Earth Day Oil Pastel Drawings
For Earth Day, my 4th & 5th grade class drew endangered trees and birds using oil pastels. The entire lesson took about 3-4 class periods to finish. The students each used a picture of their tree or bird…
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.
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Showing Depth in Landscapes: 2nd Grade Drawing Project
My second graders recently learned about simple ways to show depth in an artwork. I gave a demonstration on my new document camera and showed them how rivers and roads that go back in space would be wider…
God’s Eyes Woven Wall Hanging
My 3rd and 4th grade class just finished making woven God’s Eyes (Ojos de Dios). Students chose yarn and wrapped the strands around the sticks. Then they were all tied to a large stick I found in my…
What are Kwik Stix? My first vlog.. video blogging!
What are Kwik Stix? Today I will share with you my first vlog. What is vlogging? Video blogging. In this video, I will share with you a new product I am loving and tell you my opinions. In…
Huge Printable Art Advocacy List! What Do Artists Do?
I made a list of easy-to-understand artistic behaviors for elementary school students and start from the basics. Start from the ground and work up. Many of my students come to kindergarten and they haven’t done weaving before or…
The Value of Independent and Exploratory Art
I wanted to explain to you how our art class periods are structured. Students have art twice a week for 40 minutes. Typically, we start with a 5 minute art warm up drawing in a sketchbook. Then we…
Sand Art Pictures with 5th & 6th Grade
Safety Note: Since using x-acto knives can be dangerous for kids, you must follow standard safety precautions, teach the kids how to use them properly and get permission from your administration. Read about some safety precautions in this…
Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes Book
I want to show you a beautiful book I discovered called Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book by Brian P. Clearly. The book was illustrated by Betsy E. Snyder and I think the pictures are…
Some of My Favorite Presentations from NAEA 2016
In my last post, I wrote an overall recap of the National Art Education Association conference. I also gave a summary of the artist Jesse Reno’s speech. In another post, I put together a little art history quiz…
NAEA Convention Recap Part 1
Hi, artsy friends! It’s taken awhile for me to gather all my pictures and information from the National Art Education Association conference and compile them into a recap. At my school, if you go to a conference,…
Jesse Reno: ambition over direction
When I found out that Jesse Reno was going to be at the National Art Education Conference this year, I was stoked. I’ve been following his artwork and blog for several years and I love how layered and…
How Well Do You Know Art History?
How well do you know artists throughout history? Take this quiz to test your knowledge. If you are reading from a blog reader or email, you may need to click on over to the actual blog post. Art…
Watercolor Animals with 5th and 6th Grade
With all the fancy projects an art teacher can find on Pinterest, sometimes it’s good to go back to the basics. Simple drawing and painting of familiar subjects. This week my students drew art manekins. You could see…