My Favorite Art Lessons for Winter!

Hello, friends! With Thanksgiving break coming to an end, it's time to kinda-sorta start thinking about exactly what is gonna go down in the art room for the next (longest) weeks of your art teacherin' life. Well, have no fear! I've got a TON of projects here that will not only get you to the finish line but will also be projects that are appropriate to continue after Winter Break. Yippie!

Before we dive in, I thought I'd share my books with you! I've had lots of folks purchase my books for Christmas presents for teachers, art teachers and children...and now is the time to get them, if interested. If purchased soon, we can assume (hope and pray) that they'll arrive in time for the holidays. You can check out all four of my independently published books here. I have written two other books with a publisher...and those can be found on Amazon. Let me take you on a quick book tour: 

Art Teacherin' 101 is packed with everything-I-wish-I-woulda-known about teaching art. It has all of my tips and tricks for classroom management as well as discovering just who you are as an art teacher so  you can be your very best. If  you would like to kick off the new year with some new methods to try, this book is for you! 

Larry the Line is based on a poem I wrote my first year teaching art. I've shared Larry in many blog posts...before writing a longer version of my poem, illustrating it and crafting it into a book! It's a rhyming book which are always fun to read to students...and, added bonus: they remember the names of lines much better this way! You can check out Larry the Line (and read the 175 reviews!) here. 

As a teacher, I could never seem to find a book on shapes that wasn't too baby-ish. All the books seemed to be simply getting children to recognize and name shapes which...most can already do by the time they enter the art room. However, many don't know the difference between a shape and a form, geometric and organic and how shapes can be used to draw. So...I wrote Alfred the Ape Knows His Shapes and I think you'll love it!

My new book Find Your Way was written to read to my students as they work. I do this with my second through fourth graders (and on up would work but I only teach thru 4th) and it keeps them focused and working quietly. This book is a choose-your-own-adventure style book where you go on art adventures with 7 different artists! From Vincent van Gogh to Frida Kahlo, Money, da Vinci and more, the reader can decide what adventure to take with up to 32 different endings and over 80 illustrations! Find it here.

Okay! Let's talk winter lessons! If you are looking for something big that involves all your students then crank up those holiday tunes and let's make a big ole Winter Mural. Details here. 

If you are feeling adventurous, run a homeschool group or love working in small groups...OR just have kids who learned to stitch and don't wanna quit (which was the case here) then this project is super! I had fourth graders who had just finished a sewing unit and would come in during recess wanting to sew some more. I came up with this fast sewing project which you can find here, complete with video tutorial!

If you are looking for a project that really gets the kids drawing and focused, these Snow Glow Cities were the trick for me! Added bonus: it was a long project that took us all the way to the holidays! IYKYK. Video tutorial in the post!

Okay, lemme just say this: DO NOT start this project...unless you've done weaving (even just paper weaving) with your students first. Otherwise, you will curse my name and probably put a hex on me and my cats. And I don't want that! BUT you could start by spending a couple of days before break painting and prepping the plate before diving into weaving. I promise it's not HARD...but it does require patience which...who has that before break? Full lesson with video here. 

And if you are interested in more sewing and weaving projects, I do have TONS under the "fibers" playlist on my YouTube channel. I am getting ready to upload a ton of new content there so...I encourage you to subscribe! Also, if you'd like to see more of these type of projects, then check out my book: Stitch and String Lab for Kids.

Now let's chat about some fast -n- furious art projects that all your students will love. I put together several in this blog post, just for you! This Hot Chocolate Collage was a fun pairing with what we did after winter break...

And that was to make ceramic mugs for our Hot Chocolate Party! I do this every year with my kindergarten-fourth grade students. By the time they leave my school, they have a cabinet of five mugs at home! 

Another spin on yee ole hot chocolate is this bingo dauber lesson! I created a video to walk your students through the process and you can find it here.

Speaking of a little guided drawing...I created a video that will walk your students through a quick -n- cute cats and dogs drawing video that I promise they will love! 

If I may...offer a little advice during this time of year. Your schedule is going to experience so many interruptions that it's gonna be hard to know what to expect. SO...why not just do the same dang lesson with ALL your student?! Then the supplies can just stay out! ALSO...older students LOVE doing projects that are 'easy' every now and then. It builds confidence and they love doing younger kiddo style of artwork. This lesson is penguin perfect for this idea! Video lesson included!

