In the Art Room: Why Bingo Daubers are an Art Teacher's Best Friend

My name is Cassie Stephens and I'M IN LOVE WITH BINGO DAUBERS.

There. I've said it. It's finally off my chest. And I'm here today to tell you that if you've not discovered the magical wonders of bingo daubers and all that they have to offer your art room, allow me to introduce you to "a whooole neeeeew wooorrllllllddddd..."

If you are unfamiliar, than you might be thinking: 

What ARE bingo daubers? Simply put, they are the little dot-makin' things that folks use when playing bingo. You can purchase them with ink in them...or empty so you can fill with what you like. I prefer diluted India ink but other art teachers have also used liquid watercolor. TEMPERA PAINT, even when diluted, does not work...I know...I tried.

Why are they magic? Because they provide a seamless line, much like that of a marker. In fact, in my art room, we call them "paint markers" and have three rules for using them properly: DO NOT SHAKE THEM, DO NOT PRESS HARD but, most of all, DO NOT SQUEEZE THEM as an endless stream of ink my flow out of the bottle if you do. Sometimes, the ink dries at the tip providing a scratchy line. If I know my kids are going to be using them, I test each one out during my plan time making sure they work and GENTLY squeezing them to get the ink to flow. 

Where can I get them? Here and here is where I get 'em!

How do I fill and refill them? Like I said, I put slightly diluted India ink in mine (I don't have a brand recommendation because it seems all India ink is created equally). When it comes to refilling them, I know you can buy some sort of contraption to remove the top but I just use a pair of pliers to pry them off. Over time, the felt on top of the marker may become worn out. You can buy just the replacement tops!

What can I do with them? I'm so glad you asked! Here are my Top 11 Fave Things to Do with Bingo Daubers (it's a workin' title...don't judge, naughty pants).

 1. Make Giant Painting Sheets! For our upcoming art show, I wanted to inspire excitement and decorate the walls to announce the event. I sketched out my pirate-y design in charcoal and then laid out paint for the kids to go to town. 

When they were finished, I went back over the black lines on spots where they'd gotten a little excited with the paint (that's putting it mildly) and added white highlights. 

And ta-da! Giant banners to announce our art show! I've seen many art teachers create huge coloring sheets in the same manner for their art shows or art activities. 

 2. Make Welcome Back Banners! If you are like me, you have a CRAZY schedule at the end of the school year. Field day, field trips, assemblies, you name it...it's nuts! And so are the kiddos. Last year, when our field day was rained out and my station was cancelled, I decided to have the kids create Welcome Back banners so that we'd have some color on the walls come fall. They had a blast, we used up excess art supplies and made a rained-out field day super fun. 

Much like the art show banners, here is our paint set up!

3. Heather Galler-Inspired Florals! What I love about the daub is that it forces kids to draw BIG! We never use pencils first, we just dive right in. It's a little scary but it's a great chance to talk about turning a "boo-boo" into something "boo-tiful!" 

More on this lesson (with video!) here...perfect for Mother's Day!

 4. Dean Russo-Inspired Animals! Our mascot is the tiger...and it was so fun creating these massive colorful tigers for our hall. 

We finished them off with our chalk pastel in Sta-Flo trick (see video here!) and oil pastels. 

5. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Kindergarten uses my bingo daubers the most in my art room. Many teachers have told me that they've not had success with kids and daubers...that might be because you gotta remind them of the three rules...with rule numero uno being DON'T SQUEEZE THE PAINT MARKER! This Mo Willems project is always a hit! Lesson with video here. 

6. Jasper Johns-Inspired Kindergarten Alphabet! This is a fave lesson of mine and many others. You can find the lesson details and the lesson video here. 

7. Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom Kindergarten! We follow our first alphabet work of art with this one, a huge hit with my students. We watch the video version of Chicka-Chicka on YouTube and the kids love to sing along with it. You can find the lesson and video here. 

8. Romero Britto-Inspired Hearts! Easy and super great for learning about line, shape and pattern! All of these dauber works of art are HUGE too which I love. Details here. 

9. Fauve-Inspired Self-Portraits! Self-portraits are not my students fave thing to do...or my fave thing to teach. I think it's because the older my students get, the less confidence they have in making their artwork look "real." With that said, the bingo dauber frees them up, makes them relax and not get hung up in the details. Check out this post to see how we added color to these lovelies! 

10. First Grade Penguins! Oh yeah. These are pretty much the cutest...or, wait...are THESE cuter?!

11. Kindergarten Snowmen! I mean...look at them! Lesson and video here. 

 My third graders created these abstract name designs earlier this year with bingo daubers and I loved how they turned out. I don't have a lesson for this one yet...but will work on soon to have available for you and your kiddos!

