Your K-8 students can create stunning works of art by following these secrets to success for using oil pastels. Kids love the clear, bright colors of oil pastels and their creamy consistency. They can cover a large area quickly, which makes them ideal for the shorter attention spans of early elementary students. Parents and teachers love that oil pastels are … [Read more...]
5 Fun Art Ideas with Pencil and Paper
If you're looking for alternatives to screentime for your kids, nothing beats going "old school" with a pencil and paper! It's amazing how much fun can be had with such simple supplies. What you'll need All you need is a pencil, some paper, a flat surface to draw on, and my free download, "5 FUN Art Activities Kids Can Do with a Pencil & Paper". An eraser can also be … [Read more...]
Basic Collage with Positive and Negative Shapes
I do this project with my first graders every year to help them understand the concept of positive and negative shapes. This project also teaches symmetry and offers important practice in cutting on a fold and applying glue. First graders are often surprised by the shapes they see when they unfold their papers - they are some pretty cute kids! Materials: 9x12 black (or … [Read more...]
A Safer Way to Send Artwork Home
Without a doubt, the best way to send artwork home is tucked safely inside a portfolio, or a homework folder if the art is a smaller size. But when that's not an option, here's your next best bet.... simply roll the artwork (with the drawing or painting facing inward) and slip it inside a cardboard tube ring. Rubber bands and paper clips will often damage the artwork, but a … [Read more...]
Better Bulletin Boards!
Bulletin boards are a great way to exhibit student art throughout the year, and let the world (or at least your school) see what your students have been up to. Use bulletin boards to teach a concept, tell a story, share a message, or just brighten everyone's day! (The bulletin board above, created with oil pastels by my 3rd graders, is one of my all-time favorites.... it even … [Read more...]
Fight Germs… and Marker Stains, Too!
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...]
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...]
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...]
Teacher Workshop: Self-Portraits!
I just finished the 4th workshop in my "Teaching Teachers to Teach Art" series. This workshop focused on teaching Self-Portraits and we had a blast! We learned the basic "rules" for drawing portraits (see below) and did three self-portrait projects inspired by famous artists Paul Klee, Frida Kahlo and Amedeo Modigliani. I'll be sharing those lessons here on my blog over the … [Read more...]
Send Artwork Home Safely
Sending student artwork home can be a perilous experience! A project that took hours to create can quickly get crinkled or torn by the well-meaning rubber band you put around it. You can avoid this problem by keeping a supply of cardboard tube-rings on hand. Simply cut an empty paper towel tube into rings about 1-1/2" wide and slip the rolled-up artwork inside. A single … [Read more...]