Same with this lesson! Fun, colorful and easy. Full video tutorial here. 

This lesson is ALWAYS a hit and now...even better that Prang sells ROUND PAPER! I know, isn't that the best?! Full lesson with video here. 

A lesson I did every year with kindergarten that was always a hit is this painted and collaged winter landscape with a decorated frame!

I'm gonna add an update to this lesson so listen carefully before you cause yourself a whole lotta headache: don't make black glue. DON'T DO IT. You can still do this lesson HOWEVER...do it the way I share in this lesson and it will be so much easier! Tree lesson here. 

Looking for a fun and easy way to introduce pattern and printmaking? Check this one out! 

Oh, look, another penguin lesson! 

I just uploaded this tutorial last week! It's easy, low mess and low stress. Details here!

And stay tuned! I have lots of winter-themed projects that I'll be sure to share here and on my YouTube channel! Have a great rest of your break! 

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In the Art Room: Faux Stained Glass Winter Scene

I don't know what y'all call that time between Thanksgiving and winter break but I have been known to call it a naughty name or two. It's that weird in-between time where we are all comin' down from our vacation high and are so exhausted that we need another one. And just knowing that winter break is on the horizon can sometimes just be more than I (and the kids!) can handle. 

This week, so far, back to art teacherin' town has been a good one. I'm happy to be back making big messes with little people. One project that seems to have the fourth grade really excited is this Faux Stained Glass Winter Scene.

 I used black glue for the very first time in my teaching career last month and I (as well as the third graders) was all WHERE HAS THIS BEEN MY ENTIRE LIFE?! It is so much fun to create with! While they were working with it, I got the idea to introduce my fourth graders to the same media. With my Field Trip! series, I've been introducing the kids to contemporary creatives. Unfortunately, I don't personally know any local stained glass artists to film (any leads would be much appreciated!) so I created this introduction to the art of stained glass with a little iMovie wizardry. The fourth grade watched the first half of the video today and got a good start on their faux stained glass. 

The kids were SUPER bummed when I said that we weren't going to work with cut glass (really guys?!) but were excited when I mentioned black glue. I had them move to their seats and silent sketch several ideas for 5-7 minutes.

I really emphasized not creating a Christmas tree knowing that this project just might not be completed until after the holidays. However, I didn't want to limit the kids so I made it optional. Personally, I love that skull tree on the left! 

After our sketch time was up, we regrouped on the floor and watched the part of the video where I talk about drawing on large paper and using the puffy paint or black glue.

Puffy paint leaves a better, crisper line but it does take a little extra work to squeeze that bottle. The black glue (made with one part black tempra and two parts Elmer's Glue All) comes out faster but leaves behind a wider, flatter line. I shared with the kids the pros and cons and let them decide which they wanted to use. 

All but a handful of kids got to the black glue on the first day. I did change the size of the paper from what was in the video as I thought a 12" X 18" would be easier to manage. 

 One thing I had to really emphasize was keeping the drawing large. Showing that clip of the stained glass artist really did help them conceptualize the idea of large and enclosed shapes. 

 Of course, it wouldn't be black glue painting if we didn't have the occasional smearing. We learned to just let it go. The chalk can hide any imperfections. 

Gotta love a tree of Hershey Kisses! I'll keep you posted on the progress of this project. I see so many variations: landscapes, abstract designs, etc. I'd love to know if you have used this method. If you do, please drop me a line and share. 

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What the Art Teacher Wore #125

 Christmas Red Monday: I scored this lovely vintage number during out California Adventure. I was so excited to wear it on Monday to kick off my (self-imposed) 15 Days of Holiday Dress until a group of fourth grade kids told me it was "not as crazy as the usual Mrs. Stephens." Humph. What do they know, anyway? (well, they know me too well is the prob!). vintage dress: Buffalo Exchange; bow belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; Disneyland pin: um, Disneyland; fishnets and red tights: Target; shoes: thrifted

Okay, lemme tell you about something that happened to me that NEVERRR happens: My week went by so super fast that all day long on Friday, I was convinced it was Thursday. I seriously said, "eh, I'll take care of that ("that" being the mini-mountains of messes I managed to create all week long) tomorrow" only at the end of the day when everyone was wishing each other a happy weekend did I realize that it was Friday. Like, whhhuuuuut?! Needless to say, I left those mini-mountains until Monday at which point I will curse my laziness. But, that's like every Monday, what am I even saying.

