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. 

My Top Ten Tips for Tempera Painting with Young Artists!

Hey there, friends! I hope this here blog post finds you enjoying your summer vacation if you are stateside! I know the last thing you probably wanna think about is TEMPERA PAINT...but I always find it much more relaxing to thing about art, organization, lessons and the like when I'm on a break. So I created a big ole video just for you with my very favorite tips and tricks. 

Be sure and subscribe as I have more videos coming your way! 

But before we do...if you would like to peruse some tempera painting lessons, I did put together a blog post of my 20 favorite painting projects here. Not all of these are tempera paint but many are and will, hopefully, get the creative art teacherin' wheels turnin'. Just click here!

Tip #1: Limit those color palettes!

I like to distribute paint with a couple of customized paint trays. For example, on the first day I paint with kindergarten, they all receive a tray of warm color paint. On the next, it may be cool color. This helps keep our paint trays from getting completely demolished by students who are new to learning my painting routines. This method also allows students to learn the warm/cool colors as well as the notion of analogous colors. 

As far as paint goes, I'm using Prang's Tempera Paint. You can find it here. 

Tip #2: Ice cube trays for distributing paint!

My favorite way to distribute paint is...ice cube trays! I've been doing this since my first year teaching way back in 1998. Back then, we didn't have fancy ice cube trays like these. I had to do the stack-and-sack method of stacking my trays and putting them in plastic garbage bags overnight. Thankfully, we have these neat trays that do an excellent job of keeping paint from drying out.

You can find these lidded ice cube trays, my personal favorite, here.

Tip #3: Water Containers that Don't Tip!

Nothing sucks the life out of a good ole painting party like a water cup spill. You can find dog dishes like mine at the Dollar Tree. I also found them for a heftier price tag here.

What  I love about them is that no only do they not tip but they also have a spot for my sponges. The sponge is where my students dry their brushes, further removing drippy water from their brush. What I don't love about these is that the water reservoir is shallow and I have to change out the water between classes. So...it's a trade off. If you don't use the sponges or want a deeper water cup, I also love these:

They legit don't spill!

AND they come in a rainbow assortment which is fun if you color code your tables. I also love the wavy rim for resting paintbrushes.

If you are looking for a way to have students really scrub their brush while cleaning it, you could get some of these Paint Pucks to suction into the bottom of the watercup. OR...you could also use your glue gun and put dots of glue at the bottom of the glue cup and that would do the same thing!

Tip #4: A sponge to further clean the brush!

Or, as we call it, Dirty Ole Sponge Bob. If you teach students my trick of drawing an X on the sponge, it will help them remember to wipe their paintbrush AND keep the tip nice and pointy. You can find sponges at the Dollar Tree or you can also find them here. 

Tip #5: Contain the mess with TRAYS!

Okay, so these trays are a little expensive BUT they are super thick and sturdy which means they will be able to handle the weight of the painting supplies placed on them. However, I have purchased trays from Dollar Tree on their site and was able to purchase an entire box. The only thing is that if they don't have this available in store, you will have to pay for shipping. It's cheaper if you have them shipped to the store and pick up there. The Dollar Tree trays are much thinner and not as sturdy. But I loved them for having my young students create their artwork on. Not only did it help to capture and contain the mess but it also made it so much easier for them to carry their work to the drying rack.

Tip #6: Distribute paint without the mess!

FIFO bottles are a great way to get paint to your students without lugging a gallon of paint around the room. I also love them because you can customize and mix your own colors! You can find them here and learn more about them in the video if you aren't familiar. 

Tip #7: Texture combs are a must with tempera paint!

Thick tempera paint is made for texture! And while I used to love to pick up bags of texture making supplies at the dollar store what I found is that I spent so much time at the sink CLEANING. I eventually stopped using them and switched to the ole stand by: the texture comb. They are easy for kids to use without their hands getting too messy and, even better, they are much easier for ME to clean! I love 'em and they are constantly being used in my art room. Find them here. 

Tip #8: Cover those tables with Messy Mats!

We don't have time to wash the paint from our tables! I mean, we might have time but do we really wanna spend our time that way? For me, I had classes back to back with no time for cleaning so Messy Mats saved the day with keeping our tables covered and clean. You can color code them with this railboard found here. 

I also just like the ole standby of tagboard! You can buy a pack of 100 and it will last you for a couple years (maybe longer!) here. 

Tip #9: Clean those hands and tables with these!

