Fifth Annual Chalked Ceiling Tile Event!

This year marks our fifth to do the chalked ceiling tiles with second grade. I can't believe it's been five years...and I'm happy to say that this year's was by far the easiest and least stressful. I guess I've finally learn a thing or two after all these years! 

In case you aren't familiar with this project that we do, it's a legacy piece that my second grade students create on the back side of a ceiling tile. We use chalk and have a different theme each year. This year, we created tigers because we are the Johnson Tigers!

I always get a ton of questions when I share this project on my social media platforms. I thought I'd try and answer them here and also share the last four legacy projects we've created. Be sure and click on the link as many have instructional videos!

Why do you use chalk and not paint? We use chalk because of the history of how we came to doing these tiles. You see, this was an accidental project. Initially, we were going to do a sidewalk chalk project with a visiting artist (more here). But on the day of the event, thunderstorms were predicted. I was at a loss of what we would do until I remembered that my principal had been asking me to have our students decorate ceiling tiles. So I got one and drew on it with the chalk...we had all the chalk prepped and ready for the sidewalk chalk event, so I was determined to use it. The problem was, the chalk didn't work well on the front of the tile. So I flipped it over and, what do you know, it worked perfectly...just like a sidewalk. And that's how the whole thing got started. 

Why do you use the back and not the front? I found the front didn't take to the chalk as well...but the back is perfect. There are numbers on the back but the chalk covers it up.

What brand of chalk do you use? Doesn't it get everywhere? I really like Faber-Castell chalk and Sargent chalk. We do a lot of coloring with the side of the chalk, not holding it like a crayon. This helps fill in large spaces. These two brands make very vibrant chalk colors. Yes, it's super messy...especially since we work on the floor. I tell the kids to wear their play clothes and come ready to make a mess. But, honestly, look at that floor! It's not even that bad. Having a paper banner under their work really helps.

So...how does this work? How do you teach this? On the day of the event, I have all of my second grade classes come to the multipurpose room. I lead all of then in this activity. I don't ask for additional help or teachers to be in the room...I'm kind of a solo act. This year, I did things in a way that I think worked the best: I had my classes all in rows, by class. Each had an assigned spot to cut down on any behavioral issues. Then I lead them, guided drawing style, in the creation of their own unique tiger. It took us an hour and a half. I happened to have a plan period so this worked out well and my other classes still had their art time.

How do you seal the chalked piece when it's finished? I just use hairspray. Yes, some of the chalk smears when it's placed in the ceiling...but not enough to tell. 

Do you do a different theme for the chalked drawing every year? If so, how do you decide what to do? Yes, I do a different theme. It's sometimes based on what the kids are learning about (butterflies) or I also take requests. For example, the cafeteria manager wanted healthy foods, so last year we created fruit tiles. This year, we did tigers as that's our mascot. 

What will you do when you run out of ceiling space? Retire.

Below is a sampling of what the kids have created over the last 5 years...the links have videos too, including clips of the set up and kids working if you are interested.

But first, I thought I'd take you down memory lane so you can see all the tiles my students have created over the years. Let's start with the very first one, which you can read all about here. 

The second year, we created these flowers. For this demo, I created a video. You can see how I went about doing this lesson with four classes in previous years here. 

Our third year, we created these geometric patterned fish! Prior to this, we did a lesson inspired by Sandra Silberzweig and created these fun black glue and chalk fish. 

Last year, we did fruit! These are in our cafeteria and I just love them. More details here!

Let me tell you this: it's a bit of prep, a lot of chalk dust, a crazy mob of children...BUT WORTH IT! The big undertakings always are, right? 

In the Art Room: Why Bingo Daubers are an Art Teacher's Best Friend

My name is Cassie Stephens and I'M IN LOVE WITH BINGO DAUBERS.

There. I've said it. It's finally off my chest. And I'm here today to tell you that if you've not discovered the magical wonders of bingo daubers and all that they have to offer your art room, allow me to introduce you to "a whooole neeeeew wooorrllllllddddd..."