I think it was because this week was just so busy. It's that time of year when there are exactly one million things happening and trying to stay on top of it all is Mission Impossibleness. My solution is to live one day at a time and write everything on my hand and up my arm. In Sharpie. Although with all the hand washing I'm doing due to the fact that the kids are in a constant state of coughing/sneezing/upchucking, I might just have to start Sharpin' my notes onto my face. At least when I look in the mirror, I'll be all, "oh, right! I need to knab eht ot og...wait, it's backwards, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" Hmm, okay, so that won't work. 

In other news, I'm super excited to announce THE WINNER OF THE WHALE RING GIVEAWAY is...cue drum roll...Jaclyn! Congrats, girl! And thank you to all that are now following Mary Beth on instagram and have discovered (and purchased from) her incredible shop. Big thanks to Mary Beth also for being so generous to give away one of her super fab pieces! 

I hope you guys have a wonderful upcoming week! Here's a peak at what the kids have been up to along with what I deemed appropriate to wear for 15 Days of Holiday Dress. What you wearin in your art room this week? I'd love to see, feel free to share your awesome art room attire here. Later, kids! 

 My second grade students created these 6" X 6" metal tooled poinsettia still-lives (still-lifes?) this week. I promise to share the entire process complete with detailed steps and process photos but for now, I'll just give you the short version in case you wanna give it a go. We had a ton of left over yarn scraps from weaving projects. Instead of trashing them, I've been hoarding them waiting for an idea to come to mind. And it finally did. I have the kids 6" X 6" matte board that was pre-sprayed with spray adhesive. Then they used the yarn to "draw" onto their super sticky board. Once complete, they brought the board back to me where I sprayed it again and slapped a piece of thin gauge tin foil on top. They used their fingertips (no nails!) to "massage" the foil and reveal their design. After class, I spray painted them black with that super junky $1 black spray paint from Home Depot (you want the crap stuff, trust me). The following day, the kids used 000 steel wool to burnish off the spray paint. Sharpies were added for color and decoration. Next up: painting the frame. So excited how these are turning out! 

 Oh, That's Better Tuesday: I was informed by said fourth grade kids, that this outfit was back up to my "normal crazy outfits." Good to know, youngins. sweater and dotted blouse: thrifted; bow brooch: gift; skirt: etsy; crinoline: Amazon; tights: Target; shoes: old. Fluevog. So comfy!

 My third graders have been working hard on printing their snowflake designs on fabric (I wish I had a photo...report back next week, por favor). Their job now is to work together and stitch their printed fabric pieces to create their snowflake banner. I was a little concerned about them using the machines but after super clear directions (along with super clear "your sewing days will be over if  DON'T follow my super clear directions"), they were extremely careful with the machines. Not to mention, they loved using them! 

Feeling Dotty Wednesday: Lemme tell you, waking up a lil late and grabbing whatever clothes you lay your hands on often results in the making of an outfit like this. I ain't braggin. Just sayin. sweater: Old Navy, last year; dress: thrifted; boots: DIY-dotted boots here

 Kindergarten finished off these winter collages this week. I don't usually repeat lessons but this kindergarten one I've done for a couple of years now. You can read all about is in this here blog post. 

Looking Like a Christmas Tree Ornament Thursday: You know, cuz, why not? sweater and skirt: thrifted; bow top: J.Crew; belt: Amazon; tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

 My fourth graders are working hard on these relief designs this week. We chatted a great deal about papel picado and created our own version in the form of a snowflake. Now, if you wanna know how to make a REAL snowflake, get yourself over to Phyl's blog because she's the expert! We created ours out of very thin copy paper and followed the same steps as the second grade did for their yarn creations: attached to a piece of matte board/covered in foil/spray painted black and burnished. Again, I'll share with y'all a full blog post soon but for now, here's you a sneak peak. 

 Candy Cane Shoes Friday!: I know, me in pants, so cray! But I did it for the sake of the shoes. I had to wear 'em...but they just don't look very good with dresses. Mostly because my feet are HUGE and I kinda look like I'm wearing clown shoes. And clown shoes don't look so great with dresses either. sweater: DIY, go here; dotted shirt: DIY, here; dotted pants: Target; candy cane converse: Marshall's years ago

 Friday night ended on a high note (or should I say a rainbow...?) with this sweet Christmas present from my baby bro. What better way to end the week, amirite?!

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