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Tag Archives: drawing

Halloween Themed Choice Menu

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Halloween Themed Choice Menu

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… →

Whimsical Landscapes (Justin Vining artist study)

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I love this lesson!  I teach about contemporary artist Justin Vining and the kids explore the qualities of watercolor pencils to create their own whimsical landscapes. You can see artwork from another year at this blog post. You can read my interview with Justin Vining here. I even got this lesson published in a magazine! Here are some of my 4th/5th grade students’ artworks from the end of last year. When teaching this lesson, I show the students some YouTube … Read more… →

Sailboats from Milk Cartons- 1st grade

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Earlier I wrote a tutorial on how to make sailboats from milk cartons. My 1st grade students have finished making their sailboats.  Here are some of their finished projects! After the boats were made, the students drew pictures of their boats.  I had stuffed animals available if they wanted to draw a stuffed animal in the boat. Have you ever made boats with your kids?

Fairy Houses and Gnome Homes- Drawings & Sculptures

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What could be more fun than fairy houses and gnome homes?  I don’t know, but let me know if you find out!  I’ve discovered that kids love 1) Open-ended projects  2) Getting to choose from a huge pile of random, colorful materials  3) Miniature things   4) Using their imagination.   This project is a winner for all of these reasons. I saw a question on an art teacher Facebook group which reminded me of this project my 4th/5th grade students did … Read more… →

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

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(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. … Read more… →

In Case You Missed It: Frank Stella Inspired Children’s Art Project

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Two and a half years ago I posted this lesson about using Frank Stella’s artwork as inspiration for children’s drawings.  I love Frank Stella’s work.  After visiting an art museum and seeing an exhibit of the progression of his style, I was hooked.  It is so fascinating and there is a lot to look at.  The sheer size of these prints are stunning. In case you haven’t figure out by now, my favorite style of art is BUSY, abstract, super … Read more… →

Fun and Easy Mandalas with Metallic Gel Pens

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Fun and Easy Mandalas with Metallic Gel Pens

One day this summer, my daughter came home from camp with a circle design drawn using metallic gel pens.  I thought it looked so cool, I wanted to try it with my students in 3rd/4th grade.  I usually teach about mandalas and radial balance at this age level. Mandalas have religious and spiritual significance around the world.  They have been used for meditation and relaxation.  I showed the students mandalas including Tibetan and Navajo sand paintings, ancient Aztec and architecture.  … Read more… →