In the Art Room: Kindergarten Alphabet Paintings

This kindergarten lesson was so fun for my students that I wanted to share! I even created a video of the process. The beginning of this video will show you how to create your own Texture Rubbing Plates with simple supplies like tagboard and hot glue! Here's the video:

I will tell you some things that I did in preparation for this lesson:

* I made a set of texture rubbing plates, about 6 for each pair of students to share. Having a variety really helped them stay engaged in this portion of the lesson.

* With the help of a fellow specials teacher, I folded the paper and created the grid. This took time but I did it well in advance and I'm so glad I did. 

* When we did the alphabet, I did have "cheat sheets" for them at their tables to share with their neighbors. This way they could look at the sheet as a reference for writing their letters of the alphabet.

* I prepped the bingo daubers with ink. That's what the kids are using...and a lot of my lessons are currently filled with bingo dauber drawings. I'm addicted!

* For oil pastels, we used Sargent's florescent colors and for water color, we used Crayola's mixing colors. In the video, I am using Jack Richeson watercolor as that's what I had on hand at home.

I see my kindergarten for 40 minutes at a time. For the first class, we talked all about texture and added textures to our squares with the rubbing plates.

For our second class, we painted. This was a review as we do a lot of watercolor paint in art with kindergarten.

 On our final art class, we watched a great video on YouTube of the story of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom in song form. It's so cute and the kids loved it. After that, we created two paintings. Our first being these! We simply added our alphabets to our painted papers, so pretty!

 My favorite part was hearing the kids sing the alphabet song as they worked. 

 As soon as they finished, they placed these works of art on the drying rack and got a square paper from the store (what I call my supply gathering area). Then they painted a Chicka Boom painting of all the upper and lower case letters in a heap.

Stay tuned for what we do with these...I'll post a video and lesson right here on Wednesday!

 Just loving these and cannot wait to get them up for Read Across America Week. So time to stop blogging and start hanging!

You'll have to let me know if you give this lesson a go!

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In the Art Room: Kindergarten Mo Willems Pigeons!

 Need a fast -n- fabulous kindergarten lesson? You might wanna try these Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus creations on for size. In the following video, I demonstrate using a bingo dauber. I know you might not have those to try using either a black oil pastel or a Sharpie instead. This was a two-day lesson for my 40 minute kindergarten art classes. Here you go:

Super fun and easy, didn't I tell you? I love doing guided drawing every now and again with my students. They LOVE it and are always excited by their results. Kindergarten is especially great at just "going with the flow" and not worrying about being "perfect"...but there are always some kids who do stress. That's why, before doing a guided drawing, we always chat about how we are unique people which means we are unique artists who create uniquely! We also love to give a shout out to Barney's book Beautiful Oops.

Y'all know I had to wear my Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus dress! 

 Each little squawky bird was so different, funny and cute. 

 After reading the book, this was as far as we managed to get. I've gotten a lot of questions on where to find bingo daubers and what to fill them with. I got mine from my art supply catalogs but I've also seen them on the Oriental Trading website. I fill mine with India ink...I don't use any particular brand as all the India ink I've ever purchased has been fine. 

 My go-to oil pastel for projects like this are Sargent's florescent brand. They GIVE ME LIFE. I love how creamy, bright and bold they are. And so do the kids. 

 As for watercolor, you'll see in my video how I set up my trays. Every two kids gets a sponge, a non-spill cup of water (art supply catalogs!!) and my Crayola Mixing Colors watercolor paint. I always order: magenta, red, red-orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, blue-violet and purple. 

 I cannot wait to get these hung in the halls!

 I've also been asked a lot recently about what kind of paper we use. I ALWAYS order 80lbs paper and we use it for EVERYTHING. It can take a lot of art: paint, watercolor, collage, you name it. This paper is strong stuff. 

We called these our Party Pigeons...I like how hard some pigeons partied! 

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What the Art Teacher Wore #134 and a buncha other stuff

Well, hello, strangers! It's been a lil over a month since I shared with y'all a What the Art Teacher Wore post and I promise that wasn't intentional. Shortly after my last post, we were slapped with ice and snow storms that left me outta school and in my pjs for days on end. I ain't complainin. Just sayin. 

This week was totally crazy and it all began with Monday which was my birthday! I had arrived at school super duper early to start preparing for Clay Week (400 kids + 400 clay projects in 4.5 days =  jolly good fun) to find this waiting at my door...

