Think of that hard-to-buy-for friend or family member on your gift list. If you could give them a creative gift they would not only use often but also keep for years to come, you'd call that a "win", right? Then I have the perfect gift idea for you... a keepsake gift made with your child's artwork from Kids Kreations. Welcome to part 3 of my Creative Gift Guide! What is Kids … [Read more...]
Break an Art World Record
You can be part of an exciting World Record event, right from your own home! Make art and break a record - all while helping people affected by COVID-19. British author and illustrator Rob Biddulph (together with Art World Records) is attempting to break the record for the World's Largest Online Art Lesson on Thursday, May 21st, 2020 (4pm BST, 11am EDT, 8am PDT). But this … [Read more...]
Dot Painting on Rocks
There's something about mixing art and nature that's just irresistible. So when you combine rocks with dot painting, you can't go wrong! While the painted rocks in this post were done by an adult (my friend, Tricia), kids love it, too! This project is perfect for a Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Valentine's Day gift, an after-school or Mom's Night Out project, or even your … [Read more...]
Giving Back with Art
Have you ever been inspired to ‘give back’ to your community as a way to say “thank you” to those who helped you through a difficult time? I was touched by the story of Dan and Janean Toone, who started Young at Art in response to the care that their young grandson received while spending most of his first year of life in the hospital. As art lovers themselves, Dan and … [Read more...]
Classroom Auction Projects
School auctions are popping up everywhere, and classroom auction projects are an ideal way to get students involved! With all the funding cuts in education these days, programs like art and music are forced to compete for an increasingly small share of their school's budget.... if they make it into the budget at all. In many schools, art and music wouldn't exist without the … [Read more...]
Save Your Catalogs!
Catalogs of all kinds can be a great resource for collage projects and more. Here are two of my favorites, which I'm always happy to find in my mailbox! I save them for their pages full of color, texture, and pattern... perfect for my Fundraiser House Magnets, and any project where you need a cheap (free!) substitute for expensive scrapbooking paper. If you don't already … [Read more...]
Masterpiece Mosaics: a Collaborative Art Project for Grades K – 8
These colorful projects, which I call "Masterpiece Mosaics", were a collaborative effort by my students in grades K through middle school. Each grade level created their own copy of a famous painting - six masterpieces in all, on display now through Christmas at our local art store. These were really pretty easy to do, and super FUN! We're hoping they'll command a high price at … [Read more...]
House Magnet Fundraiser
My students in grades K-7 recently raised over $2,000 using their artistic skills to benefit our local food bank! We adapted this "Houses for Haiti" project (originally inspired by "Haiti Houses") to create charming magnets which we sold for $5 each at our church one Sunday, and we donated all the proceeds to Second Harvest Food Bank. We had so many people asking how they … [Read more...]
Houses for Haiti Lesson Plan
Two amazing teachers in Florida came up with a creative idea to raise money for Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. After discovering "Haiti Houses" on the internet, I was inspired to try it for myself and make a few changes. Below is my version of this project. Visit haitihouses.org to see how much money has been raised for Haiti relief with "Haiti Houses". Objectives: … [Read more...]
Houses for Haiti… and a Rabbit Trail
While researching new ways to raise money for Haiti, I came across a great idea that I can't wait to try with my students.... "Haiti Houses". As Art teachers today, we are blessed with so many fun sites for finding creative lesson ideas, and often one leads to another, which leads to another... as happened to me with this lesson! So, here's the "rabbit trail" that led to this … [Read more...]