If you are unfamiliar, than you might be thinking: 

What ARE bingo daubers? Simply put, they are the little dot-makin' things that folks use when playing bingo. You can purchase them with ink in them...or empty so you can fill with what you like. I prefer diluted India ink but other art teachers have also used liquid watercolor. TEMPERA PAINT, even when diluted, does not work...I know...I tried.

Why are they magic? Because they provide a seamless line, much like that of a marker. In fact, in my art room, we call them "paint markers" and have three rules for using them properly: DO NOT SHAKE THEM, DO NOT PRESS HARD but, most of all, DO NOT SQUEEZE THEM as an endless stream of ink my flow out of the bottle if you do. Sometimes, the ink dries at the tip providing a scratchy line. If I know my kids are going to be using them, I test each one out during my plan time making sure they work and GENTLY squeezing them to get the ink to flow. 

Where can I get them? Here and here is where I get 'em!

How do I fill and refill them? Like I said, I put slightly diluted India ink in mine (I don't have a brand recommendation because it seems all India ink is created equally). When it comes to refilling them, I know you can buy some sort of contraption to remove the top but I just use a pair of pliers to pry them off. Over time, the felt on top of the marker may become worn out. You can buy just the replacement tops!

What can I do with them? I'm so glad you asked! Here are my Top 11 Fave Things to Do with Bingo Daubers (it's a workin' title...don't judge, naughty pants).

 1. Make Giant Painting Sheets! For our upcoming art show, I wanted to inspire excitement and decorate the walls to announce the event. I sketched out my pirate-y design in charcoal and then laid out paint for the kids to go to town. 

When they were finished, I went back over the black lines on spots where they'd gotten a little excited with the paint (that's putting it mildly) and added white highlights. 

And ta-da! Giant banners to announce our art show! I've seen many art teachers create huge coloring sheets in the same manner for their art shows or art activities. 

 2. Make Welcome Back Banners! If you are like me, you have a CRAZY schedule at the end of the school year. Field day, field trips, assemblies, you name it...it's nuts! And so are the kiddos. Last year, when our field day was rained out and my station was cancelled, I decided to have the kids create Welcome Back banners so that we'd have some color on the walls come fall. They had a blast, we used up excess art supplies and made a rained-out field day super fun. 

Much like the art show banners, here is our paint set up!

3. Heather Galler-Inspired Florals! What I love about the daub is that it forces kids to draw BIG! We never use pencils first, we just dive right in. It's a little scary but it's a great chance to talk about turning a "boo-boo" into something "boo-tiful!" 

More on this lesson (with video!) here...perfect for Mother's Day!

 4. Dean Russo-Inspired Animals! Our mascot is the tiger...and it was so fun creating these massive colorful tigers for our hall. 

We finished them off with our chalk pastel in Sta-Flo trick (see video here!) and oil pastels. 

5. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Kindergarten uses my bingo daubers the most in my art room. Many teachers have told me that they've not had success with kids and daubers...that might be because you gotta remind them of the three rules...with rule numero uno being DON'T SQUEEZE THE PAINT MARKER! This Mo Willems project is always a hit! Lesson with video here. 

6. Jasper Johns-Inspired Kindergarten Alphabet! This is a fave lesson of mine and many others. You can find the lesson details and the lesson video here. 

7. Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom Kindergarten! We follow our first alphabet work of art with this one, a huge hit with my students. We watch the video version of Chicka-Chicka on YouTube and the kids love to sing along with it. You can find the lesson and video here. 

8. Romero Britto-Inspired Hearts! Easy and super great for learning about line, shape and pattern! All of these dauber works of art are HUGE too which I love. Details here. 

