Elementary Art Lessons, Projects & Teaching Ideas for K–5

Because art is fundamental to who we are. Art has always been a basic form of human communication. From cave walls to classroom walls, art helps us express ideas, tell stories, and better understand the world around us. I believe art is an essential part of every child's education, which is why I chose the name Art is Basic. Here you'll find K–5 creative art lessons, teaching ideas, and printable resources to help K–5 art teachers inspire young artists.

Colorful watercolor circles with cute animal faces and various expressive faces, including happy, winking, and angry.

Watercolor Circles- Expressive Faces or Flower Doodles

I haven’t posted much lately because I’ve been focusing on other things– I’m in charge of the cookies for our Girl Scout cookie sales and that is like a part-time job! Also, I’ve been getting ready for my…

March 4, 2020
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Abstract art featuring colorful, irregularly shaped cardboard pieces like circles, rectangles, and squares arranged in various patterns. This unique art project showcases creativity through its vibrant and dynamic design.

Cardboard Shape Art Project

Happy New Year! I hope you all have had a relaxing and restful holidays and are ready for the new year. Today I have some cardboard shape pictures to share with you that my 2nd graders created. We…

January 4, 2020
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A mobile adorned with colorful ribbons and tags, expressing gratitude for friends, family, and pets. This heartfelt mobile serves as a daily reminder to be thankful for the special connections in your life.

Thankful for… Mobiles

What kinds of artworks have you done with the theme of Thanksgiving? I wanted to do a mixed media fibers project with my students so we made these gratitude mobiles. Students wrapped and twisted strips of fabric, yarn…

November 27, 2019

The cover of the book "Birds" by Carme Lemniscates features a child sitting under birds in a park with trees, offering an engaging kids activity.

Birds Activity for Kids Free Printable Downloads

Candlewick Press sent me a review copy of the book Birds by Carme Lemniscates (Amazon Affiliate links have been used at no cost to you), along with a few free activity downloads to share with you. See the…

November 15, 2019

Illustration of an artist painting on a large mural in an art room, with text on the left and right pages explaining the scene. ABC Books

ABC Books for the Art Room

I love using children’s books in the Art classroom. Over the years I have collected variety of books related to art, artists, themes we study or simply have inspiring pictures. This blog post is a round-up of several…

November 9, 2019
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Createures, a unique card game, features cards with a lion, jellyfish, grasshopper, two-headed creatures, and a science lab. Two game boxes are in the background. The game includes prompt cards for an added layer of fun and creativity.

Createures- Art-Generating Prompt Cards

**Giveaway now closed *** Have you heard of the new art-generating prompt game called Createures? I received a review copy of the prompt cards and an EXTRA COPY to give away for FREE to one lucky reader! ($19.99…

November 5, 2019
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A colorful circular artwork depicting a spider at the center of a web, created with Model Magic, featuring various shapes filled with vibrant colors.

Glue Line Spider Webs with Model Magic

I got this idea from my son’s afterschool program… they were making these one day a couple weeks ago and I loved them some much I decided to use the idea for my own classroom right away! My…

October 26, 2019
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Two colorful, decorated letter cutouts: "F" with feathers and a face, and "E" with rainbow stripes and googly eyes that look like playful monsters from the alphabet.

Alphabet Monsters

My 1st graders had read a variety of ABC books about art and we made letters that were illustrated with objects that started with that letter. To finish up our unit on alphabet related art, we made these…

October 25, 2019
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Child's drawing of a purple, wavy haunted house, pumpkins, and a ghost set against an orange sky with a crescent moon.

Spooky Haunted House Art Project for Kids

I got the idea for this spooky haunted house picture from this picture I found online. For the background, we did a marker ink printing process using washable markers on plastic ziploc bags. I learned this technique from…

October 24, 2019
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A colorful, abstract drawing of a unicorn with a rainbow mane and hearts in the background, inspired by Mr. Doodle’s whimsical style.

Mr. Doodle Inspired Doodling Pictures

My 4th/5th graders learned about the artist Mr. Doodle and watched several videos of him doodling. You can see his artwork on his Facebook page. We talked about emphasis and the focal point and how to make the…

October 22, 2019
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Art supplies and colorful journals surround the text: "Hands-On Ticketed Workshop: Art Journaling for Personal Meaning and Creative Development at the NAEA Conference.

Art Journaling Workshop at the NAEA Conference

Good news! My proposal to lead a hands-on workshop at the National Art Education Association convention was accepted. The convention is from March 26-28 and you can sign up on the NAEA website. My workshop is titled: “Art…

October 7, 2019
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Black and white image of rainbow labeled with rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. This coloring template helps visualize the rainbow order.

Rainbow Order Coloring Template

The first day of school was an orientation day for Kinders and new kids. We had a very shortened schedule and I saw the Kindergartners for about 10-15 minutes. I never feel like I know what the best…

October 2, 2019

Colorful birdhouses, a green art piece with sticks, and a leaf artwork are featured in the "Outdoor Art Creator Badge" exhibit.

Outdoor Art Creator Badge- Brownie Girl Scouts

Last year, my 3rd grade Girl Scout troop did a variety of art projects. One of the badges we earned was the Outdoor Art Creator Badge. Here are some of the activities we did to earn the badge.…

September 29, 2019
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