Have you ever thought about all the germs that your students share, while sharing those innocent classroom supplies like crayons, scissors and pencils?? Here's a great tip from our Kindergarten aide "extraordinaire", Michelle L.Keep a small spray bottle filled with household rubbing alcohol (91% works best) for tackling germs as well as permanent marker stains on tables and … [Read more...]
6th Grade Portfolio Project – Follow Your Star!
I'm especially excited about my 6th grade portfolio project! This project is inspired by an amazing book by author/illustrator Peter Reynolds, who created the classic children's books "The Dot" and "Ish". This potentially life-changing book, "The North Star", is so special, it even has it's own website! (Check out this site for fun activities for the classroom and home, … [Read more...]
Grade 5 Portfolios – Collecting Words
I LOVE kids' books!!! I just discovered a great new book, titled "Max's Words" by Kate Banks. While this book doesn't have a specific art theme, it inspired me to create a portfolio project for my 5th graders based on WORDS. Kids LOVE to collect things. I learned this from personal experience, with a daughter who collected Beanie Babies like there was no tomorrow, and a son … [Read more...]
Grade 4 Portfolios – “Ish” Drawings
There are lots of wonderful children's books available today, but "Ish" by Peter Reynolds stands out as one of my all-time favorites. This is a story that everyone (kids and adults!) can relate to.... in fact, it's so influential that I can literally see a "before and after" effect each time I read it to my students. This year, "Ish" is the inspiration for my 4th grade … [Read more...]
Grade 3 Portfolios – The Shapes and Colors of Joy
"Matthew's Dream", by Leo Lionni, is my inspiration for our third grade portfolio project. In this charming fable, a boy named Matthew visits the museum with his classmates and is entranced by the paintings he sees there. That night Matthew has a magical dream which helps him to see the world around him in a whole new way. He becomes a painter and creates beautiful abstract … [Read more...]
Grade 1 Portfolios – Design a Dot!
Every year, I start each of my Art classes by going over my "Art Rules". While this is review for most of my students, it never hurts to hear it again! And reading this book provides a great on-ramp to having this discussion!The Dot, by Peter Reynolds, has to be one of my favorite children's books of all time. If you only read one art-themed book to your students this year, … [Read more...]
K Portfolios – a Purple Crayon Adventure!
I've always loved books, so I love to start the school year off by reading an art-related story to each of my classes. My favorite "art story" for Kindergarten is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. This classic children's tale was first published in 1955 and has been hugely popular ever since. It tells the story of a little boy named Harold who decides to … [Read more...]
Get Ready for a New School Year!
My basic supplies for teaching "affordable" art.... most of my lessons use just these simple materials.Preparing for a new school year can be an enormous job! But like anything else, if you break it down into smaller, more manageable tasks, it's a lot less overwhelming! Here's what works for me....The first step is to get back into the classroom (or storage/prep area, … [Read more...]
YES! Paste / BEST! Paste
If you work with kids and don't already know about YES! Paste, you need to. YES! Paste puts your traditional glue stick to shame. How many times have you used a glue stick to attach something, only to have it pop off a few days later?? Or maybe you've tried mounting art with a glue stick and then had it refuse to lay flat even after being pressed under a stack of books?? … [Read more...]
Easy Borders – Without Measuring!
Creating a border without using a rulerUsing rulers is an important skill for kids to develop, but it can add a lot of time (and sometimes frustration) to an Art lesson. Sometimes it's best to do a separate lesson on using rulers and find ways to avoid them during Art time!In my last teacher workshop, I shared an easy way to create a border without having to use a ruler. … [Read more...]
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