9. Fauve-Inspired Self-Portraits! Self-portraits are not my students fave thing to do...or my fave thing to teach. I think it's because the older my students get, the less confidence they have in making their artwork look "real." With that said, the bingo dauber frees them up, makes them relax and not get hung up in the details. Check out this post to see how we added color to these lovelies! 

10. First Grade Penguins! Oh yeah. These are pretty much the cutest...or, wait...are THESE cuter?!

11. Kindergarten Snowmen! I mean...look at them! Lesson and video here. 

 My third graders created these abstract name designs earlier this year with bingo daubers and I loved how they turned out. I don't have a lesson for this one yet...but will work on soon to have available for you and your kiddos!

 I've been in the middle of Art Show Prepland and the bingo dauber is saving my behind! I was able to crank out this pirate ship (which will be a photo-op prop) with a little help from the dauber. 

And I've even made SEVEN massive backdrops like this for the art show too, all with the dauber. So...if I've not convinced you yet that you need to get some bingo daubers in your life then I've just failed at life. Have a super week, y'all! 

My Favorite Sculpture Projects for Kindergarten through Fourth Grade!

This week, on my podcast Everyday Art Room, I'll be sharing my favorite sculpture projects, materials and supplies. Since so much of what I'll be talking about is visual, I thought I'd also put it all together in this here blog post. Please be sure to click the highlighted links as those provide the full lesson and, oftentimes, a video lesson!

Before diving in, I thought I'd share my favorite supplies to hoard for sculpture. Here's my Top Ten:

1. Toilet paper tubes! Just send out an email and you'll get more than you'll ever need.

2. SCHOOL paper towel tubes! The paper towel tubes at my school are super sturdy and thick and are my fave for sculpture.

3. Packing supplies! Packing peanuts (a rarity these days which is for the best) and what I call "packing pillows" are my favorites for sculpture.

4. Cereal Boxes! They are also great for when you run out of paper...they are the perfect weight to withstand paint.

5. Cardboard! Visit your school cafeteria manager and ask her what she often disposes of. Cans, cardboard, boxes...all of these items are perfect for sculpture.

6. Restaurant supplies! Okay, now I don't want no trash brought into my art room so I never take used items, especially ones that have held food. BUT if you visit your local restaurant supply, you'll find so many great items for sculpture. 

7. Aluminum foil! Dollar Tree sells aluminum foil by the sheets and it's the perfect size for the sculptures we create in my art room.

8. Egg cartons! You probably already collect these for paint...but they are also perfect for plaster molds (for candy! Scroll down!) and sculpture armatures.

9. Chopsticks! I love chopsticks or skewer sticks. We use them a ton in my art room.

10. Containers! My husband rinses out and saves nearly every lid (perfect circles!) and container we use for my art room. It may drive me bonkers but we use them all!

Now, I know what you're thinking: Stephens! I don't have the storage space for all that! To which I say, that's why you do this sort of craziness at the end of the year. Hoard it, bust it out and then send it all home. What you don't use, toss them in grab bags and let the kids create on their own at home.  

The following is a much shorter list of my favorite sculpture materials:

1. Activa Products Rigid Wrap. I LOVE plaster wrap for sculpture. It has replaced papier mache in my room. It dries super fast and leaves the sculptures rock hard. The only draw back is the price, it's not cheap. But it's my go-to and the kids love it.

2. Art Paste. If you GOTTA use papier mache (maybe you love it!) then I recommend Art Paste. It's great stuff.

3. Activa Products Celluclay. If you don't have a kiln, this stuff is great. It isn't like real clay...it's more like a paper pulp clay. You do have to mix it up (I don't recommend having kids do it) and it can be dusty...but I love the stuff. 

4. Model Magic. No prep, just open an pack and go. It's not cheap so we use this sparingly.

Okay! Now that we have that covered, let's talk projects!

1. Paper Sculpture! Paper sculpture is a project I do with my kindergarten kiddos on their very first days in art class...and every year THEY ROCK IT. This year, I did it with the entire school as apart of a project I called Getting to Know You Sculptures. 