A coupla weeks ago, I might have gotten on our school's televised morning announcements and I might have told the kids that it was our school's SRO's 72nd birthday which was only a partial lie. I mean, it was dude's birthday! AND I might have told the kids to be certain to wish him a happy day because "he might not have too many left in his advanced age". Officer Graham came to my room shortly after announcements to warn me that he'd have his revenge. And it was waiting for me on Monday...

 I gotta say, it totally made my day. I was in such a state to get to school and start prepping clay that I was a lil stressed. This gave me a laugh and a reminder that it was going to be a super fun day. Thank you, Officer Graham! 

Now, in the lovely state of Tennessee, your driver's license expires ON YOUR BIRTHDAY. Which isn't 'zactly how I like to party, ya know? So after a short trip to the DMV (always a good time), I got my new license and headed off to a board meeting. 

 Where this happened! I was recognized with the amazing educators in my district as teacher of the year. Don't ask me how my crazy self got lumped into this group of awesome but I won't tell if you don't. Shhhhhh!

So, all that jib-jab to say, it was a great Monday! AND I'm currently on spring break so it's bound to be a great week as well. I hope you all have a wonderful one and I'll be back with ya soon. 

Crazy Hair Day: A coupla weeks ago, we celebrated Read Across America week with a buncha dress up days. I opted to wear my lovely foam wig. At one point in the day, I had to reprimand a student, totally forgetting I was in my wig. I overheard another student say, "It's hard to take her seriously in that wig," to which the kid replied, "It's ALWAYS hard to take her seriously." Honestly. I get no respect. wig and tights: Target, Halloween; sweater, shoes and blouse: thrifted; skirt: Pin Up Girl clothing 

 Wacky Tacky Day: So they had a Wacky Tacky Day, or, as I like to call it, Wednesday. The kids gave me the hardest time with this, I swear! They were all, "You don't look any different! You are wacky everyday!" I was even told by one girl, "You shoulda wore jeans and a t-shirt because for you, that would have been wacky!" Ha! She does have a point. Keith Haring shirt: Forever 21; skirt: thrifted; green fishnets and blue tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

Dress like Your Fave Book Character Day: So this day sneaked up on me and I totally wore the dress I created last year. Cheater! I'm gonna have to be on my game next year and start early. You can read all about my Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus dress here. 

Sunny SoCal: And now hubs and I are on vacay in California. I thought I needed some sunshine but, y'all. It's 95 degrees here during the day! I thawed out and melted into a puddle instantly. Thankfully at night, the temps drop and it's a lovely 70 degrees. Perfect for hitting Disneyland in my brand new Disney skirt! I'll have to get a proper photo soon. jacket and blouse: Buffalo Exchange; Disney skirt and bow belt: Pin Up Girl clothing

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What the Art Teacher Wore #91 and Works in Progress

Wacky Tacky Day (in celebration of Read-Across-America Week) which, in my world, is simply known as Monday: I actually had several parent volunteers in and outta my room on Monday...and not one of them commented on my outfit. Which can only lead to one conclusion: THEY THINK I DRESS LIKE THIS EVERYDAY! When I complained about this to a fellow teacher, they said, "Stephens, for you Wacky would be jeans and t-shirt. Maybe you need to step it up a notch." Hmm, point taken. sweater: Target; stripey shirt: Forever 21; skirt: thrifted, originally from Target; tights: dunno; shoes: thrifted, Crocs; necklace: The Paper Source; headband: gift from a friend

Like, wow, ya'll. That last blog post was a doozy, no? It was kinda like I drizzled gas all over the post, flicked a match and BOOM! So many passionate responses from all walks of art teacher, classroom teacher, home school educator life. I appreciate all of you that commented and sent me emails. I loved reading each and every perspective. I'm still sorting through my thoughts...but I'm so glad that we were able to have a thought-provoking and open-minded discussion. I think that just shows that as creatives, we are always open to ideas. I have plans for a follow-up post in the future. In the meantime, feel free to continue the conversation via comments or email. Muchas gracias.

Moving right along, did ya'll celebrate Read-Across-'Merica Week (a link to what I wore last year for the occasion)? It's my fave week as I have outfit-inspiration all week long! I thought I'd share that with you along with some of our latest works-in-progress. Enjoy and I'll be back with a DIY on my Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus dress soon!

