In the Art Room: My Favorite Oil Pastel Projects, Hacks and Techniques

Okay, today I'm talking and sharing all about every art teachers favorite art supply: the oil pastel. In this week's podcast, I'm not only excited to share our sponsor Creativity Street's Oil Pastels but also my favorite hacks, my four favorite kinds of oil pastels (from fluorescent to water-soluble) and my favorite lessons. I'm also talking about how to clean oil pastels (yes! you can clean them!) and also how I easily remove the paper wrapper and store these babies. You can hear it all right here! 

I don't often repeat lessons but when I do, it's this first grade hit! We call these our Royal Self Portraits and they are a great use of both oil pastels and water-soluble pastels. Check out the full lesson here. 

My second graders truly are super heroes and it shows in this project! Fluorescent oil pastels were used in the background of this Vincent van Gogh inspired sky and it really pops with a watercolor wash. Lesson here!

Y'all need some of them sub plan things? I got you right here...and your kids will learn about a contemporary artist too! 

Nothing like oil pastel pattern-y landscapes, says me. The pop-up houses with puffy paint also made these a huge hit with the kids. Lesson right here!

Speaking of puffy paint...do y'all use it in your art room? My kids are HUGE fans. I admit, I love the stuff too. But, back to oil pastels. We used them once again to create a great textured resist for this piece. 

Can you guess what household item we used for this piece? Guess you'll have to take a listen or click the link to find out! Video tutorial included! 

These kindergarten pigeons bring me so much happiness! Lesson with video right here!

Speaking of kindergarten, I know they can be a struggle but I got you. I have so many kindergarten lessons on this blog! Just search kindergarten in the search bar or try this fun lesson on for size. 

I mention several different scraffito projects in the podcast episode and this is definitely one of my favorites. More here. 

Need another mental health day? Boo-boo, I hear you. Here's another sub plan favorite! 

First grade and kindergarten love this pattern-y landscape lesson. More here!

Have you checked out my Glow Gallery?! AH!! So fun, see it all and learn all about it here.