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…
GUYS! I am SO EXCITED! Our new addition is complete and the physical space of our school has doubled. It is so nice to not have to push your way through the halls. It’s like there’s breathing room now. We also have a new art room, so I HAVE MY OWN ROOM NOW. I’m so thrilled that we don’t have to share a room anymore and all of our supplies can spread out. I have the old room and our … Read more…
Welcome back to school! Are you ready? We start our staff meetings tomorrow and then the kids come on Wednesday! With the new school year starting, I thought I would highlight some old posts that might be helpful to you. Create a Welcome to Our School bulletin board! Making a collaborative bulletin board display is a great way to start the year. I have some new ideas for this year, but here is an example from the past! Here are … Read more…
Painting on cloth gives such nice, soft colors and is a challenging change from painting on paper. We tied our lesson into African Korhogo cloth painting and you can read about this project in previous posts here. We used unbleached muslin cloth and regular watercolor paints (Crayola or Prang.) The kids drew their design on paper first, then put the paper under the muslin. You can see the lines through the cloth. Then, they traced the design onto the muslin … Read more…
I have a rare moment of quiet. My 4 year old is out to lunch with her cousins and my 4 month old is taking a nap. You know you’re a teacher when the first thing you think is.. “ooh! I can make some signs for my classroom.” Then, the second thing you think is “I could write a blog post!” Maybe I will have time to do both. It’s really amazing how much you can get done in a … Read more…
Many of you have probably know I have a 4 1/2 year old daughter. If you are friends with me on Instagram you have seen pics of her. I LOVE that she loves art. She has a creative spark to her and her favorite art materials are oil pastels, watercolors and markers. She doesn’t like getting messy, so we usually have a wet paper towel or baby wipe nearby. This summer she went to a preschool camp (which was in … Read more…
I decided to join in on the Back to School sale at TPT! If you have ever thought you’d like one of my PDF packets, now is the time! I don’t do sales very often. I work hard on the packets and they are only resources I would (and do) use in my own classroom. The money I earn I use for things like online workshops (to enhance my art/teaching skills), buying books and art supplies or um… this year … Read more…
These gorgeous radial designs were made by fifth and sixth graders by using their name. You can see all the steps to make these in a previous blog post. The only difference is that now we use light tables (or hold it up to a window) to trace the design over and over again.  We focus on learning about the characteristics and history of Islamic art, which connects with their studies in Social Studies class. We love using the … Read more…
Learn shading! Practice drawing cubes, spheres and more. Add dimension and depth to your drawings! All this can be achieved with SECRET CITY DRAWINGS. Check out this awesome video. GUYS, LOOK AT HIS CLOTHES! amazing. Once in awhile I will show the kids this goofy video and have them draw along for kicks and giggles. If I’m running low on time, we’ll skip the video and just use handouts from his book (affiliate link to Amazon). The kids practice drawing … Read more…
Are you looking for a fun and easy printmaking activity with your youngest students? This one is always a hit and allows the students to be creative and expressive. I saw the idea to print with cardboard from Thinking with a Line. Â
This summer, I have been working on creating a new PDF set of Art History Sketchbook Prompts. The first two sets have been very popular and there are so many artists I want my students to learn about. These cards are a great way for students to do some independent learning if they finish an art project early. This is set #3 of the Art History Sketchbook Prompts, with all NEW artists! These art history cards feature a selection of … Read more…
Hi folks! What have you been doing this summer? It’s already flying by, isn’t it? Here is a recap of my summer so far. What I HAVE been doing: keeping Daria busy playdates with friends Children’s museum, zoo, pool, splash parks, playgrounds feeding Desmond and changing lots of diapers organizing my room at school (I will give you a tour of my revamped room when it’s all done.) grilling out, eating icecream, going out to eat family reunion in IL … Read more…
