I have been teaching myself how to use Adobe Illustrator this summer so I can make some clip art to use. I made a cute poster you could print out for your class. I have seen this phrase on many posters online. I made the pencil on Illustrator! Ha Ha, I’m so proud of myself. I’ve always used Photoshop to do everything, so Illustrator has been kind of a mystery to me. To download the high resolution PDF version, go to … Read more…
Thank you to all who entered the Beautiful Oops journal giveaway. The winner has been randomly chosen and notified… and that winner is Amanda Shaw. Congratulations! When I was at the NAEA conference two years ago, I saw a station where people were making wooden Kokeshi dolls in the vendor area. Every time I walked by it, either it was too full or I had to be on my way somewhere else. So, I didn’t make one. But, I found … Read more…
Hi! I’m working with Workman Publishing to share a new book and giveaway with you! Many art teachers use the book Beautiful Oops! in their classroom. It’s one of my favorites! It’s all about how even if you make a mistake, it’s an opportunity to turn it into something beautiful. This link has some art projects I’ve taught using this book. BUT… there is a brand new companion to Beautiful Oops! This a creative personal journal for young artists aged … Read more…
Hi! I’m here today to share with you a meaningful art project for your younger students. This would be good as as a “getting to know you” activity. The following examples were all made by kindergartners near the end of the year, but I would think this lesson would be suitable for kids through grades 2. Many art teachers have taught about the artist Faith Ringgold and had their students create paper quilts. I have a free printable for you … Read more…
This is a simple challenge that leads to a variety of creative artworks! Choose one shape to repeat throughout your artwork. Use markers, watercolor paints or any art media of your choice. The challenge is to arrange the shapes in a unique and interesting composition. Include a variety of colors and sizes. Overlap some shapes to add interest. Add patterns or designs inside the shapes. Limitations encourage students to think in new ways.. to be creative within the constraints. Repetition is … Read more…
If you would like a fun activity for a group of young kids or even your own little train enthusiastic, try this railroad track mural art project! My students worked in groups of 3 or more. First, they assembled a train track with wooden tracks. This took a lot of planning and collaboration. They needed to work together as a team to get the tracks to fit on their piece of paper. After the groups were satisfied with their … Read more…
Today I am going to share a fun drawing book about making cartoons from the alphabet. This is a fun book to create characters from letters. The publisher gave me this book in exchange for an honest review. Drawing Cartoons Letter by Letter: Create Fun Characters from A to Z (Drawing Shape by Shape series) From Amazon: “Christopher Hart takes his hugely successful Drawing Shape by Shape series into a new dimension—and the fun starts with simple, basic letters and … Read more…
I have new Award Certificates in my shop! These are suitable for classroom teachers and art teachers. They can be modified and used for a variety of reasons. I also have a set of Yearbook Cover award certificates. I had a custom request to make certificates for winners of yearbook cover contest for a school. I decided to include a modified version in my shop for other schools who may have an annual contest for yearbook cover designs. Finally, this is … Read more…
Fidget spinners are all the rage! Design and color your own using this pre-drawn sheet. (Note: this is just a drawing for fun, not to actually spin.) I was inspired to make this sheet after I saw an art teacher share an artwork her student made by tracing fidget spinners. I thought it could be a fun activity for your kids who are obsessed with these. I know my daughter loves these silly things! For the free high resolution download, … Read more…
Hi! One day when I was sick I left a sub lesson plan for my students to design their own tree houses. I printed out examples of tree house drawings for inspiration, like these here and here. There is also this resource by Art Sub Lessons which has many pictures of real tree houses for inspiration. I did not leave a lot of directions or specific requirements, but encouraged creative thinking and unusual designs. Here are some of our whimsical pictures. I think … Read more…
This is a project from the archives. I used to teach a combined 5th/6th grade class until this year. Every year, we made medieval paper mache figures. The 5/6s studied the Medieval period in their social studies class. We used newspaper and foil to create the armature of these figures. Then, we applied paper mache over the body. Model magic or air dry clay was used to make the heads. Model magic actually works the best, in my opinion. Clothes, … Read more…
It has been several weeks since our Fine Arts Night and I have been waiting until things settled down here to write all about it. Many, many thanks to my co-worker Katie McEnaney for taking photographs of the event! “Wild About the Arts” Fine Arts Night We had our first ever Fine Arts Night. The night combined musical performances, an art show and art activities to celebrate the arts! We decided on an animal theme. We displayed one artwork from … Read more…
In my last blog post, I reviewed the book Old Tracks, New Tricks. It is a super cute and creative book. The book itself is good for up to about 1st or 2nd grade, in my opinion. The kids at my school saw me drawing this train track picture and some of the 3rd graders wanted to try it. I’m thinking 1st through 3rd grade might be best for this art project. I will test it with the Kindergartners and … Read more…
Get the whole free download here! I have a fun book to share with you today. Innovation Press sent me a free copy of Old Tracks, New Tricks to review. I selected to receive this book because it looked cute and I thought my 3 year old son would really like it even if it was too young for my classes. I think this book would be most appropriate for Pre-K to grade 2. The book is adorable and so creative! … Read more…
In my last post, I showed you some of Sabrina Ward Harrison’s artwork and talked about what she shared with us at her artist visit. Her artwork is very inspiring, messy and beautiful. Please check out the other post to learn all about this artist. After the presentation, smaller groups of kids in grades 3-6 had a collage workshop with Sabrina. She demonstrated how to use Mod-Podge to paste down pieces of her pinwheel shape. While she demonstrated the … Read more…
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