In the Art Room: Early Finishers, Part 1

Well, hello, strangers! I normally aim to post on this here blog about three times a week but, over the last two weeks, I've hardly shared here. It feels weird not chatting with y'all but I've been super duper distracted with creating a new and exciting space for my early finisher friends! If you follow me on Insta, then you've seen me (over)share what I'm working on. Usually, on this blog, I post projects when they are complete. But I really have so many projects in the works right now (that are all in various stages of completion/do-overs/rethinking-my-life-choices) that I thought I'd give you a peek behind the mess that is my thinking process. Creating and thinking are always messy, amirite? 

 My art room is large because, once upon a time, it was the school library. So I'm spoiled rotten and y'all better believe I know it's true. In fact, the art room is what sold me on changing schools...I literally stalked the previous art teacher for two years (she was set to retire at that time) to get my foot in the door. However, with a big space, comes more room to make big messes...which is what I'm (unfortunately) super good at. This year, after nearly 15 years in this space, I'm making LOTS of changes. I've shared them with you mostly in the form of switching up my wall decor but now I'm ready to tackle the big things on my to do...namely, what to do with my Early Finisher Friends. 

We've all got 'em. Sometimes they've got 5 minutes, sometimes they've got 10...for me, it's my doubled up classes (where I have about 35 kids for an hour) where my artists finish their work at different paces. In the past, the space above was where they could go to build with blocks or draw using my drawing books...but I just have always had this nagging feeling that I wasn't offering them enough. I really want to allow time for more individual creative choice. So I'm thinking that my early finishers area could be just the thing. 

My plan is to allow kids time to BUILD, DRAW, DESIGN and/or READ. So, in the photo above, you'll see the bins on the right...those contain a variety of building blocks. On the top of the shelf, you'll see mannequins that I spray painted (I saw an art teacher who did this and LOVED the idea!), dinosaurs, flowers in pots and forms. That will be my draw area. Also included in this area will be these drawing prompt sticks:

 I got this idea from my buddy Kaitlyn and had to add it to my drawing area. I'll be sure to share more about this soon...but if you hop over to Kaitlyn's IG, you'll see a ton of ideas for drawing prompts!

 My biggest issue with friends who finish early is their concept of time. They have none. If they see there are only 3 minutes left on the timer, they STILL gonna go get a brand new sheet of paper or dump out 456 blocks. Then I'm all, "ain't nobody got time for that!" So that the kids do know what's available for them during the time they have, I've been creating these using Canva:

Each of these will be added to the front of my bins or in a draw, read, design area. They will show how much time the kids will need for each activity, what it is, how many clips their table must have (this a new behavioral management plan I'm trying...more details in a future blog post), where they can do the activity and how many kids can work together. These are simply prototypes...still kicking these around in my head. 

 The reason I'm sharing all of this with you today is because I'd LOVE your advice. What do you do with your early finisher friends? Or, if you have a more choice-based art room, how does it look? How do you organize the space for your artists?

 Side note: you might have noticed a rainbow theme...inspired by my gift from Treetopia, a rainbow tree and wreath! I've been tasked with decorating it...but I'm gonna put the wee artists on the job. Stay tuned!

I love my specials team, by the way. Thank you, Ali, for helping me get this beauty up!

 Another view of my space. It's going to be a great area...I've just got a lot to do before I can call it complete. My goal is to have it open for my kids after Thanksgiving break. 

But, again, I'd LOVE to hear from y'all! Please share your fave activities for those early birds. 

In the Art Room: Royal First Graders!

Well hello there! My Royal First Graders and I are thrilled to have you drop by and visit. These sweet kiddos have been working super hard on their 9" X 12" selfies for our upcoming Artome Art Show! 

If this project looks familiar, that's because I've shared it before on this here blog! You can find additional information about this project here and here.

I realize that I've never shared a video of this process which might make it easier to understand. It's a project with plenty of steps...which is easy for me to break down in my 30 minute class time. Because I see my younger students for 30 minutes, I don't often make instructional videos for them. However, I did create one just for you! Here you go:

I also got a lot of questions about this project on Instagram, namely how do I teach color mixing for skin tones. So I thought I'd film myself explaining that to my students. I also wrote a blog post about that process which you can find here. 

For our Artome art show, which is a fundraiser, I always love to have the kids create self-portraits. Every parent LOVES a self-portrait! They sell really well. This fall, when I had the art show looming, I was really sweating coming up with 5 new selfie lessons. It was then that my husband said, "were the ones from last year successful? Then just do them again!" I don't know why I always feel the need to reinvent the wheel. The self portrait lessons we did last year were all so well received. So, I'm doin' 'em all again. Only the kindergarten lesson is getting a reboot. Here's what my third grade is creating:

And here is what my fourth grade is up to:

Everyone is super excited with their hard work.

