October 31 to November 2 is the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. My first grade students learned about the celebration a bit in their Spanish class and then in art class, we read a story about the holiday and drew these symmetrical skull pictures. The book we read was Day of the Dead, by Tony Johnston. It’s a nice story with great pictures. My only complaint is that the book is very very small, so the kids have to … Read more…
One of the first projects my first graders made were these “All About Me Crayons”. I had seen and taught this lesson probably 10 years ago and decided to revisit it. I can not remember exactly where I saw this idea, but as many lessons are, we get ideas and see projects all over the place. I try to credit when I can, but some of these I have been doing so long! We started the day by reading … Read more…
Are you looking for a fun and easy printmaking activity with your youngest students? This one is always a hit and allows the students to be creative and expressive. I saw the idea to print with cardboard from Thinking with a Line.
The 1st graders made maps of their hearts! This is a charming project that gives you a window into the lives of your students. First, they drew a large heart and then inside the heart they included things or people that were important in their lives. They used permanent markers to draw and then watercolor paints to color in the heart. I got this idea from the book “Playful Learning” which would be a great book for a classroom teacher. … Read more…
The week after winter break was up in the air. Due to construction, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to use our art room and we didn’t know if we would have easy access to supplies. I planned for most of my classes to complete observational drawings during that week period, since they all could use the same supplies and learning to observe the edges and shapes of objects is great training for the eye. It … Read more…
Another year is rapidly coming to a close, so I thought I would spend some time reviewing my favorite projects and blog posts from this year. Here are my favorite posts, in no particular order! 15. How to Paint Gorgeous Clouds with Watercolor 14. Clay Castles 13. Postage Stamp Art Project 12. Heart Photography Project with 3rd Grade 11. 25 Amazing Books for Teaching About Art 10. Editorial cartoons are a unit I teach every year. We even were … Read more…
The week before winter break, the first graders made colorful coffee filter snowflakes. 1. Color the coffee filters with washable markers. 2. Spray with a water bottle and watch the colors magically spread like tie-dye. Allow to dry overnight. 3. The next day, fold the circle into half and then half again and half again. Cut out little shapes and pieces of the coffee filter. 4. Glue the snowflake on to a colored piece of construction paper. Glue on confetti, … Read more…
