Back to School Banners for your First Days of Art!

Well, my friends. The time has come...it's back to school we go! For many of us, anyway. I know some of y'all kept on teachin' until, like, the end of June which is absolutely WILD to me. First of all, the temperature here in Tennessee during that time of year is literally the surface of the sun. I cannot imagine trying to teach, let alone put kids on a bus, in that type of heat. And, second,...

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First Day in Art with First through Fourth Grade

I know, I know, I can hear you now:STOP! NO! I DON'T WANNA THINK ABOUT THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL DURING MY SUMMER VACATION!Juuuuuuuust hear me out: isn't it far less stressful to think of it now, with your feet in the kiddie pool and your bowl of ice cream-for-lunch slowly melting in the summer sun? Instead of, let's say, stressing during those dreadful back-to-school faculty meetings as you count the...

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In the Art Room: Sketchbook Decoder Sheets

Hey, y'all! I'm trying, once again, to give sketchbooks a go in my art room. It's always been tricky for me with 30 minute art classes and I've tried doing sketchbooks a BAH-ZILLION different ways. Here's hoping this works. MORE sketchbook details to come (I even created insert pages, y'all...I'm crazy) but until then, I thought I'd share with you a previous post on how I have done sketchbooks...

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In the Art Room: Clean Up Routines!

Is your art teacherin' clean up time a real pain in the, well, you know? I've tried EVERY clean up trick under the sun and I've finally found what works. There's a whole lot of bells, whistles and moving parts when it comes to my routine...some may work for you, some may not. But that's the trick. Finding what works and sticking with it. In my podcast episode this week, I am sharing an audio clip...

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In the Art Room: Second Day of Art 2019

Hey there, friends! Just popping in to share my second day of art class with my students. If you recall, I shared my first day here (with video!) if you are interested. My classes are 30 minutes in length and we have SO MUCH TO COVER. I filmed a video of what I (mostly) cover on the second day and thought I'd share it with you: Now...here's what's not included in the video...after covering rules,...

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In the Art Room: Guided Drawing, Part 2

In light of yesterday's post, I thought I'd share a follow-up blog post. One reason I find most folks argue against guided drawing is the following: It is too restrictive. It leads kids to believe that there is only one way to draw. It puts too much pressure on the kids. AND I AGREE...if guided drawing is a tool used incorrectly in the art room, it can be all of those things. So I thought I'd...

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Art Teacherin' 101: Thoughts on Guided Drawing

 I often times feel like there are these notions in art education that you have to pick a side. TAB vs. not TAB. Project-Based vs. Non-Project Based. Guided Drawing vs. Guided-Drawing-is-the-Devil. Here's why I HATE when I'm forced to feel like I have to pick a side.  1. It pits art teachers against one another.  Look, everyone's end goal as an art teacher (at least I hope) is...

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What the Art Teacher Wore #208

 This past week was our book fair and to celebrate, we had dress up days! The theme of the book fair was Enchanted Forrest and our first day was to dress in red and white for a mushroom theme. Y'all know I totally had a dress for that, right? I cannot believe I stitched it up way back in 2012! It was the one and only keyhole dress I've made. That Michael Miller gnome fabric is still my fave....

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In the Art Room: Sketchbook Covers

Well, better late than never ever, amirite? My students are just now getting rolling on their sketchbooks tho that's no fault of their own. I've been doing sketchbooks with my kids for years now ... and had a pretty fool proof way that worked for me and the kids. But there was always one thing kind of bothering me...that I never had a way for them to add informational pages to their sketchbooks....

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