My second grade create a circle loom weavings every year. Last year we made them on a CD which, if you are an art teacher on pinterest for, like, 30 seconds, you've seen. I loved doing it, but wanted to move back to weaving on a plate this year. After a brief chat about Kandinsky and his concentric circles, we painted our own on Chinet plates. You gotta use Chinet when doing circle weaving as they are super sturdy and make for a great canvas.

On the following art class, pattern was discussed and the kids were given the World's Smallest Paint Brushes to decorate their plates. They are so super bright and happy, I actually thought of leaving them as-is! But I know the how much the children love weaving. It's like this magical thing that reaches those kids who are more tactile learners. Like the boys. I hope to have them warping their looms by next week. I'll keep you posted.

Crazy Hat Day: Man, did I need a sushi fix by the day's end! I made the hat and matching sushi shoes...but failed to have my dress completed in time. Thankfully, a sweet friend of mine had scooped this lovely dress up at the thrift store for me (thanks, Ann!) and it fit the bill perfectly. dress: thrifted; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: thrifted, altered by me; hat: made by me

Once my dress is complete, I'll be sure to tell you all about my sushi hat and shoes!

When I glanced at the drying rack at the day's end, it looked like this. Painted plate looms by 2nd grade, sushi collage by 1st grade, cherry blossom paintings by 2nd grade, warm/cool watercolor paintings by 3rd grade, wet-on-wet and sumi-e paintings by 4th. It's bright cheeriness made me so stinkin' happy.

Words on a Shirt, er, Skirt Day: Pretty sure this was my get-up last year for R-A-A Week. It was so fun telling the kids all about how the skirt portion of my dress used to be my bedsheets as a kid. dotted tights and shirt: Old Navy; dotted boots: DIY, go here; Star Wars Dress: DIY, go here and see me chillin with Boba Fett. Seriously.

Wednesdays have become my new fave day of the week. Me and two absolutely lovely teachers work with a group of about 17 girls and boy (yes, singular. He JUST NOTICED last week that he was the only dude in the class as he's been so involved in his cross-stitch) teaching a hand and machine sewing class. The kids have been creating a sampler of stitches that ended with them cross-stitching their name. And adding buttons or a satin stitched shape of their choosing.

When they come in, they drop everything and want to start immediately. They are supposed to have snack first but most are like, "can we just skip snack and get started?!" I love their enthusiasm!

Most finished up their embroidery this week. These will be the front of pillows so they chose fabric for the back and were introduced to machine stitching this week as well. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Whoops, sorry. Totes forgot to take an outfit photo on Thursday. My bad.

My school purchased some Gelli-Plates for me this year. They aren't cheap, about $10 each. I managed to get 10 and my first grade students played around with 'em this week. They thought monoprinting was just about the best thing ever.

These prints will be used for our sushi platter collage which I'll share with you soon.

Dress Like A Book Character Day!: Aw, yeah, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, ya'll! I do love this book (although, Pigeon Finds a Hotdog is my personal Mo Willems' fave). I had so much fun creating this dress. And, even though the zipper is an absolute nightmare (note-to-self: wine and zipper-sewing don't mix) AND I managed to back into a tray of red paint thus staining the hem (I'm determined to get that paint out: OUT, DAMNED SPOT!), I still love this crazy dress. DIY blog post to come, ya'll!

After reading the book to kindergartenland, they created and painted their own pigeons. I got the idea for this lesson from the always awesome blog, Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists (thank you, Hope! I think you're rad!). Go there and be inspired!

And that's all, ya'll! I hope your week is a fantastical amazing one!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #56

Presidential Monday: The kiddos had the day off while I had a day of meetings. And kids claim life isn't fair for them? Oh, just you wait until you enter Grown Up Town, Junior. sweater: vintage, found at Goodwill and shown with it's sister sweaters here; skirt: vintage, thrifted; belt and boots: Anthropologie; fishnets: dunno, Target?

'Ello, mates! This week, my students and I began transitioning from all things Germany to the United Kingdom. We've been having a jolly good time learning all about the Queen, her home at Buckingham Palace, her guards with the funny furry hats, the geography, food, slang, you name it, we've chatted about it. We've even been burning up the CD player with one student's One Direction CD and my Beatles collection. My plan is to hold a tea in my art room this week. With a half an hour art time and projects to work on, we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you posted.

To celebrate our voyage to the UK, I've been sporting Union Jack inspired outfits this week. Because of this, I thought I'd share just a pinch of the history of the Union Jack as well as some miscellaneous bits. I hope you enjoy.