 I've been in the middle of Art Show Prepland and the bingo dauber is saving my behind! I was able to crank out this pirate ship (which will be a photo-op prop) with a little help from the dauber. 

And I've even made SEVEN massive backdrops like this for the art show too, all with the dauber. So...if I've not convinced you yet that you need to get some bingo daubers in your life then I've just failed at life. Have a super week, y'all! 

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My Fave Clay Lessons of All Times (with Video!)

Hey, artsy friends! I'm comin' at you in the midst of clay week(s) at my school...which has me thinkin' all things clay. I've shared MANY clay projects on this blog (most with how-to video) and I thought I'd compile them here today. Feel free to use them in your art teacherin' world...just be sure and credit the original source and don't sell my content on TPT (yes, that's happening. I hate a disclaimer but here we are). Anyway, follow the links to the original blog posts for lesson details, videos and more!

Before we get to the lessons tho, I thought I'd share my two videos all about clay. 

And this one is all about glaze. I hope that they help!

Wait, WHAT?! YOU DON'T HAVE A KILN?

Well, no problem! I wrote a whole book filled with 52 clay projects for the kiln-less...although many of the projects in this book could also be done with kiln fire clay. Get you a copy here! 

Now, on with the lessons!

1. Cats and Dogs Sculptures! One thing my kids always love to create are animals. I usually do a theme for my art shows and on this particular year, we were raising funds for the local no-kill animal shelter. We created these cute pets. Complete instructions right here. 

2. Party Pandas! One year, our theme for our art show was Asia and my fourth graders created these little pandas with big personality. I love these sunbathing pandas! More details here. 

3. Clay Chameleons! If you are looking for a project that all kids will love and be successful with, check out this one! Our theme was Pet Shop and my third graders rocked this. Try glazing these with the glaze that has specks of glass in it for some real oohs and ahhs! Lesson video here.

4. First Grade Fish! How cute are these? I'm thinking of bringing this lesson back this year to go along with our pirate theme. You can check out the complete lesson with video here!

5. Spring Flowers! If you are looking for a spring themed project, have I got one for you. My kids loved this lesson but REALLY enjoyed making the little insects and butterflies on their flowers the most. I love when the kids tell a story with their clay. Lesson here. 

6. Painted Elephants Inspired by India! In keeping with our Asian theme a couple years ago, we created these PRECIOUS painted elephants. My fourth graders got so creative with this lesson that just seeing these melts my heart! All the details here.

 7. Bobble Head Pets! Did I mention that we like to sculpt animals? Cuz we like to sculpt animals. Complete details on these bobble head pets and video right here. 

8. Exotic Birds! Remember how I said the elephants were my favorite? Well, these guys place a close second. They did require some assembly for me and my parent volunteers but we didn't mind because LOOK HOW FUN! Lesson and video here.

 9. Texture Turtles by Kindergarten! That's right, kindergarten! We LOVE this lesson as it involves stepping on our clay and leaving behind our cool shoe tread texture. Lesson and video here. 

10. Kindergarten Butterflies! When doing clay with kindergarten, I always have them work with a lot of texture...texture and clay are a match made in heaven! Also, note how we "glazed" these...there are so many alternatives to glazing. So if you can't use glaze, check out how these were finished off! 

11. First Grade Fish! Yes, more fish! These were also painted in same manner as the butterflies. Colored with oil pastel and dip-dyed into black ink. If you've not tried this technique, you really outta! 

12. Gnome Homes! Did I mention that I like to use texture with clay? Cuz I like to use texture with clay! These gnome homes are always a hit with my students AND when I host craft nights for friends! Details here. 

13. Chinese Dragons! Remember that Asian theme I mentioned? Well, this was the third grader's contribution to that. They loved making these dragons. Super fun and simple lesson here!

14. Initials Plaques! This is one of those projects that I often return to because it is always a hit with the kids. This is also a great lesson if you are short on time and clay. Details can be found here. 

15. Pinch Pot Friends! All our kiddos need to know how to make a pinch pot...so much can be created from this simple vessel. Like these sweet pinch pot friends. Check out the blog post for details. 

16. Texture Tacos! Y'all, this is a lesson I did with my kindergarten and they ROCKED IT! Not to mention, they had a blast. All the details along with a video can be found here. 

17. Kindergarten Birds! That's right, kindergarten! We loved creating these and each one was as wild and wacky as the next. All the details here!

18. Pinch Post Pets! First grade made these cuties one year and I cannot get over them. Look at that attention to glazing detail! Lesson here. 