 Especially my Royal Firsties! 

Happy Halloween! Celluclay Haunted House

So, just a side note: I'm SUPER DUPER annoyed today. The last half dozen videos I've shared on my YouTube channel, including the one below, have been flagged as "inappropriate". I'm talking my teaching videos, my art room decor videos, everything. As soon as I post ANYTHING, it's getting flagged and removed from view. I feel MISERABLE about this...and won't be sharing any videos until this gets resolved. It's a waste of my time to post something simply to have it removed. It's obvious it is someone who is a subscriber and just simply removing my videos to be a butthead. Guess what? You've succeeded at being an EPIC butthead. Congratu-butthead-lations. 

On to my completely inappropriate video! Brace yourselves, it totally deserves to be blocked (ha!): 

Having found this little cottage at the thrift, I immediately knew I wanted to haunted house-ify it. The beauty of Celluclay is that you can transform just about anything super easily. I've actually got a slight collection of randoms that I've been gathering from the thrift to transform. For that reason, I'm no longer permitting myself to go into the thrift store for a bit #hoardermuch.

 In the video, you'll see that the house began as simple as a wooden box. Not much of a haunt. I decoded to spook-ify it by adding turrets, a porch, columns and windows a plenty.

 Having Celluclay'ed the daylights outta the thing, I did have to dry it in front of a fan for a day. Even still, I did notice that the areas which didn't dry completely started to mold. No bueno. But when I painted over the entire surface with black acrylic, that seems to solve the mold problem.

 Dry brush is my fave way to paint. I love the antiqued look it adds to my creations. 

 Just a view from the side...and the back. I really wanted to find one of those flickering light bulbs but, alas, I could not. So a wee bulb with some red paint applied would have to do.

I really wanted to add wee lines for the wooden boards on the house, shingles to the roof and that sort of thing...but since Halloween is TODAY and I was painting this LAST NIGHT, I just ran outta time. Next year! Maybe. Okay, probably not, who am I even kidding.

 Y'all don't even know how sad I am that I have to take all of this fun stuff down. My only comfort is that I get to replace it with CHRISTMAS!

 Have a happy and safe Halloween, friends!

In the Art Room: Spray Paint Wall Display!

As I've mentioned, I'm slowly "remodeling" my art room. I've been in this space for close to 15 years and I'm just so TIRED of looking at the same decor, store-bought posters, same hot -n- stinky messes. I'm super proud to say that I'm turning my life around (bwhahaha, let's be honest: no.) Okay, what I am doing is trying to get organized for the first time ever. And I feel like it's working and feelin' great BUT organizing is NOT my idea of a party. So, for that reason, I do have to hit the pause button every now and then and do something fun, wild and crazy (according to me, this is my idea of a good time, y'all!). Case in point: This new wall display!

So I've been spray painting and color coding nearly everything in my art room...I think that was fresh on my mind when I ventured into Michael's and spotted these 4" X 12" canvases. I scooped 'em up and immediately started painting them. That was on Monday. By Sunday, I had them up and the wall painted. Now, before y'all tell me how fast I work and question whether nor not I have some sort of time-freezing machine (that would be my super power, honestly!), lemme tell you what I DID NOT do last week: write up my lesson plan for an upcoming evaluation, clean the house, do laundry, fill the 30 glue bottles with black glue for 3rd grade and, oh, countless other things. Y'all wanna know where I find the time? It's by shirking all other adult-type duties. I'm simply a 12 year old in a 42 year old body.

 So whilst all y'all were cookin' home cooked meals, we were dining on hummus and crackers last week so I could crank these out. My hubs is a saint. Who really likes hummus, thank goodness. 

 What in the world was I thinking, spray painting my wall? I blame the paint fumes. I used acrylic paint on the walls...and plan to go over it with a sealer but not sure if it's necessary.

 I got labeled bins of art supplies FOR DAYS, y'all! So much happiness. Also, side note, I think I'm gonna extend my tape lines to the paint cans. I started to with the purple...and then found some other shiny object to fool with. You can read about the Color and Line Wall here. 

 Did I ask my admin if I could paint my wall? Nah, not really. I mean, I might have kinda "asked"...meaning I said something like, "I'm gonna paint my wall, just wanted to let you know." They, of course, were not at all surprised. 

 The kids sure were! They loved it so I count that as a win. Every time they come in my art room, it's something different. It's fun for us both.

