Five Fast, Fun and EASY Lessons to do Before Break!

Well, y'all, it's time. Time for a BREAK! And time to take it easy with some fun lessons that not only will the kids LOVE but also mean low prep/stress for you. So here are my Five Fast, Fun and EASY lessons for before Christmas break!

Okay, for this first one, I've got two TOTALLY FREE downloads and a video for you and your artists! You can find the downloads and video here. 

These lessons are for you and your artists. You do not have my persmission to create, repackage or sell them on Teachers Pay Teachers (yes, I have to say this because yes, people do that). I share because I love y'all and I want the best for you and your artists. It makes me sad when folks take advantage of that to make a quick buck.

I did THREE variaions of this snow globe lesson because I just loved it so much! For this next one, you'll need a basin of water (I use a plastic container) and some chalk for FLOATING CHALK SNOW GLOBES!

I promise the kids will love this one!

Got just a little time to spare? I promise you, all of your students will love some Snow Man Bingo! This is another totally free download! You can find it right here!

This drawing activity is one that my students really loved. We learned to draw cute winter pups and kittens by following my video! You can check it out here. 

Have you ever tried MARKER PRINTS?! This one is also a huge hit! I've got all the details and a video demo here.

By the way...if you are still shopping the artist, art teacher or favorite creative in your life, you might want to place your order for any of my books now. This will (fingers crossed) hopefully get them here in time for the holidays! I would say to order no later than this week!

My books can be found here. Have a great week, y'all!

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!

Top 12 Art Lessons on SHAPE!

For your older students, like 3rd and 4th grade, this lesson is a great way to not only review line and shape but also...color! This lesson is one that I do every year as a fundraiser. The results are always absolute show stoppers. HOWEVER...I no longer make black glue that I mention in this lesson. You can, of course, but it's a total pain! So...be sure and check out this hack on that here as well as my tips and tricks for using chalk in the art room.

Looking for a fun and colorful painting project to teach students about geometric and organic shapes? This one is so fun and the results are so happy! You can check out the full lesson (with video!) here.

No bingo daubers? No problem! Check out how we did this lesson with kindergarten before I had bingo daubers!

This Paul Klee/Mary Blair-inspired shape lesson was apart of a rotating stations that I did with my students. For my first thru fourth grade, my students rotated from station to station making a variety of shape-inspired art. These castles were one of the stations. The following art class, we added color and designs to these castles. You can check them out here!

Looking to dive into a little printing? This lesson is one I do with my kindergarten students but kids of all ages have enjoyed it! All you need are some foam stickers and a large foam shape for the background. I found these hearts at the dollar store but I've also used foam stars too! You can check out this lesson here.

Here is a little look at the printing plates created with stars in the background. This was apart of my shape making stations! Details on that here. 

I also did a variation of this lesson with my older students as they learned about shape and radial symmetry! You can check out the lesson and video here. 

After students are finished printing with their plates, the plates can be turned into some super cool metal art! You can check out that process here. 

If you are interested in doing elements of art stations in your  art room, I made a video to walk you and your students through the process. You can find it here. 

During 2020, I did a series of videos on robots...that all feature the element of art of SHAPE. This first one is all about drawing robots and using shapes. You can find that video here. 

Did I mention that there are several TOTALLY FREE downloads? Yep! Check them out here!

Collage is the perfect way to introduce students to shape! You can find the video lesson for this robot collage project here.

I always love doing collagraphs with my students. Start hoarding those cereal and snack boxes as that cardboard is thin and easy to cut. These can be created by doing crayon rubbings as I did here or you could use brayers and printing ink. Find the video lesson here. 

You could also take it in a totally different direction by covering the collagraph with foil and doing marker prints! This type of printing is always one the kids love! Details here.

Looking for a fun LINE and SHAPE review that also ties in with this spooky time of the year? I have a lesson for you then! You can find the full lesson video and lesson details here. 

Looking for a fun shape sculpture lesson? This is a fun way to not only use up some scrap paper but also...it's a nice follow up to my line sculpture project! You can find this lesson video here. 

AND...if you are looking for the perfect book to share with your students as they explore shape...have I got it for you! Check it out here, friends, and have a great week!

15 of My Favorite Lessons for Dot Day!

If you are like me, then you often struggle with those initial first couple of art lessons. I find a theme always helps me get the wheels turning. And The Dot, a wonderful picture book by Peter H. Reynolds, is always a great place to start. 

I've used this book so many times in my art room that I actually had to buy a second copy as I wore the first one out! I read it ever year to all grades on one of those very first days of art. Speaking of, I shared a little of my first day in a blog post a while back...and realized I had not done a follow up post! I'll be working on that this week. 

