How to Have a Calm and Productive Art Class!

It's that time of the school year, friends.

That time of the year when your classes may be a little LESS focused and a little MORE squirrelly. For me, that stretch between winter and spring break is always the longest. This is when the burnout always seems to hit me AND my students.

For that reason, I'm always looking to try a little something new and different this time of year. Something (anything!) to keep myself and the kids engaged and excited.

So, if that's you too, let me share my favorite way to create a calm and motived art class...while also integrating art history! 

When I was in fourth grade, I had a teacher who would read aloud from a chapter book after recess. I don't remember what the book was but I do remember that it was something I looked forward to.

Several years ago, I had a very difficult group of fourth grade students. They were argumentative, loud and VERY unmotivated. I had one boy in particular who let it be known that art WAS NOT his favorite. I began to dread the class.

One day, I spotted a chapter book in my storage closet. I remembered my fourth gade teacher and thought...what if I read to them while they work? I loved it when I was a kid...

When the class arrived, I told them that I was going to read to them and taht they had to work quietly in order to hear. I animated the story with silly voices, sound effects and movement. When the clean up alarm went off, something wild happened: the kids and I were bummed art class was over!

From there, reading became my constant motivational tool. After I gave directions and students were settled in and working, I would read. And that boy who previously wasn't a fan of art class? He asked if he could sit CLOSER to my destk so he wouldn't miss any of the story.

While I felt like I'd hit the art teacherin' jack pot with this new tool in my tool belt, what I still wasn't lovin' was that I could never seem to find THE PERFECT book to read.

You see, I wanted to read an artsy chapter book. Something that would excite them about the world of art and art history. So...I wrote one!

I knew their favorite types of books were the ones where they could decide their adventure. And that's how Find Your Way came to be. It's a Decide Your Direction Art Adventure!

Find Your Way features 7 artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Augusta Savage, Hokusai, Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

There are over 32 endings in the book for countless adventures!

The book is filled with quotes from the artists as well as adventures based on their real life events.

I created over 80 illustratios to help bring the book to life for your artists. 

Also included are 7 biographies on each artist as well as 7 art activies.

I wrote Find Your Way while I was teaching. My students weighed in on my first, second and third drafts as I would edit and rewrite in the evenings and weekends. They enjoyed the adventures....and I know your students will too.

But you don't have to read Find Your Way to have an engaged and motivated class. Maybe start with a book or an author that you loved as a kid! I have always found that the best sources for inspiration are my own childhood interests.

Most of all, go easy on yourself, take a breath and have fun. This time of the year is tough! But so are you.

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Paintbrush Ballerina Bootcamp!

Hello, friends! 

I got such a great response for my Paintbrush Practice sheets (available for free here), that I thought I'd create another way for your students to continue their paintbrush practice...with Paintbrush Ballerina Bootcamp!

Inspired by my new book, The Paintbrush Ballerina, I created a series of fun and quick activities for your artists to practice their paintbrush skills before diving into any painting activity. Here's why:

Often, when painting with students, we assume they have used paintbrushes before and know the do's and the don't's. But many of our students have limited painting practice so...it's great to just start at the very beginning. Before diving into your next painting lesson, why not spend just one art class hosting a Paintbrush Ballerina Bootcamp!?

To begin, gather everyone around and read The Paintbrush Ballerina. It's the method I have used for over 20 years in my art room to teach my students how to use and care for their paintbrush. 

From there, have your students use my Paintbrush Practice sheets (download them for free from here) and use their paintbrush on the sheet with just water! Be sure and slide the sheets into a clear plastic sleeve to do so. Here's a quick demo:

Once complete, they can move on to painting on a piece of construction paper and, still, just that cup of water and a paintbrush. This will move them from tracing the lines on the sheet to painting the lines themselves! Here's a look:

For longer format videos to share with your students, feel free to visit my YouTube video. I add content there weekly so be sure and subscribe!

The final phase of Paintbrush Bootcamp can be painting...with watercolor paint! I created these free Fancy Frames for you and your students to enjoy as well as certificates to pass out once Bootcamp is complete. Here's one Fancy Frame download. I hope you and your artists love them!

I printed my frames on white cardstock so they could withstand the watercolor paint. I also used Creativity Street metallic paintsticks to add a little sparkle to my frames. 

Find the second Fancy Frame here. 

Of course, introducing paint into the mix means another round of instruction. So...this could be your second day of Paintbrush Bootcamp! I did create a short video about using watercolor paint that you and your artists may find helpful:

Once your artists have completed Paintbrush Ballerina Bootcamp, it's time to congratulate them! I created this for you to use too! I added color to mine with those paint sticks and some color pencils. 

