Polar Bears and Snowmen
I was inspired by the polar bears at We Heart Art so I taught a painting project with my 2nd graders. The students could choose to paint either a polar bear or snowman with white paint. Hats, scarves,…
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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Daria’s in my art journal
This is what happens every time I try to take out my art journal when Daria is awake! LOL. She never wants to color in her own sketchbook, just mine! We are both LOVING these new RoseArt Neon…
A Day in the Life of an Elementary Art Teacher
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an elementary art teacher? Maybe you are interested in becoming an art teacher. Maybe you are curious how my day compares to yours’. I know I would…
Studying African Masks: 3rd Grade
The 3rd graders studied Africa in their social studies classroom and we learned about African masks in art class. The students watched a video that explained about the functions of masks, celebrations, rituals and materials used to make…
State Art Show
There’s my student’s artwork in the upper right corner of this panel: the lion watercolor on muslin cloth. Every year our state has a state wide art show in the capitol in Madison. This weekend, I went…
Perspective “Viewing Rooms” 3rd/4th grade
I teach one-point perspective every year to the 3rd/4th grade class. In the past couple of years I typically have taught city perspective drawings. I saw this fantastic aquarium perspective lesson from Once upon an Art Room (grade…
Clay Face Mugs- 3rd grade
Making clay mugs with 3rd graders.. This is a great lesson that can be adaptable to pretty much any age. I’ve taught this project with middle school students and had very successful results. This is the youngest I’ve…
Kindergarten Matching Mittens Painting with Oil Pastels
This art project is an oldie, but a goodie. I’m not sure where I first saw this project. I think maybe one of the other art teachers taught this lesson in one of my previous school districts. I…
Happy Valentine’s Day
I hope you are having a very happy Valentine’s Day! My first graders finished up these lovely Valentine’s hearts. I got the idea for this project from Columbus Elementary School. Thanks for the idea!
Editorial Cartoons for 4th, 5th and 6th Grade
Teaching about editorial cartoons is a great way to bring current events into the classroom. Every year our students in grades 4th-8th participate in a local editorial cartoon contest. The students watch a video about editorial cartoons and…
Student Art Show at the Mall
We had our regional art show through the Wisconsin Art Education Association this week. The artwork was displayed all week at the local mall. Many schools participated with art from kids in grades K-12. It is always so…
Valentine’s Stamped Heart Painting for Kindergarten
These were made by my kindergartners. I have seen a lot of gorgeous heart pictures around the internet lately. None of the techniques we used to make these are brand-new but maybe they are new-to-you!
2nd Grade Masks inspired by Alaska
I think Alaskan native masks are so beautiful. Our 2nd graders learn about Alaska in their social studies class and to connect with this unit, they explore the meanings and characteristics of Alaskan native art. Here is an…
Printed Faces with 1st Grade
Printing with Cardboard To print faces, cut cardboard rectangles. Dip in paint and stamp to make faces. We colored these with crayons and added words and letters with rubber stamps. Aren’t they expressive?
Paper Mache Rattles for Kindergarten with Native American connections
Creating Shakers from Paper Mache Introducing the project: To start I simply tell the kids we are making rattles. I will save the cultural connections for a later class. One reason for waiting on the cultural connections is…