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Tag Archives: kindergarten

Magnetic Building Blocks | Early Finisher Idea

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A box filled with vibrant, patterned magnetic building blocks. Text above reads, "Early Finisher Idea!" Perfect for sparking creativity and fun for those who complete tasks ahead of time.

I wanted to share with you something that is sure to be a hit in your classroom. These are some really fun magnetic building blocks my kids love to build with! This is a great idea for an early finisher center in the art classroom. As an art teacher, I’m sure you have encountered the situation (pretty much every day) that kids finish at all different times during the class period. Some of them work really quickly and others take … Read more… →

Free Art Sub Plan: Primary Color Hands

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This Free Art Sub Plan provides a creative worksheet for Grades K-2 featuring the "Primary Color Hands" project. It includes detailed steps and a charming hand-drawn example, showcasing vibrant patterns on traced hands for an engaging art experience.

This is an art project perfect for a kindergarten to 2nd grade substitute lesson plan. When you have to take a sick day, you never know if your sub is going to have an art background or not. This is a simple, one page art handout with goals, steps and an example. In order to print out the full, high resolution handouts, visit my TPT shop for the FREE download! This was a lesson idea a former colleague shared with … Read more… →

What To Do On the First Day of Art Class

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Colorful watercolor frame with a paintbrush and palette surrounding the text "First Day of Art Class, Projects & Books.

Hello! I am already seeing lots of posts in Facebook groups asking what to do in the first few days of art class. In this post, I will walk you through what I plan to do this year in my classes. This is very similar to what I have done in other years. First, I start all classes with basic introductions and talking about the room and art class. We go over the rules and expectations. I use a video … Read more… →

Distance Art Lesson: Shapes with Repeating Lines

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Abstract artwork featuring a red triangle, blue square, and purple circle with layered, multicolored striped patterns and repeating lines.

We are still fully virtual over here! I feel like I have been getting into a groove and things are going pretty well. Here is a lesson I did for kindergarten and first grade. Repetition in art means to repeat something again and again. If you have been making distance learning art lessons and have shared them on a website, please comment below! I am always looking for new ideas.

Shape Monsters Art Project

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Shape Monsters Art Project

I found this cute book called My Very Silly Monster Book of Shapes.  I read this book to my Kindergartners and then we did a shape monster art project similar to the shape monsters seen on this blog. After reading the book, the kindergarteners were given the choice of several different shape templates:  rectangles, ovals, stars, hexagons, squares, etc.  They traced the template onto construction paper.  Then, I demonstrated how to make eyes by cutting circles from white squares, then … Read more… →

9 Kindness Books for Kids

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A collection of children's books about kindness, arranged vertically. Text above and below reads "Books for Kids.

I was on a mission last year to find some excellent books about KINDNESS for kids.  I found NINE books to recommend to you.  There were others I came across, but these were my favorites.  If you have any good recommendations for books about kindness, please share in the comments!  Thank you!  (Amazon Affiliate links have been used in this post at no extra cost to you.) I think kids need to be taught kindness.  They need to be made … Read more… →

Fingerprint Plates for School Auction

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A hand-painted plate with a panda holding colorful balloons, surrounded by butterflies, featuring the text "Upper Primaries 2017-2018." This delightful piece would make a wonderful item for a School Auction.

We made 3 fingerprint plates for our school auction. The materials we used were Bisque fired dinner plates from Mayco. Underglaze in various colors Fine line writer bottle (filled with glaze) Clear Gloss Glaze The first was a Dr. Seuss themed “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” plate for the Kindergartners.  The fish are made from their fingerprints. The second was a bird plate for the 1st graders.  All of the birds were made from the kids’ fingerprints.  Their … Read more… →

Class Project for Auction: Clay Mosaic Mirrors

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Class Project for Auction: Clay Mosaic Mirrors