Find these certificates here!

Have fun, y'all! And stay tuned...I've got more fun projects and handouts coming your way soon!

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10 of My Favorite Heart-Themed Lessons of All Time!

Hey, friends! Earlier this week, I shared some of my favorite lessons to ease back into the art room. They were all Valentine's themed to give you a jump start on a display for next month. You can check out that blog post (where each lesson comes with a video!) right here. 

Today I'm sharing lessons that are also Valentine's themed (or really heart/love themed!) but there are a little more in-depth and will take multiple class periods. Personally...I love a long project for these long winter days. It means less prep (after the first initial wave of tons of prep, ha!) and gives the kids something to really dig their teeth into. So, let's dive in! Just follow the lesson links and that will take you to the full lesson, video and resources!

Let's start strong with this Candy Hearts lesson that I did with my fourth graders! They loved creating large candy hearts and coming up with a (teacher-approved, ahem) saying. You can check out the lesson and video process here. 

Spring is when I LOVE to dive into weaving so...why not get everyone prepped by doing a paper weaving project? It's a great way to remind your students of the weaving process. Or...introduce them to it! This is a weaving (with a little bit of sewing) project that I did with my first graders. You can check it out here. 

Looking to dive into printmaking in the next couple of weeks? Here's a lesson that I did year after year with my second graders because it was such a hit! We made so many prints that we did some print swaps before adding our cut letters to these pieces. We even framed them with our scrappy messy mats! All the details can be found here. 

Speaking of printmaking, would you believe that kindergarten created these?! We used foam stickers and had a blast. You can check out the lesson here. 

And we then used our printing plates to create THESE! I know, I love em! You can see how we did it in this blog post. 

My third graders FLIPPED OUT over creating these plaster chocolates with puffy paint icing! Send out an email requesting heart shaped boxes now and use them for a display or, do what we did, and make your own! Details here. 

If you are in the mood to bust out the clay, might I recommend these? This project was one I did with my teachers, faculty and staff at my school! It was so fun to come together and create. I did create a video for them to watch and you can check it out here. 

In the mood to try a new art supply? For these, we used Celluclay, one of my personal favorite supplies to use when I create! These were made with an aluminum foil armature and Celluclay on top. You can check out the details here. 

Since these projects can take a while, you'll find you have some students who finish before others. I resolve that a couple of ways: I allow those students to 'assist' other artists by creating with them (with student permission, of course) or...I give them another lesson to do! This was one of those 'early finisher art lessons' that I created. I simply played the video for those kids and they got to work. This one is much easier than it looks! Here's the details! 

If you are looking for a lesson that can ultimately become a school wide collaborative or a mural, check out this one. This is a SUB PLAN! Granted, my sub KILLED it but...I do have the full video for you and your students to view here. 

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10 Lessons to Ease into the New Year, Valentine's Edition

Okay, listen, I get it. We're still in December and you may not want to be thinking about what's gonna go down in your art room next week (or this week? Do you return to school on Friday?). Regardless, I thought I'd help you out by offering some of my favorite EASY and engaging lessons that will allow you to ease your way back to the art room. Most of these lessons have a video so you can play that for your students while you grab your coffee and try to remember what day it is.

Let's start here! This lesson is ALWAYS a hit and, believe it or not, I do it with kindergarten. HOWEVER...when I return to school after a  long break, the last thing I wanna do is prep like mad for 5 different grade levels. It stresses me out and, because our students our little mirrors who reflect us, it stresses the kids out. SO! I often do this lesson with EVERYBODY, kindergarten through 4th. Does it make for a lotta messy paint trays, paintbrush washing and overflowing drying racks? YES. But does it also make for a gorgeous display of hearts created by the whole school that is ready to be hung BEFORE Valentine's Day (always the goal, right?!). Yes! So, let's go. Full lesson here.

This is a fun one and totally addictive so...beware! 

If you want to start with a little less mess, then just bust out the black, red and white oil pastels and get the kids drawing! They adore drawing cute stuff and these little Valentines critters are perfect for that. I created a video for each. You can check out the blog post with all the info here. We also did a stamped background that is totally optional. Here's the video for the bunny:

Now, if you want a demo on how to create the stamped heart background, be sure and check out the panda video (below) as I walk you through those initial steps. 

Here's how you can draw a long with me to create this fox:

And here's how to create the background and draw that panda:

Here's the video for that:

And last but not least!

