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…
Here is a fun and beautiful Valentine’s project! I call it “Confetti Hearts” with a side of Matisse. This idea came to me after seeing these painted hearts on Pinterest. Start by tracing a heart template or free handing it if the kids are older. Then using one of my favorite products, Kwik Stix, add dashes and dabs of the “paint” all over the heart, like confetti. You can surely use oil pastels or paints, but Kwik Stix have the … Read more…
Little artists love digging into a big box of fabric scraps to find the perfect patterned piece that speaks to them. We have an upcoming Fine Arts Night with the theme of Animals. We are calling it “Wild about the Arts”, which someone suggested in the Facebook art teachers group. The 1st graders made these fun creature collages. First we read the book Zigzag by Robert Souci and looked at the illustrations of fabric dolls. The students made creature collages, either … Read more…
With Halloween coming, this is an especially fun open-ended project for little kids. I did this with kids up to grade 3 and they were super excited to come up with their own monsters. Supplies needed (Amazon affiliate links used): Peel and Stick Wiggle Eyes Wiggle Eyes Stickers On A Roll Multi-Color Markers, crayons or other coloring tools White or colored construction paper Handouts for inspiration: Monster Dice Drawing and Examples of Monsters This is a real simple introduction and … Read more…
New product alert! I’ve been working on this fun and very educational printable booklet for Kindergarten and 1st Grade in art class. This printable booklet features the ABCs of art class. This book is perfect for Kindergartners and 1st graders. The booklet has a cover and 24 pages students can work on independently or as a class. This would be perfect for substitute lesson plans, centers or as a warm-up in class. The pages are rich with art concepts, some … Read more…
I was trying to sit down to write a blog post yesterday and I was thinking about how when the world seems to be in chaos, writing a blog post about kids’ art seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I had a post about recent doodling projects my students made in the works, but that didn’t seem quite appropriate after the events on Sunday morning. When something big like the attacks in Orlando, do you go on writing … Read more…
I want to show you a beautiful book I discovered called Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book by Brian P. Clearly. The book was illustrated by Betsy E. Snyder and I think the pictures are fantastic. The style of the book is reminiscent of Eric Carle’s painted paper collages. Aren’t they beautiful? On each page of the book are pictures that feature things that start with one letter of the alphabet. My first grade students created an … Read more…
