Animal Shrinky Dinks in Summer Art Camp
This summer I taught a one week art workshop called Artsy Animals. The camp had kids going in to grades 1-4 and it took place for 3 hours every day. Now camp was much more laid back than…
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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Medieval Day at School
Near the end of the school year our 5th/6th grade students put on a Medieval Day for the entire school. They researched and planned activities including dancing, food sampling, jousting, catapulting, exhibits and displays and of course, ART!…
New Ideas and Resources to Teach about Contemporary Art
In previous blog posts, I talked about contemporary artists you may not have heard about before and I put together a round-up of blog posts about contemporary art projects. Today I have some more ideas to share. Don…
Manga Drawing with Kids
My students had a blast drawing Manga faces again this year. I tried this lesson previously with great enthusiasm and results. I printed off lots of handouts I found online of cartoon faces, eyes, noses, mouths, hairstyles and…
Tape and Paint Pictures
I came up with this lesson after browsing the internet looking for contemporary artists to study. I came across Fiona Curran’s‘s beautiful paintings with straight lines and geometric shapes. Here are some of her artworks: At the end…
New Art Task Cards
I have new Art Task Cards which I think will be really useful for kids that need an idea starter. This is a set of 240 (yes, 240!) Art Task cards. The cards contain a simple prompt that…
Notan Cut Paper Designs: Third Grade
I have several art lessons that I did not post about yet from this past school year, so look forward to a few more art project ideas this summer. This lesson is fairly simple to prepare for and…
Getting to Know You Sheets and Printable Art Awards in TPT Shop
Are you looking for something fun to do on the first day of school with your kids? There is a huge list of ideas on this blog post of tips for the start of the school year. Another…
An Interview with Margaret Peot, author of Stencil Craft
Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you an interview with Margaret Peot, author of the new book Stencil Craft.Earlier this week I wrote a book review, with the chance to win copies of this book (there…
First Day of School for Art Class
Are you nervous about starting the school year? Or are you excited to get things going? Even though this is my lucky 13th year teaching, I still get anxious to go back. It’s a combo of nerves, excitement…
Lego Mosaics Art at the Brickworld Convention
I have more pictures to show you from the Lego Brickworld Convention that was held in Schaumburg, IL this summer. If you love Legos, be sure to check out my first post about this convention. I know some…
Lego Brickworld Convention 2015
Are you a fan of Legos? Did you know there is a new documentary film coming out July 31 called Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary? You can see the official trailer here. Have you heard of the…
3 Art Projects Using Leaves
Summer is the perfect time to create art with your child. Nature provides endless inspiration for art. Here are three fun art activities using leaves that you can do with kids or just on your own! This post…
Rubber Ducky Public Sculptures in St. Joseph, Michigan
A couple of weeks ago we took a summer trip to my brother’s cabin in Michigan. We spent some time in the lovely city of St. Joseph, Michigan. It is right on Lake Michigan and we enjoyed playing…
Masking with Watercolor
Hi friends! First of all, have you entered my BIG FUN ART TEACHER giveaway? If not, go to this blog post or the Facebook page to enter. Today’s blogpost is a cross-post. This week I was a…