Artist Trading Card Backs
Hi there! Are you participating in Nic Hahn’s massive ATC swap with schools all over the world?! If you missed the sign ups for this, don’t despair. There are other ways to make and swap ATCs. You can…
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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How to Use PicMonkey to Make Photo Collages for a Blog
Today I am going to show you how I use Picmonkey.com to make header images for blog posts (like the one shown above.) I make these headers because it’s visually appealing, it makes it clear for the reader…
Sand Painting with Kids
I did it! I made my first sand painting. After reviewing the book Ice Cream Work by Naoshi, I decided to try out the SUNAE sand painting technique. You can read my whole review at this previous blog…
Halloween Art Ideas
Halloween is almost here! We’ve been having fun with a variety of Halloween art projects. Kindergartners made collage pumpkins with a variety of tactile materials like feathers, yarn and foam shapes. First graders made texture rubbing pumpkin pictures…
Rubber Duckies Art Project for Kids | Rubber Ducky Drawing
While vacationing in Michigan this summer, I came across some really cool public sculptures of different themed ducks. At the beginning of the school year, I showed my students lots of examples of these public sculptures and we…
Dr. Seuss Art Project for Kids: 2nd Grade
I love Dr. Seuss’ art. Did you know in addition to writing books he created over 10,000 works of art. Amazing! The book The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss is a must-have for art teachers who love Seuss.…
Photoshop Tutorial: How to Create Photo Collages for Your Blog
Nora asked, “Hi Marcia, I love how you lay out photos on your blog! Could you please tell me how you do this? Thanks! My blog is http://www.waitsfieldart.blogspot.com” I use either Photoshop Elements or Picmonkey to create the…
Types of Lines in Art Handout
Are you teaching about LINES in art? Here is a FREE printable types of lines in art handout. I have been working on some quick assessment sheets for key concepts in art class. This is perfect for kindergarten,…
Sand Art Book by Japanese Artist Naoshi & Giveaway!
I have an interesting and quirky book to show to you today. The book is called Ice Cream Work by Naoshi and the cool thing is that the pictures are made entirely of colored sand! I was given…
Painted Initials with First Grade | First day of Art
We read the book The Dot and the students received papers with their first initial drawn in pencil. The students then used crayons to draw dots and circles on their initial. Using watercolor paints, they painted dots and…
Kindergarten Painted Bears
I saw this super cute lesson on Hannah’s Art Club and I just loved it. My kindergartners have a whole “teddy bear” unit where they read books about bears, do related activities and have a teddy bear picnic…
Reader Mailbag
From time to time I receive comments on blog posts or emails from readers that might be interesting to other art teachers. These new Reader Mailbag posts will highlight questions and comments that I think are intriguing and…
Paper Line Sculptures with Kindergarten
This is an art lesson I have been doing since I first started teaching elementary art many years ago! This project is great for the kindergartners because it develops fine motor skills, teaches paper manipulation, introduces types of…