Let's draw this cute Valentine's Pup!

For your older students, third on up, they may enjoy creating this 3-D heart!

This one is super low-mess as all it requires are markers, water and a paintbrush (and an oil pastel once dry, but that's totally optional). I share the details in this blog post. 

This project was done in just 30 minutes (the length of my art classes) and only uses chalk! I was also able to introduce my students to a contemporary artist for the process. Details here!

This is probably one of my all-time fave kid-approved lessons: this Chris Uphues-inspired heart art! 

If you need a line review lesson, you might want to try these Romero Britto-inspired hearts on for size! 

Of course, you should definitely share my book Larry the Line which also has two printable pages of line-inspiration in the back! 

And if you are looking for a lesson that packs a powerful contemporary artist punch, then THIS lesson with an introduction to four artists who use hearts in their art is the one for you! I did this on a half day with fourth graders and they knocked it out in one class period! 

Of course, since we are going to be talking about hearts, now is also a great time to either introduce or review SHAPES! Don't forget...Alfred can help you with that!

Remember: take it easy as you ease on in to this new year! Have fun!

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Let's Paint a Christmas Wreath!

Tis the time of the year to get to creating! If you are like me, then you just can't seem to part with your paper bag collection. I always see endless ideas on Pinterest and Instagram for bags so I just can't part with them! Last year, I recycled my bags by painting them into holiday motif bags and it was so much fun. I have been doing it again this year and decided to film the process in case you'd like to join me.

Something fun I found is that...once your painting is complete, you have an original masterpiece that can be framed and enjoyed! 

Here's the process:

If you have children who need to scratch that creative itch over the holidays or are hosting a family gathering, this may be a fun activity for everyone!

And now I can't stop painting on bags and stuff!

Have fun!

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Cassie's Christmas Closet!

Hey there! As I was unpacking my Christmas clothes at the start of the month, I decided to film the process. However...it was kinda boring just holding the clothing up so...I thought I'd try some on for ya! I only managed to scrape the tip of the Christmas clothes iceberg but these are my faves. I'd love to hear yours!

And...if you are looking to up your closet game, I highly recommend the following:

*Hit the thrift stores! I PERSONALLY...love to have one-of-a-kind items. So the thrift and resale shops are always the best. For those of you saying "I never find anything at the thrift store"...me neither! The key is to go often. And, if you can, go earlier rather than later in the day.

*Hit those sale racks! I never shop full retail. Never ever. I always put on my blinders and go straight to the sale rack. What other people decide is 'too weird' or 'out there' always ends up on the sale rack and, wouldn't you know, that's always my fave finds.

*MAKE IT YOURSELF! I know, you may not be able to sew but...I didn't either for the longest time. So...start with upcycling outfits by adding to them with your own bit of flair and just gradually go from there. You seriously won't regret learning a new skill like sewing, needle felting or the like.

*Have fun with what ya got! Chances are you have a closet full of possibilities. You just need to mix and match the patterns and prints a bit. You'll get better at this. My hot take: start adding more black and white dots and/or stripes to your wardrobe as THAT goest with everything and offers a flair of fun.

Happy Holidays, y'all!

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Marker Print Snow Globes

Well, hello there! As you can see, I am CLEARLY snow globe obsessed at the moment. I shared my first Snow Globe lesson here and then shared a floating chalk print version here. Today I thought I'd share a version of adding color the background with little marker and water.  As a teacher...or a parent who loves to create with their artsy kiddos, these ideas will give you three fun options for completing your snow globes!

Let's talk supplies:

* Pizza pan, a sheet of aluminum foil or any non-porous, flat surface

* Paper. I'm using a mixed media paper or one that's a little thicker than copy paper. 

* Black permanent marker

* Water-based markers, I prefer Prang Markers

* Spritz or spray bottle of water

Here's the how-to video:

Just a reminder that you can get my free snow globe downloads here.

What I did find is that the lighter color markers work best...as the darker color markers are a little too dark and may hide the drawing underneath. But the real fun is in drawing a lotta these globes so you can explore a lotta printing. Also...I have found that using one of those misting spray bottles is the best as opposed to a regular spray bottle. AND the pizza pan is from Dollar Tree! 

If you need some drawing ideas, I got ya covered. Tap the link to download and print!

I can't wait to see what you and the artists in your life create! If you do share to social media, please make sure you tag me here so I can see!

I've got a lotta winter videos coming to my YouTube channel soon. So if you need some inspo, the best way to stay up to date is to subscribe. You can do that here. Chat soon!

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