20 Valentine's Day Themed Lessons!

Howdy, friends! I put together a blog post full of my very favorite Valentine's-y lessons just for you. These are perfect project for any time of the year but with Valentine's Day quickly approaching, I thought they'd be perfect.

However, if you are looking for winter-themed lessons, I packed a ton of them into this post here!

First up, printmaking! This is a lesson that the kids love...and I think one year I may have gotten a wild hair and done this printmaking project with first grade. They can do it...but it's a little easier with second graders.

Complete lesson details here!

Okay, now this project, believe it or not, I did with KINDERGARTEN! Yes, I swear! BUT then all of my classes saw these giant hearts and they asked to do it too. I'm a sucker for doing lessons with all of my classes if they work. The problem with that is...then the lesson has to be shelved for a couple of years to cycle through the students. Oh well! This one is wildly fun and, tap this link, a video lesson is provided. 

My firsties LOVED creating these critters! I got a wild idea to have each class create a different animal and I made a how-to video for each. You can check out the videos and details here!

Aren't they so cute!?

Looking for a fun sculpture project? My fourth graders created these with tagboard and plaster strips.

You can check out the details here, video tutorial included. For a follow up, check out this blog post. 

I created this lesson for my fourth graders who happened to be early finishers for the sculpture lesson. However, it also would work as a sketch for the sculpture too! Details here. 

A project that my third graders loved was this one! We used our tempera sticks, tempera paint and...PUFFY PAINT. This is the one time the kids could go nutty with the puffy paint and the results were so fun! Lesson and video here. 

This lesson, inspired by the artist Chris Uphues, has long been a favorite with art teachers and artists alike! I have this lesson and a free download that can be found here. 

Want to make it into game?! Free download lesson here!

The lesson for this optical illusion can be found here. Doing these is always a hit with my third grade and up!

Need a fast one day lesson? Then I think you'll love this one!

Looking for a clay alternative? My second graders created these with aluminum foil and celluclay! Celluclay is an air dry clay that I love. You can check out how I prepared it for my students and lesson details here. 

If you are looking to elevate the lesson a little with some plaster to add wings, which is surprisingly easy to do!, then check out this post!

I had always wanted to do this lesson but struggled with it until I figured out a solution! I have all the details on how to create these sweet beauties with your students here. 

If you are looking for a fun clay project then look no further than here!

Every year, I do a paper weaving lesson with my first graders. This one is perfect as it ties in with positive and negative shapes! We use the negative shape to act as a frame for our weavings. Lesson details here. 

Another first grade lesson is this one...we made these on HUGE pieces of tagboard and they were a show stopper in the the hallways. Check out how we created these with bleeding tissue paper here. 

Looking for a lesson that introduces students to artists who also love LOVE?! In this one, my fourth graders learned about four different artists who use the theme of love in their artwork and then they created their own! Details here. 

By the way, start saving those boxes of candy hearts! Turns out the plastic packaging that holds the chocolate makes for great molds! My third graders used the molds to create their own plaster chocolate. Details here.

Thinking now would be a good time to do a school wide collaborative project? I couldn't agree more! I have the details on how we created this big beautiful beast here.

Or how about this collaborative? My students created this one WITH A SUB while I was on jury duty. It helps to have videos, I tell ya! Find the lesson here. 

It's that time of the year when the messy mats are looking more like art than anything else...so why not put them to use!? You can see how my first graders did that here!

Thinking of introducing kindergarten to printmaking?! WHY NOT? I'll show ya how we did it here. 

And look what we created with their printing plates! 

And if you are looking for the perfect book to teach about shapes, since we are focused on hearts around here, might I recommend this one! I packed in to much from organic to geometric shapes, the names of shapes, what defines a shape and how to count sides and verticies and SO MUCH MORE! You and your artists will love it!

Have fun, friends! I'll be back with more brand new lessons super soon!

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4 Fun Lessons on Gratitude!

Hey, friends! 

I gathered together a handful of my favorite lessons for showing gratitude...always a fun thing to do ANY time of the year but especially terrific as we approach Thanksgiving.

So here you'll find a couple of lessons on creating faculty and staff portraits to surprise and thank those in your building, courtesy of your amazing artists!

For the other two lessons, I've got a daily doodle or a grati-doodle and a fun drawing activity that can be worked on by your early finishers. Did I mention I have a free download for you? Yep! Two, actually! So let's dive in!

First up, we have these modeling clay portraits! These were so much fun to create and made especially fancy with our Hobby Lobby metallic plates/frames! 

Now, the ONLY thing that was tough...connecting the students to the staff. Many of the kids have favorite teachers...and those teachers tend to be mighty popular. So I had to come up with a system where it was fair and where all the teachers and staff were chosen. To learn how we did it, you can check out the process here. 