Every year my students and I create artworks for our school’s auction.  If you look here, you can see some of the auction artworks from previous years.  This year, each student in grades K-8 made textured clay circle tiles.  We glued them on to several mirrors. The process to make the clay circle tiles is quite simple, yet it teaches the kids several important skills for working with clay. First, roll out a flat piece of clay (called a “slab”). … Read more… →

“Not Just a Scribble” Creatures

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“Not Just a Scribble” Creatures

(Affiliate links are used in this blog post, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Art is Basic!) In my last blog post, I told you about a children’s book called I’m Not Just a Scribble. The author, Diane Alber, gave us a behind the scenes interview about her process and her future books. After reading this book, some of my students in grades K-3 created these cute scribble creatures with BIG personalities! (The one on the … Read more… →

I’m Not Just a Scribble: Children’s Book Author Interview

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Colorful crayon artwork with a rainbow, clouds, and flowers, featuring a happy stick figure with glasses at the bottom—ideal for a children's book.

(Amazon Affiliate links are used in this post at no extra cost to you.) Have you heard of the book I’m Not Just a Scribble… ?   “Scribble, the book’s main character, never thought he was different until he met his first drawing.  Then, after being left out because he didn’t look like everyone else, Scribble teaches the drawings how to accept each other for who they are.  Which enables them to create amazing art together!”-  from the book’s description. I’m … Read more… →

Kindergarten Line Lanterns

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Colorful paper lanterns painted with various abstract designs are hanging from the ceiling.

This project is relatively simple and takes learning about lines into the third dimension. I posted about this project back in 2013 and it was one of my most popular blog posts.  I usually do a line painting project with the kindergartners.  This is a great way to learn about types of lines, practice painting with a paintbrush and develop all those great fine motor skills you want the little ones to learn such as gluing and coloring. 1. The … Read more… →

Printmaking with Apples: Pumpkin Jack-o-Lanterns

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Child's drawing of six orange Jack-o-Lanterns with various facial expressions on a green background.

This was a fun introduction to printmaking.  I did this project with Kindergartners.  I got the idea from this image on Pinterest. I read them The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons.  I cut apples in half and the students dipped them into orange paint and stamped them on their paper.   The next art class, I provided them with printouts of images I found online of jack-o-lanterns and the students used markers to draw faces and stems on the pumpkins. … Read more… →

New! Texture Rubbing Practice Sheet

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New! Texture Rubbing Practice Sheet

Easy, simple, fun! Brand new in my shop, a texture rubbing practice sheet.  Use this handy sheet as a practice for making texture rubbings. Kids love using crayons to make texture rubbings, but they don’t always realize that they can use them to color inside a shape. Peel various color crayons. Place a texture plate under the paper. I have used the Melissa & Doug Shade-Tex plates. Hold the crayons on the side and rub over the paper to reveal … Read more… →

Kindergarten Watercolor Shapes

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A watercolor paint set and brush beside a colorfully painted paper showcasing various shapes in different hues, ideal for kindergarten creativity.

I am always trying to come up with new ideas for my youngest students to experience painting in a successful way, learn about important art concepts and still be able to use their creativity. In this lesson, the goals were the following: Students will… Practice using a paintbrush properly. Learn about the qualities of watercolors through instruction and exploration. Experiment with watercolor resist. Be able to identify common shapes such as circle, diamond, triangle, trapezoid, star, square, oval, rectangle, heart and … Read more… →

Back to School Letter Art for Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st grade

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A child's hand is coloring a large letter "C" with crayons on a piece of paper, creating delightful Letter Art ideal for Pre-K projects.

Hi all!  I hope your school year is off to a great start.  This project is how I began the year with my youngest students.  First, I read them two short books about creativity and making art.  First, we read Think Big.  It’s very short and simple (about two words on each page), but it shows different ways people express themselves.. dancing, sewing, cooking, woodworking, theater, art, etc. The title Louise Loves Art has two meanings.  Ask your students if … Read more… →

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