Well, another school year has begun! We’ve had one week of classes and I have been pleased with my student’s behavior, effort and creativity thus far. What I was not pleased with was catching strep throat the first week of school! I had to stay home the second day. 🙁 My daughter got sick the week before, so I that is where I got my illness from. I am mostly back to normal now, so let’s hope the rest of … Read more…
At the end of the school year, my kindergarten art class made some really colorful fish after reading the book Rainbow Fish . The students drew their fish on large posterboard (these were BIG fish). Then, they cut out paper pieces (I encouraged them to cut circles) from a variety of patterned and foil papers. Then, some of the kids chose to use paint dotters to add additional color. I I did this project again, I would have the kids … Read more…
One of our projects for the school fundraiser this year was this lovely fingerprint butterfly by the kindergarten class. I was inspired by this fingerprint artwork! I cut out the shape of a butterfly as a stencil and each kid used a different color to add their fingerprints. This was then cut out and glued on to a blue piece of paper. The artwork was a hit and the families loved it! It turned out very cute and was a … Read more…
Here is an easy Starry Night inspired project that I like to teach to my kindergarten art classes. There is a great Van Gogh book for kids called “Getting to Know the Greatest Artists”, by Mike Venezia (my favorite series of art books for kids.) After viewing the swirling lines, dots and dashes that Van Gogh used, the students create a wild and swirly night sky scene with markers. A silhouettte landscape or city scene is added on the bottom … Read more…
Phew. I can’t believe another school year is over. I was just thinking yesterday that it was crazy that I have been teaching for 11 1/2 years already. I’ve been at my current school for 7 years! Don’t the years all start to blur together? When you try to remember classes you had years ago the memories are fuzzy. It’s amazing how every year there is more to learn and new things to try. The yearbooks finally came in, the … Read more…
Take off your shoes and make yourself comfortable. This fun lesson is perfect to teach observational drawing with minimal supplies and easy set up. 1. Take off a shoe. 2. Observe the lines, shapes and contours of the shoe. 3. Concentrate and draw all of the lines you see on the shoe. Don’t forget the little details, such as shoelaces, the tongue and any patterns you see on the shoe. *Optional Step* Enlarge the shoe drawings on a photocopier. 4. … Read more…
Congrats Melanie! Send me your address: marciadotcom@yahoo.com so we can get your samples sent out. If you didn’t win (or enter the contest) stay tuned as I will have another product giveaway shortly. Melanie May 14, 2013 at 5:09 pm who said, “I got a roll at the FAEA conference but not sure what to do with it and that one roll would be enough for an entire grade level to use. Would love to win some more AND to … Read more…
The 3rd graders studied Africa in their social studies classroom and we learned about African masks in art class. The students watched a video that explained about the functions of masks, celebrations, rituals and materials used to make the masks. (Crizmac Tribal Designs video) Using markers, the third graders drew their own masks. The students were encouraged to include human and/or animal features and to personalize the masks with colors and designs of their own choosing. When we made … Read more…
Hello, nice to meet you! My name is Marcia and I teach K-5 art at a small private school in Wisconsin. I have been blogging for about 12 years. I love making art with children and teaching about art in our world. I am a Girl Scout leader and also yearbook advisor. My favorite types of art are art journaling, mixed media collage and watercolor painting. My art journaling Instagram is where I sometimes post my artsy creations. I also … Read more…
More fun collages!
I photocopied some leaves on paper for the kids to play with. This student used colored tape and marker to transform his leaves. It thought these were fun. The Alternative Art Journals book giveaway goes to mom2h who said…“I am just starting to explore art journaling, and in fact, have your art journal blog ( and a couple of others) placed at the top of my bookmarks to remind myself to seek out ideas. I haven’t taught it, but we … Read more…
Radial designs are so much fun to make!The third graders made these. Have done these before and the lesson plan directions are on previous posts. SEE THESE!
This week, I received two books that had a few of my activities published in them! I responded to a call for lesson plans by Gryphon House and was happy when mine were chosen. These look like fun books for a pre-school or kindergarten teacher. The activities are geared for early childhood. I have been seeking out various outlets for publishing, since I have always wanted to be a writer. It’s also fun to get free copies of the publications … Read more…
This is one of my favorite kindergarten projects and it is perfect to teach at the beginning of the year. Lines are introduced and we talk about the many types of lines… straight, zigzag, loopy, wavy, etc. Then I show them how they can make dotted and dashed lines, lines that start out wavy and then become spiky and even lines that are made by placing shapes in a row. The kindergartners start with a black marker and draw the … Read more…