Now the key for this: work small. On our first day, we covered our mat board with a solid color for the background and then began adding layers of clay for the face shape, neck and shoulders. I created a video to walk the artists through the process and you can find it here:

My students who finished early either helped their classmates OR...many of them wanted to make a self portrait! These were so fun. 

We even wrote about the faculty and staff members before hanging them all up for the display. To check that out, you can visit here. 

Now...I will say this: when we created these, we used modeling clay. Modeling clay never dries out, it always remains workable. That's not great for what we're going for here. Initially, I coated each piece with a hardening solution made by Crayola...that they no longer carry. So! Now, I would recommends something made by Mod Podge. They have a huge line of varnishes in a variety of finishes that would probably do the trick. The clay will ALWAYS be a little squishy. Just an FYI.

The lesson that inspired the clay portrait was this one! I had done a Gallery of Gratitude and it was a huge hit! It's much less prep and work...as you can see it involved the students drawing a portrait and writing up a statement about the person whose name the selected. 

For details on this lesson, I've got it all right here. 

Now if you are looking for some lessons that are a little less involved...you might be interested in these couple of FREE downloads! This one was created for my 3rd and 4th graders and can easily be used for a sub plan. So keep it in that sub tub, y'all!

If you are looking for a download that might be easier for your kindergarten through second grade students, I have that free download here!

And if you are looking for a continuing practice of gratitude by maybe doing a daily doodle (this is something fun just for you, if you like!), you can check out that process here.

Have a great week, friends!

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4 Easy Ideas for {Surviving} Halloween!

Hi, y'all! 

With Halloween (thankfully!) falling on a Friday this year, I thought I'd share some make-n-take art lessons with you for the big day. One thing I learned REAL FAST as a teacher is that ya never want to bust out those beautiful projects the kids have been working for days on at a time like this. Instead, let 'em have at it with some quick lessons. So! I'm sharing some of my faves with ya today!

Let's start with this Mixed Media How to Draw Silly Pumpkins lesson! You can find my draw along video here!

Got some construction paper, glue and scissors? Then this lesson is a fun one that always yields the cutest Frankensteins! Check out this lesson video here. 

Why not just let 'em draw?! I have this totally free download and a quick video that you can check out here. 

Now one of my fave things to do was to set up CENTERS on Halloween (and any major holiday when I knew the kids were gonna be 'touched'...and not by an angel!). You can see how I do that right here!

Here's to survivin' and thrivin' this week, friends! You can do it!

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Sunflower Still Life Collage

Hey friends! Today I'm sharing with you a fun sunflower still life lesson that is the perfect review for lines and shapes...while introducting collage and monoprinting! This lesson is perfect for your 1st grade and up...and I'm going to share with you a bunch of alternative art supplies just in case you are on a cart or don't have the supplies I am using on hand. So, like many of my videos of late, I'll walk you through a 'teacher talk' at the start of the video to help you think through how you can best make this lesson work for you. Here you go:

Before we dive in, I do want to share...my book, Art Teacherin' 101, has been sold out for the last month. I'm happy to say that I now have it back in stock! If you have been waiting to get a copy or just want to find out more details on my book, you can find it here. 

I'm so excited that my book has sold 10K copies! It's so amazing to think that I've been able to share with so many incredible art teachers. A big thanks if you have ordered a copy! And...just so you know...I sign all copies before packing them up. That's right...my books are packed and sold by yours truly. I'm an independent book publisher and seller. If you ever have any questions about that, feel free to reach out! 

And now...back to the lesson:

To begin, I used my tempera paint filled bingo daubers! You can pick up your empty daubers here.  And my preferred paint (and supplies) are here.

Knowing that not everyone has bingo daubers or the time to fill them, in the video, I share a couple of alternatives. Students could use tempera sticks to create their line papers or...they could paint the lines! So even if you are on a cart or short on supplies, I got you.

This lesson could be done on 9" X 12" paper as the final result or, my preference, 12" X 18" paper. I like the larger format only because it allowed more room for the bigger flower prints. 

For the flower prints, I would recommend using a pizza pan. I got a class set at Dollar Tree for $1.25 each and use them ALL THE TIME. We print on them so much! 

By the way, if you are new to using tempera paint with students and are looking for some pointers, I got you covered right here!

I would split this lesson into three days: 

Day #1: Creating the line papers! Do a Line Review with my friend Larry the Line, of course!

Day #2: Flower Printing! You could include a shape review here! In the video, I talk about both organic and geometric shapes. Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes would come in handy here!

Day #3: Collage it all together! On the final days of this lesson, it's time to create a collage! If students need a reminder on how to use their scissors and glue...well, I think I can help!

AND...if you are looking for a way to have a Calm and Focused art class, you may want to check out my tips here...and my book that kids LOVE to hear while they work...here!

Have a great week, friends!

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