Now is the time to start planning for Valentine’s Day art projects. I am going to share with you a few heart art projects I have taught in my school. First is the Map of My Heart. It is one of my favorites. I found the heart map idea in this book, Playful Learning. Start by drawing a heart in pencil on your paper. Think of all the things that you love or that are important to you. What is … Read more…
Hi all! I hope your school year is off to a great start. This project is how I began the year with my youngest students. First, I read them two short books about creativity and making art. First, we read Think Big. It’s very short and simple (about two words on each page), but it shows different ways people express themselves.. dancing, sewing, cooking, woodworking, theater, art, etc. The title Louise Loves Art has two meanings. Ask your students if … 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…
Reggie Laurent: Contemporary Artist Reggie Laurent is a self-taught artist living in Georgia. He creates very intricate abstract shape paintings. I saw his paintings online and I was immediately drawn to all of the fun patterns and colors. My first graders learned about his abstract pictures. They are filled with lots of different shapes, fitted together like a puzzle. His artworks are highly detailed and very colorful. Student Shape Collages The students learned about and used organic (freeform) and geometric shapes … Read more…
I have something to share with you that I’ve been working on for a long time. Well, a couple of months. It takes forever for me to accomplish anything lately (I have a clingy toddler who doesn’t like to sleep) so I work in short spurts whenever I get a chance. Many of you probably know of Ian and Melissa from Apex High School. They have developed a list of Artistic Behaviors for the high school level. I have been … Read more…
Do you want to know what will really get first graders excited about drawing still lifes? Have them bring in their own stuffed animals! I invited the kids to bring in their favorite stuffed animals to draw. I also had a garbage bag full of my own stuffed animals from home in case someone forgot to bring in one. I demonstrated how to observe the shapes and positioning of the stuffed animals and then I let the kids get to … Read more…
We had our first week of school! Beth Carter posted wonderful pictures of her students drawings on the first day with the title “I had art today!” I borrowed the concept and made sheets for my kindergartners and first graders to take home on their first day of art class. Here is the PDF download of “I Had Art Today!” I had my students draw a picture of themselves as an artist or a picture of themselves in class with … Read more…
