My 3rd and 4th graders are currently making messes with paper mache! They are building and paper maching masks. They learned about Pacific Northwest Coast masks, but also masks from around the world. Here is a sneak peek of what the masks might turn out to look like- they made some preliminary sketches.. What do you think?
I have a new art lesson plan to show you! I wrote this for a substitute lesson, but you can make it as simple or complex as you want to. My students were very interested in watching me design my snowman picture and they were amazed at how detailed the background was, but also they felt confident they could create a Pop Art snowman picture of their own. This lesson is available for purchase in my shop and includes Snowman … Read more…
I used this simple “Snowflake Starter” to help my 1st and 2nd graders draw their own snowflakes. This is a great way to teach about radial symmetry. If you are going to use watercolor paints or glue thicker materials on to the paper, print the templates onto thicker cardstock. Simply draw shapes or designs on the spokes of the snowflake. If you draw something on one line, make sure to repeat the same shape or design all the way around. … Read more…
I love these tempera paint flowers that are inspired by the artwork of Georgia O’Keeffe. These close-up paintings were created by my 2nd grade students last year. The children used photo references to draw large flowers. Then, they painted with colors and finally, outlined in black paint. I really love the white polka dot on black background in the top right picture. I may suggest a patterned background to students next time I teach this project. To tie in … Read more…
My Dad recently received this amazing gift that I thought you would be interested in seeing! My Dad went in for some serious surgery a few weeks ago and a group of quilters from his church made him this beautiful quilt! The reason it is so special is that the quilt is made up of square of HIS pen and ink drawings. Every year, my Dad draws many pen & ink drawings of places he visits on vacation and of … Read more…
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I am so excited to let you know that I recently was interviewed on the Art Class Curator Podcast! I was so honored to be invited by Cindy Ingram to be on her show. Visit her blog, Art Class Curator, to hear the podcast! Show Highlights: Marcia shares how she started her own art blog What makes Marcia’s school different from most How Marcia and her fellow teachers work together to reinforce lesson plans Marcia shares examples of how her … Read more…
This past summer, there were painted Bucky Badger sculptures all over our city. The Badger is the mascot of the University of Wisconsin. I wrote all about it in a previous blog post which you can read here. I shared already the large collaborative Bucky Badger puzzle designs we made. After we made the large group Buckys, each student made their own smaller Bucky design. They had the opportunity to design it however they wanted. Take a look at some … Read more…
My third, fourth and fifth grade students just finished up these gorgeous fall still life paintings. Over the years I have built up a collection of fall decorations, artificial leaves, pumpkins and gourds. I also brought in some real pumpkins and gourds as well. If you want to do some seasonal art and still have solid art standards covered, observational drawing is always a good go-to lesson. For this project, we talked a little about arrangement and composition, which usually … Read more…
I love the results of this dotted pumpkin project inspired by the dotted pumpkins of Yayoi Kusama. I did this art lesson with 3rd/4th grade. (Amazon Affiliate links have been used, at no extra cost to you.) I based our project after the lesson taught on the blog Plastiquem. First, I read the book Yayoi Kusama, From Here to Infinity, which is an inspirational book about her artwork and life. This is on my list of top 10 favorite books … Read more…
We recently had an inservice at our school and they talked about making choice menus to give the students different ways to show understanding. I decided to make a few that could go along with different units I taught. This one would go along with my Ancient Egyptian art lessons. The free digital download is here in my shop. I plan to use this with my students after they have completed our main art project as an extension activity. Feel … Read more…
Here are a couple of Kindness Themed Choice Menus that you can use with your students to pick an art activity that demonstrates kindness. I have this as a free download in my TPT shop. Download here.
At a recent inservice, we were introduced to ways to give differentiation to learners of different paces and allow them to pursue activities or topics they may be interested in. One of these ways is a tic-tac-toe choice menu. You can make menus for students for the main project in a unit (for example, different products to make to show understanding after reading a novel). I like the idea of having menus as enrichment or extensions of a unit. I … Read more…
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…
We all have our favorite art supplies. What are your MUST-HAVE art supplies for an elementary art classroom? Here are some of my favorites! (Amazon Affiliate links have been used in this post at no extra cost to you.) Kwik Stix. Oh, how I love these paint sticks! They go on smoother than oil pastels, they have such bright, vibrant colors and they are so easy to use with low mess! They come in metallic, regular and neon. On this … Read more…