I like to keep a bin of soapy water and a couple of these towels on each table. The kids know that they are ONLY to use these towels during clean up...otherwise you may have friends washing their hands throughout the lesson. I show them how to wring the water from the towel before using it on their hands and table. I swap these out with clean towels and water while the students work so each class has a fresh bin of water. These towels wash up great in the washing machine! 

Tip #10: Only buy the paint colors you need...and you don't need 'em all!

Share with your students how to mix paint so you don't have to buy them all! The colors you WILL want to order are: red, magenta, yellow, blue, turquoise (or cyan), white, black and brown. I usually order my paint by the gallon so we don't run out. You can find the paint I buy as well as anything I may have forgotten here.

As for paintbrushes, when I first began teaching, I used what I had in my art room: those coarse, long-handled bristle brushes. They usually wiped more paint OFF the paper than they did put it on! Now I only have students use soft hair brushes like these. 

And of course you need a copy of The Paintbrush Ballerina to share with your students how to use and care for their paintbrush! You can get a copy here. I also created some painting practice sheets that you might find handy as you introduce your students to painting!

These totally free downloads will have your students handling their paintbrush correctly in no time. Whether they are working with watercolor, tempra or tempra cakes, these sheets will save those paintbrushes! Find them free here. 

I created a video to share with you how I would use these sheets in my art room...I put them in a sheet protector so that students can practice painting with just water! More details here. 

I also created some fancy frames and even a certificate for your artists! Those freebies are here. 

Personally...you could tell me how to paint with children all day long but until I see how someone teaches it, I just don't get it. So! I thought I'd share a series of teaching tempera painting videos here. For lesson details, check out this blog post. 

Here's another example of me sharing a beginning of the school year paining lesson with students. Lesson details in this blog post!

Here's a video of my sharing my painting set up in my art room.

I hope this big ole blog post helps you feel more comfortable busting out the tempera paint in your art room. NOW...it's summer so go put those pjs back on, grab a snack and take a nap! 

Let's Create Art-Themed Ornaments!

As an art teacher, I always love seeing Christmas trees with an artsy theme. So I thought I'd put all of the art-themed ornaments I've created over the years into one blog post. This way, if you want to create an art themed tree for your classroom or home...you can! And I'll show ya how. Let's start with these wee bearded gnomes made from old paintbrushes!

By the way...these projects are kid-friendly too! So if you want to have your students create these, they totally can. Here's a quick tutorial:

Now here's a project that my students LOVED...using toilet paper tubes to make paint tubes! It's an easy one and we used it as a lesson on color theory! Details here.

Now we did use Celluclay and plaster strips to create these. In a pinch, papier-mache could be used instead of plaster and air dry clay instead of Celluclay. You aren't gonna believe how easy this one is. Video here:

This video was made for you to share with your students. 

I used some ribbon found at the craft store and some old paint brushes to jazz mine up a bit. 

Using some wire, I added them to my wreath. I found the wooden pallet at Goodwill and painted it to go with the wreath.

Full blog post can be found here!

And here are the tubes my students created! Details on things I learned about creating these with my student in this blog post. 

Coming up with their own name for the paint was super fun!

Now...here's an art-themed ornament that even my first graders made:

This two-day art lesson used, again, toilet paper tubes and plaster! You could use foil for the ferrule. We used metal tooling. They LOVED these! Although...first grade was disappointed that they didn't 'work' ;)

Here's the video:

How cute would pencils, paint tubes, paintbrushes AND crayons be on an art room tree?! We did make these a little bigger with paper towel tubes. It may be time for you to send out that school wide email and start asking for both! Details here. 

One year, my theme for my art show was "Art Supplies" so we made all sorts of silly stuff like these spilled glue bottles! Details here.

These are made from plaster and Model Magic...with those puffy things that they use in the mail when they are shipping something fragile as the armature! Here's the how-to video:

We even made scissors and...

Glue sticks which were, honestly, the easiest of them all. It's just a plaster-wrapped tube painted in tempera! 

Now you don't have to have a funky colored tree for your art room...any ole tree will do! In fact, I see tons at Goodwill which is a great place to grab one. THEN...you can decorate with all of your (or your students!) artsy ornaments! Details on this tree can be found here. 

The most fun is in the making! So...if you are looking for messy projects as you head back to the art room after Thanksgiving, here you go! Have fun!

Just a reminder: if you'd like my books to arrive in time for a Christmas present for a teacher, a young artist, an aspiring art teacher or a gift to yourself, please consider ordering soon! I'm signing each before popping them in the mail. You can find all of my books here!