When I taught K-8 Art at a small private school, my budget was always, “Spend as little as possible”. But I found ways to make it work and give my students great art experiences despite the shortage of funding. If you're in a similar low-budget (or no-budget!) position, I hope some of these ideas will work for you, too. Here are my 10 favorite ways to save money on … [Read more...]
4 Keys to Success with School Auction Art Projects
School auction art projects are an ideal way to get students involved in your next school-wide fundraiser! School auction art projects help your art program to thrive 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 … [Read more...]
The Perfect Gift? A Creative Keepsake!
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 Janean … [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. These were really pretty easy to do, and super FUN! We're hoping they'll command a high price at our school auction in the spring! Check out the rest of … [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 their "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. Objectives: Students will choose a worthy cause to support, such as supporting an orphanage or rebuilding … [Read more...]
