t have enough to keep me busy, I am now a Girl Scout co-leader for a kindergarten Daisy troop.  My daughter wanted to join Girl Scouts and there wasn’t any already established groups that worked for us.  We have 10 girls in our troop, all kindergartners and we meet twice a month. I have enjoyed following other Girl Scout leaders’ blogs to see what they are doing, and I thought I would share some ideas in case anyone … Read more… →

Winter Holidays Coloring Page

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A festive coloring page with holiday-themed animals, pine trees, snowflakes, and decorations. Text reads "merry winter." Great for winter holidays and seasonal activities.

Hi!  I hope you are enjoying your winter so far.  I like to make little greeting cards to give to my students at winter time for various reasons.. thank yous for gifts or just because they want a little piece of my art.  A few years ago I made a cute little polar bear coloring card and it was a big hit with my students. Now I know some art teachers cringe at coloring pages, but I think they’re fun.  … Read more… →

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