3rd/4th grade Clay Projects
My 3rd/4th grade class made clay pots. We looked at the Mimbres pottery of the Southwest Native Americans, but I did not require them to use any of the imagery in their pottery. They could choose to add…
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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My trip to the NAEA conference!
Here is a slideshow about my trip to the NAEA conference in New York! NAEA No Video
Inside-Out Designs– First Grade
This is a favorite project of mine, because I love how the designs look!I have written about this project before and you can see the tutorial HERE.
Sculptural Dolls– 1st Grade
The first graders made these lovely sculptural dolls! You can see the tutorial here. Some of the pieces were attached with hot glue. I have an older student who is my helper during that class.
Update from New York
Wow, I have been non-stop busy! I try to pack in as much as possible at the convention, because I figure I can sleep when I get home. Some of the highlights so far are hearing Peter Max…
I am here!
I’m in New York! I made it to the National Art Education conference! Proof: I already went to a bunch of sessions and am thoroughly exhausted. More updates and pics to come!
Castles with Pen and Watercolor– 5th/6th grade
5th/6th grade Castle Drawings The 5th and 6th graders have been studying the Medieval time period in their Social Studies class. For this project, the 5th and 6th graders looked at pictures of castles and drew their…
Art Show
We had our Youth Art Month regional art show at the mall this week. The reception was yesterday. The judges pick one artwork from each teacher to go on to the state art show at the capitol building,…
Penguins in the Snow– Kindergarten and NAEA convention
Hello! Can you believe there’s only 3 days left until the National Art Education Conference in New York? woo hoo! Each day I am planning to give a short update in pictures and words recapping what I did…
Chinese Calligraphy– 3rd grade
The 3rd graders have been learning about China in their social studies class. They practiced brush painting with Chinese calligraphy brushes. These were made into a little accordian book. Watercolor painted covers were glued on to the front…
Winter Landscapes
2nd Grade Winter Landscapes For this project, we read a book about Grandma Moses: Grandma Moses (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists) We discussed how to draw a river or road showing depth (by drawing it converging…
Arctic Animals
The 1st graders studied the Arctic in their Language Arts/Social Studies class. In Art class, they chose an animal from the Arctic to depict in a print. They made impressions on styrofoam printing plates using regular pencils. Then,…
Value Scale
I made a Value Scale worksheet for an upcoming project. Use it if you’d like! I use this for kids in grade 3-4. Value Scale Handout
Map of My Heart– Kindergarten
The kindergartners made Maps of their Hearts! They included things that were important in their lives. We drew with permanent markers first, then watercolor painted them in.. I got this idea from the book “Playful Learning” which would…
Third and Fourth grade collaborative circle paintings
I was so excited to see this idea of Circle Painting!! I first learned about it at Barbara’s Thought of the Day and then at We Heart Art. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. for this wonderful…