It's here: ROUND Paper and Why It's the Best Thing EVER

Oh hey there, friends!

I hope this here blog post finds you either on summer vacation or getting dangerously close. Either way, you may find yourself asking "wait, why am I reading an art teacherin' blog?!" Because you are just so dedicated, that's why! Or delusional. Either way, welcome! 

You might know that I occasionally work with Prang Art Supplies to craft supplies for you and your students. A couple of years ago, when I was painstakingly cutting out circles for my students to use for Dot Day, with hands cramped, I reached out to my buddies at Prang and said,

"You know what would be REALLY great? If y'all made some round paper outta that good paper you have." 

And so...they did!

It's the perfect paper for Dot Day but also...ANYTHING that happens to be round! I thought I'd share not only my fave Dot Day lessons here (I'm only 6 months early as Dot Day is usually celebrated September 15th) but also a FREE download for your artists to brainstorm all the round things. 

But first, if you'd like to get your hands on this paper, you can find it here.

I created a FREE download for you and a video that will walk your students through drawing both a pizza and a donut! If you'd like that AND a free lesson plan, just click here!

For this FREE download, just click here!

Get started on your art making adventure here!

In need of some Dot Day inspo? Then check out this lesson plan! It's one I have used with students as young as kindergarten for years!

Need some more Dot Day inspo? I created a blog post of my 14 very favorite Dot Day lessons which pair perfectly with this here round paper! You can find them all here. 

And, of course, if you need a good book on SHAPE to reinforce all things dotty and round, then don't forget to check out my book Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes!

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Let's Draw (and Paint) a Wreath!

Hey, friends! I shared on social media last week that I had some exciting news...with my friends at Prang, you can now purchase ROUND paper!

Here's a little more about how that idea came to be:

If interested in seeing those round Dot Day activities my students did, visit here.

But...I know that there are TONS of art lessons out there that could be based on a round piece of paper! In fact, I would have loved it for my Snow Globe lesson! 

Here's a little peek at the paper Prang has for you:

I was concerned that the paper wouldn't be their good quality stuff but it is! In fact, I was able to paint on it to create this wreath project! I created a video for you to use in your art room or at home. Of course, if you don't have round paper, that's no problem! I walk you through an alternative at the start of the video. Here you go:

So, honestly...while creating this video, I wasn't sure if the markers were going to bleed enough to provide color. At first...it seemed nothing was happening. I thought the lesson was just going to be a flop! BUT then I came back an hour later after the paper had dried and it looked AMAZING! So be sure and tell your artists to be patient and let it dry.

Creating a wreath puts me in mind of Christmas! If you have children who are readers...might I recommend my art-themed choose your own direction book Find Your Way. I've had so much positive feedback from parents, homeschool families and teachers alike! You can find it here. 

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