Elementary students are sure to feel successful with this Georgia O'Keeffe-inspired art project. This lesson is ideal for grades 3-5, although you can adapt it up or down depending on your needs. Oil pastels are the key to achieving this rich and expressive, painterly effect... and kids love using them. They are vivid and bright, easy to work with and yield stunning … [Read more...]
Origami Flower Balls
The Japanese art of origami always seems like a fitting thing to do at Christmas. It’s peaceful and calming, almost meditative to work on, and it makes a beautiful decoration when finished! As with many origami projects, this unique hanging ornament looks much more difficult than it is. It’s really just the same simple sequence repeated over and over and then glued together. … [Read more...]
Art for the Differently-abled
I wasn’t looking for a new teaching position when I got the phone call last spring to “just let me show you our facility”. The call was from the director of the Stroke and Disability Learning Center at our local Community College, and I agreed to a tour. It wasn't the beautiful new facility that hooked me, but the Stroke Center’s motto: “Love Spoken Here”, printed on the … [Read more...]
Make a Leaf Collage
Now that summer’s here, how do you keep your kids learning, creating, and spending more time outdoors than in front of a screen? One way is with this inspiring little book, “Look What I Did with a Leaf!” by Morteza E. Sohi. This is not so much a read-aloud type of book that you would share with a roomful of students, but rather a book to enjoy at home with your kids, or for … [Read more...]
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Parents often tell me about the artwork their kids did with me that they have framed and hanging in their home. And this is the project that most often earns a permanent place on the wall! While there's nothing like adding new lessons to keep your curriculum fresh and exciting, we all have projects that we go back to year after year because they are so successful and are so … [Read more...]
Quilled Paper Designs
Quilling, also known as paper filigree, is an art form that involves rolling and gluing thin strips of paper into various shapes and arranging them to form designs. Quilled paper designs can be very simple or as complex as you have the dexterity and patience for! The art of quilling dates back to the Renaissance when French and Italian monks and nuns would use … [Read more...]
Oil Pastel Still Life Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh
Students will be surprised to learn that Van Gogh was not popular as an artist during his own lifetime.... a great example that the opinions of popular culture do not always prevail! This project usually takes 2-3 fifty minute sessions to finish, and the results are frame-worthy! Vocabulary: • Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) - Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh is one of the best … [Read more...]
Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos Projects
Day of the Dead (or Dia de los Muertos) is right around the corner! Don't miss the opportunity to share this important cultural tradition with your students. Often misunderstood, this popular Mexican holiday honors ancestors and loved ones who have died, and is celebrated each year on November 1st & 2nd. This family-centered holiday celebrates the cycle of … [Read more...]
Recycled Magazine Flowers
Here is another unique project that we used for Mother's Day cards, but would be fun to do anytime! I saw this featured on the One Pretty Thing site, from Family Fun. My 5th graders had a blast making these (even the boys, who usually resist anything to do with flowers!) and it gave me the opportunity to review the concept of radial symmetry. I even had parents ask me how we … [Read more...]
“3D” Flower Collage
My 2nd graders used these whimsical flowers for their Mother's Day cards this year, but you could also make a colorful garden picture while teaching the concepts of symmetry and layering. Attaching the blossoms with layers of double stick foam tape gives a fun 3D effect that unfortunately doesn't show up well in this picture!Materials:Construction paper or card stock, white … [Read more...]