For now, I thought I'd share my very favorite Dot Day lessons...all 15 of em! Many of these have videos that you are welcome to use in your art room as well as free downloads. As I share, I'll let you know the level of difficulty and time each of these requires. Okay, let's dive in!

Let's Create Round Things!

Let's kick things off with an EASY one (and a lesson that comes with a free drawing sheet and video!) For this one, you'll probably want to purchase the Prang Mixed Media Circles so that you aren't left cutting tons of circles yourself.

After reading The Dot, have students brainstorm and draw as many 'things that are round' that they can think of. Try sliding this free download into a sheet protector so students can draw on it with a dry erase...and save some paper!

Dots on a Dot!

Here's a fun and easy one that can also be done on the round paper: Dots on a Dot! I love to have a stash of colorful dot sticks in my art room because they come in so stinkin' handy this time of year! For my kindergarters, we usually just use one dot in the middle and paint around it with watercolor or tempera cakes. For my older students, I like to allow them to place a couple of dots and paint. They always look so colorful and fun! Lesson plan here!

Kindergarten Dots!

Here's the second lesson I do every year with kindergarten. You can see the little dot right in the middle. I have a video of myself teaching this lesson, including introducing painting to my youngest artists, here!

Dot Day School-Wide Collaborative!

If you have ALL of your students do that same kindergarten lesson, once the painting is dry, try having students cut it into fourths and piece it back together on a sheet of construction paper. THEN...put 'em all together! It truly looks amazing. You can see the lesson details and a look at the collaboration of my entire school here. 

Dot Day Stations!

Probably my all-time fave dot day lesson was this one where my students got to explore a variety of media from walk to marker prints to tempera paint and even spin art! While it was mighty messy with a lot of clean up, it was a blast! You can check out all the details here. 

To make things a little easier, I created short videos to show my students how to create at each station. If you'd like to use those videos or check them out, visit here! 

Printed Dots!

If you need a fast and fun activity, this is it! All you need are pizza pans from The Dollar Tree and some tempera paint. Allow the kids to paint on the pan and then pull a print by pressing paper onto the wet surface. You can find a videos and lesson details here. 

Paper Sculpture Dots!

I took my FAVORITE kindergarten lesson and just made the paper round...and viola! We had ourselves some dots! These are so fun springing from the hallway walls. You can find the lesson for this here. 

Cardboard Painted Dots!

A lesson that I LOVED and did over and again for years was this first grade painted dot lesson. We used cardboard pizza rounds (I found mine at Gordon Food Services) and tempera paint. We began the lesson with the black lines created with either bingo daubers or a paintbrush and India ink. Complete lesson here!

I loved hanging these with paper clips in the ceiling...they always lasted until the Fire Marshall came to visit. 

Coffee Filter Dots!

Of course, making a coffee filter dot is the good ole standby that never fails to look beautiful! However...I do have a word of advice: ALWAYS add the water and allow these to dry on Styrofoam plates. This way, they will retain the color...otherwise, the color will leave the circle and stain the surface below. Details here!

Also! Did you know you can buy those GIANT coffee filters? They are HUGE and would make epically fun dots!

Dot Day Sub Plans!

Need some sub plans OR...just need something simple because you are covering rules and routines with no time for the messy stuff just yet? Try this FREE download! 

Dot Day Weaving!

Feeling adventurous?! Why not try some circle loom weaving for Dot Day? It's actually the painting portion that you could stop at and skip the weaving...these painted plates always look so fabulous and the kids love making them. We use Chinet plates and tempera paint for the best results. You'll be amazed how pretty these turn out! Check the lesson here. 

Sparkly Dot Relief!

My third graders created these one year. They built their dots with Styrofoam plates before covering them in foil and coloring with sharpies. They were so simmery and sparkly in the halls. Details here!

Stitched Dots!

Okay, I only recommend this for small groups or kids who are in fourth grade and up! Once we got the hang of these, it was AMAZING fun and the kids loved it. But, just like learning anything new, there was a learning curve we all had to get over. I did create a video that helped a lot! You can check it out here. 

First Grade Flowery Dots!

Yes, first grade! This big mural hung outside the art room for months, it was just too pretty to take down. You can check out how we made it here. 

Okay...I actually have EVEN MORE Dot Day lessons but I'll leave you to check them out here. 

AND...did you know that I have an email list? I share lots of freebies and lessons there too. To join, just visit here...it will take you to my store with my books but a pop up will allow you to sign up for email.