Have you discovered Blackout Poetry yet? It's equally fun for kids and adults and you probably have all you need to do it without buying a thing! Blackout Poetry is a form of “found poetry” where you select words that catch your interest from a newspaper, book, or other printed text - along with a few additional words to make it flow. Then you “redact” all the words you … [Read more...]
Paper Chain of Kindness
One of the most important things we can teach our kids is kindness. Kindness can be shown by small, spontaneous gestures that are thoughtful, helpful, and caring - done without expectation of anything in return. Acts of kindness are simple to do, yet it's easy to miss the opportunities to show kindness that are all around us, if we're not looking for them. Kids … [Read more...]
22 Ways to Combine Writing & Art to Encourage Creativity
I recently had the privilege of helping my adult daughter edit the manuscript for her first book. Her first real, published book. A book with an agent, a publisher, a release date (April 2017), and it’s own pre-order page on Amazon. A proud parenting milestone for sure! But this book of hers has been a long time in the making. In fact, we can trace its origin all the way back … [Read more...]
Kaleidoscope Lettering – New & Improved!
While I love creating new art projects to keep things fresh and interesting, some of the older projects are just so good, they’re worth repeating year after year…. which also gives me the chance to keep improving them! Kaleidoscope Lettering is one of those projects! It uses the concepts of bilateral (reflective) symmetry, tessellation, and positive/negative space to … [Read more...]
Lettering Waves
My inspiration for this project came from the book, Hand Lettering, by Marci Donley & DeAnn Singh. The authors call this "Writing Between the Lines", but we've renamed it "Lettering Waves" since we live in a surfing community where waves are a pretty big deal! I taught this lettering style to my middle schoolers and the results were fantastic! You'll find so many … [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 … [Read more...]
Valentine Card with Negative Space Resist
Use contact paper and masking tape to create a resist for a beautiful watercolor wash background!Materials:Contact paper, 4 pieces 3" x 4"Masking tape or painter's tape (Lessen the tackiness by sticking the tape onto your clothes first, that way it won't tear your paper when you remove it.)ScissorsWatercolor paper, 9”x 12” (the Strathmore “Kids Paint Pad” is a good low-cost … [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...]
Alphabet Soup Art – The Verdict is In!
two examples of first grade "Alphabet Soup Art" It's official.... everyone LOVES Alphabet Soup Art! From first graders to sixth graders, the responses were all the same - this project is a hit!! A few of the youngest students had to be reminded to connect their letters, but other than that most students were able to work independently. This project is a natural for … [Read more...]
Alphabet Soup Art
In today's culture, some symbols have become so familiar that we've stopped noticing them. This idea is what prompted contemporary American artist, Jasper Johns, to create abstract paintings from symbols such as letters, numbers and maps to get his viewers to experience these symbols in new ways. Your students can follow these steps to learn about abstract art with this fun … [Read more...]