This coming week is Read Across America Week! At my school wear are celebrating by dressing a bit wacky everyday (so why don't they just call it Dress Like an Art Teacher Week?). If you are a teacher, are you dressing up? If so, I'd love to see what you are wearing. Please feel free to share a link to your blog in the comments. And if you aren't a teacher, I still wanna see your wacky wears!  

The Union Flag: Aka, Union Jack. This is the flag of the United Kingdom (not just that place where One Direction is from, as my students would have you believe). This is also the flag of several British territories. And it makes an appearance in the upper left hand corner of former British countries (think Australia). Personally, I think this is the best designed flag ever.

The Making of the Union Jack: So the story goes that in 1603, James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones. This united England, Scotland and Ireland although they remained separate states. Combining the flags of these states, a new flag was created. I'm not sure why the Welsh flag was not included in this mash up of flag design. Might have something to do with that giant red dragon their flag has smack in the middle.

Union Jack Attack Tuesday: To really kick off our new adventure in the United Kingdom, I decided to wear the colors of the Union Jack this week. Which took some digging into the depths of my closet as I just don't wear a ton of cobalt blue. sweater: vintage, thrifted; plaid dress: from a rare venture into the mall a million years ago; belt: Anthropologie; sparkly fishnets and tights: Target; shoes: Irregular Choice

Union Jack Doc Martins: In junior high, I experienced my own British invasion in the form of a Beatles obsession. Which I think is an absolute requirement if you are to have any taste in music as an adult. My summer job as a corn detasseler in rural Indiana never paid enough for me to purchase my own pair of Docs. If it would have, I think I'd have lived in these.

Trying Hard and Failing Wednesday: Not in love with this outfit, just a little too much pattern clashing for me. Ah well, better luck next Wednesday (which happens to be "words on a shirt" day for Read Across America Week, eep!). shirt: thrifted; sweater: Lucky Brand, thrifted; skirt: Anthro, bought at Buffalo Exchange; belt: Pinup Girl Clothing; fishnets: Target; shoes: Softt

Talkin' 'Bout my Ge-ge-generation: Of course, one British band obsessions usually leads to another. My bedroom growing up housed Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin posters as well. To this day, I don't believe there's a hotter dude than a young Robert Plant. BTW, did Pete Townsend's mom make him wear that jacket? He looks mighty miffed.

The Thursday I'd Like to Forget: Yeah, it was one of those days. So let's focus on the positive: my (almost) completely thrifted outfit! Typing up these little outfit portions, I've noticed that most of my outfits are thrifted this week. There's really nothing like striking gold at the thrift store, says me. sweater: Old Navy, thrifted; dress: BCBG, thrifted; belt: Supayana on etsy; fishnets: Target?; shoes: Irregular Choice

World's Most Expensive Union Jack: According to the The Daily Mail UK, this is the only surviving flag from the Battle of Trafalgar from the early 1800's. It sold for £384,000 (which would be about $585,254). According to The Daily Mail, the huge flag "is littered with holes from shot damage and still has a whiff of gunpowder, flew from the jackstaff of HMS Spartiate at the historic battle 204 years ago. After the victory over Napoleon's French army, the crew lowered the flag and presented it to Lieutenant James Clephan for his outstanding performance."

Graffiti artist, activist, film maker and painter Banksy has been creating public work with a statement since the early 90's. In this particular piece, which depicts a child sewing Union Jack bunting, Bansky was trying to bring to light child labor laws in Britain. The Queen was not a fan of this particular work. To the fury of the local community, this piece was chiseled off the wall and sent to Miami for auction. It's interesting to me how artists can say so much by their depiction of a flag in a work of art.

Painted Legs Friday: Not really. But you wouldn't believe the number of kids that thought I had. Little dudes, I love to go the extra mile for you, but that would be a little too far. Even for a crazy art teacher like me. dress: old, Free People; jacket: old, ModCloth; shoes: Clarks; tights: amazon (where you can seriously find EVERYTHING); floral hair clip: made by me

Ginger Spice! If the Queen wasn't pleased with Banksy's work, I wonder what she thought of this little number. I was in college when "Wannabe" and the Spice Girls exploded, like, everywhere. I was too busy listening to (and pretending to like) those grungy dude bands. Besides, what in the world IS a Sporty Spice? Most def not something I wanted sprinkled on my dinner, thank ya very much.

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