19. Coffee and Donuts! Okay, so this blog post actually DOES NOT have each project in detail because at the time it was written, I was working on my clay book! So the projects you see here can be found in my book. 

20. Fabulous Frogs! And, last but not least, these here fabulous frogs. This was also apart of our spring theme...and I just love the personalities of each. All the details here. 

I cannot wait to share with you what my kids are creating for our pirate themed art show...but if you want to stay in the know, you should totally follow me here! 

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Art Teacherin' 101: My Favorite Watercolor Paints!

 One question I get A LOT is about supplies...what supplies are the best to order? It's scary, putting in a supply order! We have such little money we don't want to waste it! You can check out some posts about my favorite art supplies to order here. In this video, I'll even walk you thru some of my favorite things for my art room. These posts are a couple years older and definitely need an update but many of my fave things remain the same. Especially my fave watercolor paints. 

 Only with quality watercolor paints will you get beautiful paintings! That and teaching kids HOW to use watercolor paints correctly. If you lurk this blog, you'll find plenty of posts of me teaching my students how to use their paint the right way to create amazing masterpieces. THIS LESSON (arrow pointing up) will be posted here super soon!

So...instead of typing it all out, I thought I'd create a video to share my favorite paints with you, all available in your favorite art supply catalog. This is NOT a sponsored post...so you know I'm speakin' the truth!

I'm so thankful for companies that continue to make quality art supplies for kids. Our young artists deserve the best!

Here's me explaining how to paint to my small friends. 

What are your fave watercolor paints?

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In the Art Room: Top 14 Favorite Valentine's Day Lessons

Well, hello lovies! In this blog post, I thought I'd share with you 14 of my very favorite Valentine's Day inspired lessons...perfect for these chilly and cold months. Let's let warm fuzzies abound in the art room! 

To find the lessons, just follow the link. Many of them have a video to share with your kids. Also...several of them are sub plan videos! Perfect if you have to take a day. I know I could use one. 

First up are these sweet Jim Dine-inspired heart sculptures created by my second graders. We used Celluclay and aluminum foil to make these beauties and the kids loved making them. 

Next up are these amazing LOVE prints created by my first graders. We chatted about Robert Indiana before diving into these. We had a whole lotta printmaking fun with this one. 

Last year, I did this lesson with my second graders. They were able to choose their own "kind" four letter word (we had: nice, kind, love, glow, hope, good, etc.) and used strips of paper to create the letters. Those turned out so fun. 

First grade artists created these huge Romero Britto-inspired hearts last year with bleeding tissue paper and paint sticks. We made these on huge 18" square sheets of paper. 

Speaking of first grade, here's a peak at what mine are working on right now...weaving! Heart weavings that we'll put together to create a faux quilt. This is one of my favorite lessons but mostly because I do love to teach weaving. 

Chris Uphues is one of my very favorite contemporary artists to share with my kids because 1. he's the nicest and 2. his artwork speaks to them. It's so happy! My students adored this lesson a couple years ago! 

If you need a quick one-day lesson that will introduce your kids to a new artist, you might want to try this one on for size. It's inspired by J. Goldcrown and all you need is black paper and chalk for amazing results. 

One year, we were inspired by Peter Anton's fake food sculptures to make some box of chocolates of our own. Third grade thought this was the coolest project ever. 

If you are like me, you do long art lessons...and then need a shorter one to pick up momentum again. I think my students might be the same way. This lesson is a quicker with beautiful results. Here's what we did with the paper after we cut the hearts how: filled them with a video of tissue paper!

And here's what we did with the hearts we cut out. So cute, right? 

This lesson is similar to the first I shared except that there are wings added with plaster. I'm thinking of doing this lesson with my third graders super soon...just need to work out the specifics...but I'm sure they will love it. Video details and more here. 

Need a sub plan? I did this Romero Britto inspired collaborative with my kids when I was out on jury duty. Lesson and video right here. 

Need something big and happy to spread the love? My kids EACH contributed to the Our School has Heart mural. Visit this post to see what each different grade level created for this mural from embroidery to painting to sculpture and needle felting! 

My fourth graders tackled this lesson a couple years ago right after they finished the following sculpture lesson...

Boy did we have a ball with this lesson! A super fun sculpture project for the kiddos. 

This lesson I created a little while back for my kindergarten and first graders. We loved the printed hearts and the fun guided drawing animals. Video lessons for each critter. 

Looking for a fun way to introduce your kids to four contemporary artists who use hearts in their work? This video lesson just might be for you!

Oh! And if you are looking for something to do with your faculty and staff to bring the love, you might want to check out these our Clay Hearts with Wings...a huge hit with my coworkers. Video too!

Okay, y'all...that was WAY more than 14 projects so have fun! 

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