The 1st graders made maps of their hearts! This is a charming project that gives you a window into the lives of your students. First, they drew a large heart and then inside the heart they included things or people that were important in their lives. They used permanent markers to draw and then watercolor paints to color in the heart. I got this idea from the book “Playful Learning” which would be a great book for a classroom teacher. … Read more…
The week after winter break was up in the air. Due to construction, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to use our art room and we didn’t know if we would have easy access to supplies. I planned for most of my classes to complete observational drawings during that week period, since they all could use the same supplies and learning to observe the edges and shapes of objects is great training for the eye. It … Read more…
Another year is rapidly coming to a close, so I thought I would spend some time reviewing my favorite projects and blog posts from this year. Here are my favorite posts, in no particular order! 15. How to Paint Gorgeous Clouds with Watercolor 14. Clay Castles 13. Postage Stamp Art Project 12. Heart Photography Project with 3rd Grade 11. 25 Amazing Books for Teaching About Art 10. Editorial cartoons are a unit I teach every year. We even were … Read more…
The week before winter break, the first graders made colorful coffee filter snowflakes. 1. Color the coffee filters with washable markers. 2. Spray with a water bottle and watch the colors magically spread like tie-dye. Allow to dry overnight. 3. The next day, fold the circle into half and then half again and half again. Cut out little shapes and pieces of the coffee filter. 4. Glue the snowflake on to a colored piece of construction paper. Glue on confetti, … Read more…
Our school is building an addition, so I thought projects related to “building” would be fun. Legos are the perfect building blocks! So, we designed our own mini-figures with this template. I originally saw this idea from The Art Teacher’s Closet. We also stamped with Legos (idea via Lego Stamping from Filth Wizardry). Thanks to wonderful bloggers for these two ideas! My students LOVED them! They were so excited about these proejcts. Place your piece of paper on top of … Read more…
I love these charming birds by the 1st graders! So colorful and a beautiful experience with watercolors. We read the lovely book The Boy Who Drew Birds, which is about the naturalist/artist John James Audubon. It is a great book that tells the story of how he loved to study birds and spent his free time as a child drawing and observing nature. Audubon banded birds to see if the same birds returned each year. It is a great book … Read more…
Rolled up paper tubes, colored stickers, feathers, scrapbook paper… using up whatever was left in the scrap box at the end of the year! These were made by 1st graders.
Our local public library partnered with us to have a bookmark contest. The kids in grades K-5 each designed a bookmark based on a favorite book. We provided a template for them to compose their drawing. The library will pick a number of winners to print as bookmarks for distribution at the library. We’ve done this before at school and when the designs were returned to us, we chose other designs and copied them at an office store on card … Read more…
Here are some of our cute fabric dolls the 1st graders made. We used a lot of wrapping, tying and hot glue. I would recommend having an older student helper or a couple of parent volunteers. I’m trying to find an easier way to make fabric dolls with kids. Any ideas? These are very cute, but the kids needed a lot of help. Google
Weaving on styrofoam is really easy to do! There is a great restaurant supply store near my school where I can buy meat trays in bulk and have them last for years. 1. Cut slits on the edges of two sides. 2. Loop a sturdy string or yarn up and down the slits. 3. Weave over and under using pieces of yarn, ribbons, pipe cleaners, feathers or rolled tissue paper. 4. Trim the edges that hang over.
Printing with Cardboard To print faces, cut cardboard rectangles. Dip in paint and stamp to make faces. We colored these with crayons and added words and letters with rubber stamps. Aren’t they expressive?
Each year, I tend to try something different for Valentine’s Day. I like to spice things up, don’t you? Here are some from the past that I have done. 1. Valentine’s Heart Collages 2. Cool Hands, Warm Heart 3. Easy Clay Hearts for Kindergarten I have made these for Christmas presents, but they would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. 4. Maps of My Heart (by Kindergarten) 5. Styrofoam Printed Valentines Follow @marcia_beckett
