Marcia

Marcia

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

Disneyworld

A person and a child riding a carousel, smiling and waving, surrounded by decorative horses and carnival lights at Disneyworld.

Oh, how much fun was Disneyworld!  We had a blast.  We drove to Florida from Madison, WI which took us 2 1/2 days of driving.  Then we went to the different Disney parks for 6 days.  My daughter Daria had…

Robots and Chicks

Several fluffy baby chicks standing and resting on a blue surface indoors near a corner

I just wanted to show you one more very cool picture.. it was another parody of American Gothic.  This student was absent and had to catch up on this project.  Here are the baby chicks our school hatched, which are…

Yearbooks!

Several stacked yearbooks featuring a cover with a sky and a bird.

front cover back cover  (everything is actually straight on the cover, it’s just the angle I took the picture at) One of my jobs at school is the yearbook adviser.  This is a huge job and takes up a lot…

Stuffed Animals– 1st Grade

A child's drawing featuring a hedgehog, monkey, and bear with a colorful striped background.

What is better than drawing? Bringing in your favorite stuffed animals from home to draw, of course! Allowing students to choose their subject matter from things that are important to them will spark interest and excitement. Allowing students to share…

Memory Quilts

A colorful grid showcasing various children's drawings, including geometric shapes, flowers, and figures.

These were some fun paper Memory Quilts that the kindergartners made!  Aren’t they cute? We read Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold and talked about her story quilts. The children received a square piece of white paper, which had 9 squares…

Collages– first grade

A first grade collage featuring various animals, a candle on a map, and a traditional figurine.

Sometimes I like to let the kids loose with a box of supplies and minimal instruction. I photocopied some pages from Lynda Barry’s book and showed them to the first graders. In the box were paper scraps, magazines, strips of…

Op Art

Bold pink and purple striped background with cut-out text "Girls Rule!!!" surrounded by hearts, stars, and an Op Art twist.

First, we looked at the art of Bridget Riley and the Op art movement.  We read a Scholastic Art issue which features this style of art.  If you don’t get these magazines, they are a great investment.  Each year, we…

Elmer the Elephant

A child's colorful drawing of Elmer the elephant with a red background and patterned borders.

These pictures are based on the book Elmer!  I love this book and the colorful elephants.  The kids drew their own elephants and colored them with fun patterns.  The borders were made by cutting up and gluing strips of wrapping…

Assemblages

A craft project resembling a robot made from a yellow mouse pad, small objects, and various household items.

This is a playground!  Do you see the mini-Coke cans for sale? Here are some of our finished assemblages. These were made by 4th and 5th graders. This is a town square, with a fountain, pool and snack shop. Ice…