2. Pipe Cleaner and Recycled Sculptures! This is another project that I do with my kindergarten friends. We use insulation foam, pipe cleaners, packing peanuts and, this year we'll be adding cardboard squares to the mix. You can read all about it here.

 3. TP Tube Pencils! Need a QUICK sculpture project that is a sure fire hit with your kids? Last year my FIRST GRADERS made these and loved it! They are made with TP tubes, snow cone paper cones (or tagboard rolled into a cone shape), aluminum foil and paint. All the details with video here! 

4. Crayons and Crayon Boxes! Another kid fave, y'all, and so easy. In groups, the kids used cereal boxes for their crayon boxes. This was also a great way for them to explore color theory as they had to come up with their own custom crayon color. They also had to come up with a name for the color. More here. 

5. Paint Tubes from TP Tubes! I think what some folks find daunting about sculpture is the notion that it has to be big and elaborate. You might have a small room, short class time and big classes...so manage your lessons around that. This lesson I think you and your students will love! 

6. Spilled Glue Bottles! Do you see a theme here? One of our art show themes last year was "art supplies"...so that's where the inspiration for all of these came from. You can tour that portion of the art show here. Details on these bottles here! 

7. Candy Hearts! These were so fun to make...while munching on candy hearts, of course. Created with tagboard and plaster wrap. The big box was painted by my early finishers, using a recycled box. All the details, with video, here. 

8. Jim Dine-Inspired Second Grade Hearts! These were created with tin foil and Celluclay. Colorful and fun with all the info here. 

9. Plaster Candy Hearts! My second graders are currently creating treasure boxes and they think it is the best thing ever. It reminded me of this project a couple years ago...my third grade had created these papier mache candy boxes with plaster candies. They had a BLAST! The candy was created from plaster poured into a variety of molds like egg cartons and ice cube trays. For more info, visit here. 

10. Taxidermy Creatures! This lessons has yet to be tested on my students but I've shared it in many workshops and it's a hit. Those teachers have in turn done it with their kids with great success. Just a little foil, Celluclay and imagination for this one. 

Happy sculpting, friends!!

In the Art Room: Mad Scientist STEAM Lesson for First Grade!

 About three years ago, I did a project titled Mad Scientists. We focused a lot on color mixing and drawing three dimensional shapes. We even did some bubble printing. The end result looked like this:

And you can find all the lesson details here. 

And while I really did enjoy this lesson, along with my students, when I went to do it again this year, I decided to put a different spin on it...and include scientist self portraits!

 This was a lesson that took several days. I have 30 minute art classes with my first grade, twice a week. Here's how we broke it down:

Day #1: we watched two wonderful bubble videos. One explained the science of bubbles and the other showed GIANT bubbles being blown on a beach. We went to our seats and filled our construction paper with bubbles using chalk. I walked around the room with my Target Dollar Spot bubble gun and we took bubble dance breaks throughout the class. It was super fun.

 Day #2: We learned how to draw three dimensional beakers! Here's the video I used then and this year too. We drew in pencil first and then traced in Sharpie. Feel free to use it in your art teacherin' world:

Day #3: We read Mix It Up and learned how to use the primary colors to fill our bottles and create the secondary colors! Early finishers met me on the floor and we also read Mouse Paint. 

 Day #4: We drew ourselves as Mad Scientists!

Day #5: We traced our drawings in Sharpie and added color with construction paper crayons. Many were ready to start cutting out their portraits. 

 Day #6: We put it all together! Many kids wanted to add more bubbles when they were finished so after they collaged, they returned to bubble making. 

 I really love this new layer of this project...each one is so stinkin' amazing. 

 Next time, I'd love to share with them more about famous scientists. We spoke a lot about Einstein...but I do want to share more with them, especially female scientists. 

 We used so many different media and learned so many techniques in this project that it was so fun. 

You'll have to let me know if you give it a go!