Sometimes when the scrap box gets too full or it is holiday that gets the kids all hyped up (like Halloween) I will give the class a “scrap box challenge.” What can you make by using the scraps in the scrap box?! Here are a few of their fun creations.
I came across this beautiful technique at the Happy Hooligans blog. She practiced letter writing with glue, salt and paint. I thought this technique would be a fun experiment for my third graders and make beautiful fall leaf paintings. Here’s how this works. First, we used real fall leaves for inspiration while drawing. We drew leaves with pencil on watercolor paper. Then, we used regular Elmer’s white glue to outline the leaves. While the glue was still wet, we poured … Read more…
We had Spirit Week at school this week. Since I am no longer the Student Council adviser (I had a few extra classes added instead) I was able to relax and actually think about how I might tie in Spirit Week to my art classes. This year I am having the kids do a 5 minute silent art warm-up at the beginning of class. I write a prompt on the board and the students draw in their art journals that … Read more…
Aren’t the colors of the fall leaves breathtaking? I scanned some of the leaves that I found on the trees here in Wisconsin. Feel free to print these out, color designs on them with permanent or paint markers, make a collage or just draw from the pictures. They would also look good on a bulletin board. Download the higher resolution version here at TPT for free! The book Leaf Man, by Lois Elhert, would be a great way to … Read more…
I have been wanting to make some more permanent artworks to beautify the school grounds. I had pairs of kids working on these stepping stones. This was such a fun project I am planning on making more in the coming years ahead to add to our collection. I have never made outdoor stepping stones before, so I asked for advice several times on the Art Teacher Facebook group. I just want to give a shout out to them for answering … Read more…
Do you use rubrics for self-assessment with your students? I developed this rubric based on others I had seen online. I wanted to get my students thinking more about their artwork and writing a few sentences in reflection. We haven’t done much writing in art class before, so I didn’t want to overwhelm them. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions for my rubric? (Does everything sound right, but also easy enough for little kids to understand?) … Read more…
My third grade students learned about the photography, films, paintings and children’s books by contemporary artist William Wegman. I actually talked to Bill on the phone and had an interview with him, which you can read in this blog post. William Wegman is known for his anthropomorphic photos of dogs dressed in various costumes. Anthropomorphic means giving human characteristics to animals (or other non-human things.) We read his books, watched some of his short films and saw pictures of his … Read more…
Wow, do I have a treat for you today! I had the amazing opportunity to talk with American artist William Wegman on the phone. Bill is well known for his photographs of Weimaraner dogs, dressed in all sorts of costumes and settings. Did you know he has also written and illustrated children’s books as well as created films and paintings? If you’d like to see some of his artworks, there is a wide selection on his Pinterest page. Two of … Read more…
Like many other art teachers around the world, my students participated in International Dot Day. The students dressed up in polka dots, we watched the story of The Dot and sang along to The Dot song. If you have not read the book The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, it’s a must-have for the art teacher! Two of my classes made the giant 3-d stuffed dots. These were super fun to make. I traced a hula hoop onto a large … Read more…
One of the first projects my first graders made were these “All About Me Crayons”. I had seen and taught this lesson probably 10 years ago and decided to revisit it. I can not remember exactly where I saw this idea, but as many lessons are, we get ideas and see projects all over the place. I try to credit when I can, but some of these I have been doing so long! We started the day by reading … Read more…
I hope you are enjoying your first few weeks back to school! Here is a Reach for the Stars bulletin board my students made as their first art projects. The tape letters were made by 1st graders. I don’t know how people use painter’s tape for this technique, because it just caused my paper to rip. I discovered the Post-it Label Roll which worked great to block out the letters. The kids painted over the label tape with a crayon … Read more…
Don’t you just hate when your ribbons get into a big tangly mess? If I ever let a class of kids loose in a box of ribbon, this is what happens: I figured out a way to store ribbon for kids to use without making a tangled mess. First, cut your ribbon into about 2 feet length pieces. Smaller scraps are ok too. Get a big plastic see-through jar to hold them in. I used this old Cheez Puff container. … Read more…
Hi friends! After a few days of panic, I am able to log in to my blog again. Erick at Bluehost deserves a raise. I had three other techs look at it and they couldn’t figure out the problem. So, if you saw a weird post from me on Friday with a picture that didn’t show up, that’s why! I couldn’t log in to my blog or do anything. On Friday, I had shared a fun poster that you can … Read more…
I’m still catching up on sharing projects from last year! This is an easy lesson to teach kindergarteners about cool colors vs. warm colors. First, show the kids how to trace their hands, while leaving space in between for a heart. Then, demonstrate how to draw a heart and have the kids draw one too. Ask the kids if they know what are the cool colors and then what are the warm colors. Color the hands with cool colors: blues, … Read more…
Are you looking for some new contemporary artists to teach your students about? On the Facebook Art Teachers group, members suggested LOTS of contemporary artists that they teach their students. These are now all compiled into ONE HUGE LIST on Google Docs! I added websites and short descriptions to most of the artists so it is easier to use. Thanks to all the teachers who collaborated to share their ideas and add artists. This huge list has about 130 artists … Read more…
