Model Magic Insect Sculptures
I often like to connect what we are doing in art to what they have learned about in science class. Insects can provide a lot of inspiration for artists. The colors and designs in insects can be intricate,…
Art Projects for Kids + Tips for the Teacher!
Art Projects for Kids + Tips for the Teacher!
Elementary Art Projects & Creative Lessons for Kids
Welcome to Art is Basic, a blog full of elementary art lessons, easy art projects, and teaching ideas for K-5 classrooms. Browse hundreds of engaging activities designed to inspire young artists.
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Getting to Know You Activity: Art History Folded Petals
Art History Folded Petal– Getting to Know You Activity This is a fun and educational “Getting to Know You” activity I did with some classes last year. I have these art history folded petal templates in my…
Flash Back to School Sale & $10 Gift Card Contest
Tuesday, Aug. 21 only will be a ONE DAY ONLY flash Back to School Bonus Sale sitewide at Teachers Pay Teachers! Get up to 25% off at all your favorite teachers’ shops, including my shop, ART IS BASIC! Use code…
Zen Houses Workshop with Jodi Ohl
I have been a fan of Jodi Ohl‘s artwork for many years. She has a fun, whimsical style. Last summer, I went to a workshop taught by her and had so much fun that I signed up for…
9 Kindness Books for Kids
I was on a mission last year to find some excellent books about KINDNESS for kids. I found NINE books to recommend to you. There were others I came across, but these were my favorites. If you have…
12 Highly Relatable Art History Memes
I don’t usually have guest submissions, but when I do, it’s because I think it is really worthwhile or just really entertaining. I think you will really enjoy these art history memes from Invaluable (a gallery/art auction site).…
Back to School Ideas
A few years ago, I compiled a huge list of tips for the first days of school. These tips were submitted by art teachers all over the world. This gigantic list of tips will help you get started.…
Children’s Mural at Church about the Beatitudes
I realized I never posted pictures of our finished mural at church. I’ve been so busy with end-of-the-year stuff for school. I worked on this mural all year with the 4th/5th grade Sunday School class. It is 4…
Create a Summer Art Journal
Isn’t this graphic the cutest?! I am part of an Art Ed Blogger’s Network which is a collective of writers who blog about a certain topic each month. At the bottom of the post is a link to…
Lego Capitol Building at Madison Children’s Museum
This 12,000 brick model of the Wisconsin State Capitol building was built by my husband Andrew. It was commissioned by the Madison Children’s Museum to help celebrate the 100th birthday of the building. Hear about this project in his own…
Summer Art Challenge 2018
About 6 years ago I came up with the idea to do a Summer Art Challenge, based on the fun I had as a girl doing those summer reading programs where you earned a little prize at the…
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Nest & Chicks added to our Silhouette Mural
We made a few updates to our mural at school. We painted the original in 2015. This year, after some unfortunate defacing with Sharpie, we cleaned it up and realized some areas needed touching up. So my helpful…
Found Object Puppets
My 1st graders had a blast making these found object puppets from recycled materials. We read this book by Hanoch Piven.
Fingerprint Plates for School Auction
We made 3 fingerprint plates for our school auction. The materials we used were The first was a Dr. Seuss themed “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” plate for the Kindergartners. The fish are made from…