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Art Using Train Tracks

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…

Review of Old Tracks, New Tricks– Children’s Book about Trains

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…

Make Your Own Creature with Fabric and Paper Scraps

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…

4th and 5th Grade Profile Drawings: In the Style of Egyptians, Mixtec Codex and Duncan Tonatiuh

4th and 5th Grade Profile Drawings:  In the Style of Egyptians, Mixtec Codex and Duncan Tonatiuh

My students were treated to a visit by illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh.  He is both Mexican and American. He grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City. His images are inspired by ancient Mexican art, especially the Mixtec codex of the 14th and 15th centuries. Like the people and animals in the codex, the figures in his illustrations are always drawn in profile– their entire bodies are usually shown and their ears … Read more…

Duncan Tonatiuh: Author/Illustrator Visit

On Friday, we had a visit to our school by author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh.   See his artwork here.  He is both Mexican and American. He grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York City. His artwork is inspired by Pre-Columbian art, particularly that of the Mixtec codex. His goal is to create images and stories that honor the past, but that are relevant to people, especially children, nowadays.  His books are … Read more…

“Emily’s Blue Period” Art Project: Personal Collages

Personal Collages:  4th and 5th Grade   We read the book Emily’s Blue Period, which is about a girl whose parents are divorcing and now she has two homes. Emily was learning about Pablo Picasso, his Blue Period and his collages in her art class. She goes through her own “blue period” of sadness.  Her art teacher asks the class to make personal collages about their homes.  She doesn’t know what to do because she has two homes now.  She ends up … Read more…

3 Fun and Easy Kindergarten Art Lessons

For me it is always a challenge to keep up with Kindergarten art projects. I see my classes twice per week for 40 minutes, so they get to do a lot of art!  They go through lessons and projects quickly, their attention spans are short and they have difficulty sometimes with very basic skills.  Here are three Kindergarten art lessons that are fairly easy to prepare for, teach important art concepts and use the same selection of materials. The first … Read more…