Let's Play Snowman Bingo!

I know what it's like this time of year...constant interruptions for programs, field trips, classroom parties and the like. It's nearly impossible to keep the kids engaged let alone...keep them on track or start new projects. I found that THIS drawing activity was perfect for my early finishers and for some Winter Centers that keep all kids happy and creating. I created a how-to video just for you and your students AND these two FREE downloads!

Let's start with the downloads! I used these in a sheet protector so that my students could draw on them again and again. I found that the best deal on these protectors was Amazon. You can get a ton of them cheap! However, the plastic IS thinner that the more professional grade sheet protectors made for the classroom. Just be aware of that. 

You can find this free download here. 

And you can score this free download here!

Here's the video:

Now, if you want to take the activity a step further, check out the end of the video to see how we make a work of art out of our drawing! It's super fun. 

And don't forget to check out my OTHER free downloads to create snow globes here!

Check out the kids in action here:

Of course...this fun activity can lead into this big project that I did with my kindergarteners! You can find all the video details and lesson info here. 

In other news...I think I know what some folks are getting for Christmas as I've been shipping out a lot of my books lately! If you are interested in receiving one of my books before the holidays, please consider ordering soon so that they MIGHT arrive in time. 

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! 

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.

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!

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. 

Have fun, y'all!

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! 

14 of My Favorite Fall Art Lessons

It's officially my favorite time of the year: FALL! I love it mostly because I'm super into Halloween and all things spooky. I also love that the days are finally cooler...but I do hate that I have less daylight time. Regardless! Fall's my fave and this here post is full of my fave fall art lessons...

AND, like usual, these lessons are free and if you tap the link, you'll be lead to the lesson post which has all the details and (usually) a video for you to share with your students. 

So...here you have it: My Favorite Fall Art Lessons!

Let's kick things off with this Van Gogh-inspired haunted house! My students, especially my older ones, LOVE making spooky drawings. All the details can be found right here.

Who doesn't love MONSTERS for this spooky season?! I've got several in this blog post, starting with this one. I created this as a sub plan and my sub and kids loved it! Full video lesson here. 

This lesson was one I came up with years ago that I love doing with my third graders and up! Weaving is always a hit. Here's the video lesson here. AND a book I wrote with all sorts of fibers lessons like this one. 

Can you believe this is first grade?! I KNOW! Lesson with video and contemporary artist connection here!

I always do paper weaving with first grade and sometimes second graders at the start of the school year. This one is always a favorite. All the details here!

These leaves are PRINTED...with markers! An easy and fun printmaking activity that you can find out all the details about here. Complete with lesson video. 

Sunflowers are perfect this time of year. You can find tons of these flowers at Dollar Tree and they are perfect for making these Andy Warhol-inspired prints. 

One of my favorite things for this time of year: BLACK LIGHT. It's spooky and fun and the kids LOVE it! This lesson on monsters where we used neon paint and oil pastels was a hit with my fourth graders. Lesson and video here. 

Need a collage and shape lesson? WITH contemporary artists connections? Here you go!

Back in olden times, we didn't have these fancy things called Gelli-Plates. No, y'all, we had to make our own! And I share how in this post but...I wouldn't recommend it. It's not vegan-friendly. It's labor-intensive. And they don't last very long. So...splurge on those gelli-plates cuz you can still do this process!

Fall is the perfect time to paint landscapes! Here's an oldie (this lesson is almost 10 years old!) but one that I still love. 

Y'all, talk about a throwback: this lesson is from 2012! But it's one I have done for years because the results are always amazing. Check it out!

Do you have a class that's jsut ahead of the rest for some reason?! Need a fun lesson that they'll love? Here you go, video included!

I'll have more Halloween-ie lessons coming at you next week but until then...here's a fun collage project I know your kids will enjoy!

Favorite Lessons for Valentines Day and Celebrating LOVE!

Let's talk all things Valentine's and celebrating LOVE, shall we? I'm putting together A TON of lessons in this post from weaving to painting, sculpture to clay all for your heart-themed pleasure. So, let's get started!

This Jen Stark lesson was one my students really enjoyed last year. You can find all the details, including a video, right here! 

I did this lesson with my kindergarten and third graders last year and both LOVED it. It's so open ended and allows for big messes and exploration. Try doing this on large paper for big, colorful results. I just happened to have a ton of this large yellow construction paper so that's what we used! Full lesson with video right here. 

Wanna do some printmaking? I've done this lesson with first and second grade in the past. Each one is so sweet and allows students to really spend a lot of time exploring printmaking. A hit, I promise! Lesson right here. 

This lesson is one that everyone seems to love! AND each one of these adorable critters comes complete with a how-to-draw video. SO, all ya gotta do is hit play and walk away! Here's the video right here for all animals!

Of course, it's the Year of the Rabbit! So you could use that rabbit drawing to celebrate. 

If you are looking for a weaving project, here's one that my first graders have done nearly every year. It's a great way to introduce weaving and a little sewing too! All the details with plenty of paper weaving videos here. 

My fourth graders LOVED making these! These giant candy hearts were so fun and made quite the impact when we displayed them with a huge candy heart box. Lesson with video here. 

Follow-up blog post can be found here. 

If you want to go a little smaller in scale, you could try this candy heart drawing on for size! Info with video here. 

Many artists have been inspired by the shape of hearts to create their art. In this lesson, students explored four different artists and a variety of media. It's a fun one and we did it in one art class! Lesson with video here. 

Kindergarten had so much fun exploring printmaking with these hearts. We used a book as our inspiration. Lesson here...and check out the lesson below for the follow up project we did!

Aren't they gorgeous?! AND kindergarten made them, y'all! All the details here. 

Can you really celebrate Valentine's Day without celebrating the work of Britto? My first graders reviewed pattern and line with this lesson. We also used bleeding tissue paper and paint sticks for this. So, lots of mixed media! All the details can be found here. 

What's Valentine's Day without a box of chocolates? We learned about the artist Peter Anton and created plaster chocolates and a papier mache box in this lesson. Video right here!

Looking for simple and FUN? Try this Chris Uphues-inspired lesson. This post has a video and a free handout! You can thank me later. The kids LOVE this one!

Feeling ambitious? Try on a school-wide collaborative! In this, my students, kindergarten through fourth grade, each created a heart using a different medium. You can find out who made what and how it call came together, here. 

Several years ago, I had to do jury duty so I created this lesson for my students to do with my sub. That's right, this here is a SUB PLAN. And she rocked it! And so did the kids, of course. Video lesson here. 

This heart-themed clay project is one that I lead the faculty and staff at my school to create. It was an Our Heart Gives Them Wings project and it was so fun to come together as a staff and create. Here's the video I made for the staff to view. 

My second graders used foil and celluclay to create these hearts! I love them, they look so very Jim Dine-y, don't you think? Video lesson and more details right here.

Need a fast and furious, one day art lesson inspired by an artist? This one IS THE BEST! The kids get messy, explore chalk, learn about J Goldcrown...what more could you ask for? Video and more here!

My first graders used up scraps to create the hearts you see above and below. We also learned about positive and negative space. This was a fun one and the results were so stinkin' pretty! Lesson here. 

AND more Chris Uphues love for y'all. These were collage hearts created by second graders and they were just the cutest thing! We added them to our heart printed background, seen below. Lesson here. 

Whew! AND there you have it! I hope you find something here to get you to Valentine's Day! BUT I really believe we can celebrate love all year 'round, don't you? Enjoy!