 I was asked why I didn't just paint the cans on the wall also...great question. I have no answer other than I really liked those canvases! That size was super cute AND I do love the 3-D element of them popping out of the wall.

 Okay...now that this is complete, back to organizing. Insert unenthusiastic "yay" here. 

Sketching Art History: Stonehenge

Hey there! A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that my third and fourth grade kids would be Sketching through Art History in their sketchbooks this year. I go into more detail on this idea, the sketchbooks and the process of making this idea work here. I'll try to give you a quick look-see here: When my students enter the room, they pass a bin of sketchbooks, taking out theirs and placing it on the floor in front of them. Kind of like this:

Once they've watched a Hot Minute of History video, they then watch another one minute drawing prompt video. Here is the one I created for Stonehenge:

The kids now know the drill: during their 5-7 minutes of sketch time, their is no talking. I want them to be mindful, engaged and drawing the entire time. When the timer goes off, they often groan and ask for more time...which is music to my ears. I often splurge and give them a few more minutes. This week, I asked students to share their drawings with their neighbor. I put two minutes on the clock and asked them to spend one minute being a good listener and another being a good explainer. I think they really enjoyed sharing their ideas with their friends. 

I have been putting our art history nuggets into song form to the tune of We Will Rock You! It's been so fun, I actually am a miserable poet but I do love writing these. Here is the PDF if you'd like a copy. 

And here is the one I wrote for Cave Art. Next up: Ancient Egypt! You can stay up to date on these by subscribing here. 

Halloween Crafts: How to Make a Monster Head!

First of all, can I just tell you how SAD I am that next Tuesday is Halloween?! I still have two more Halloween DIY's in the queue to share with y'all! If you are looking for some spooky crafts this weekend, look no further...I've got you covered! I'll be sharing a dozen or more in this here blog post. I kinda went bananas with the Halloween crafts this year...but it truly is my most favorite thing ever. I'm gonna be super sad to pack all of this up next week. Tho, let's be honest, it will probably stay up a pinch beyond Halloween. I mean, there is Day of the Dead to consider, after all!

But, on with the craftin' of these Monster Mash Heads!

 Let's talk supplies:

* Styro Monster Heads. I picked mine up here last year after Halloween for next to nuthin. They still have them this year too! 

* Sta-Flo Liquid Starch. This stuff is my jam, y'all. I have used it for that super fabulous chalk project and for a MILLION Halloweenie crafts. I've been asked where to get it...I found it on the cheap here. 

* Cheesecloth. You can find this both at the craft stores and at the grocery. It's probably the cheapest online. 

* Acrylic Paint. Durable and leaves a shine...I love the stuff. Even the cheap stuff!

Now I did mention Halloween crafts...I thought I crafted hard for the spooky holidays last year. Well, this year, really went all out. Lemme share with y'all what I created:

Draculas! These dudes just might be my favorite.

Chatter teeth were super easy to create. 

No, wait. These dudes were def my favorite!

Although these eyeballs were definitely the most easy to crank out.

If you need a fun, fast and easy craft, check this one out!

 Okay, the hubs takes total credit for how The Mummy came to be. I think the original intention of that styrofoam head is for it to be a zombie...but zombies weren't in my vintage movie line up. So hubs suggested wrapping him in strips of cheesecloth and YES! Look! He's so stinkin' spooky!

 Who's your dentist, bro? You might wanna ask for a refund.

 Frank is quite the looker, don't you think? Bride didn't know what she had, silly girl!

 Best part about having these in my tree was that I didn't have to hang them or do anything...just place them on the branches!

 I love using the cheesecloth because I love the effect I can get with the textured surface. Painting the entire thing black and then going over it with a dry brush is my new favorite thing on the planet. It's so freeing for an uptight and particular artist like me. 

Oh, what's that? You need more Halloween crafts? Here you go!

Check out my Top Ten Halloween Crafts from last year, right here! 

In the Art Room: How to Paint Skin Tone!

My first grade students learned how to paint their own skin tones last week. When I shared this image on my IG, I was asked by several folks how I taught them to paint their skin tone in 30 minutes. Not gonna lie, with the reading of The Colors of Us and an explanation of just how to mix the "right" colors for us, we were pushing it time-wise. But I'm pretty infamous for running a late. Thankfully, my work buddies are super forgiving. 

Instead of explaining to y'all how I teach the firsties to make their own skin tone, I thought I'd film myself. You can find more videos of me teaching (so as to see what NOT to do, ha!) on my YouTube channel under the playlist A Glimpse Inside. 

Just a note: The book is The Colors of Us by Karen Katz and has been a favorite of mine for years. I read it every chance I get when it comes to us creating selfies. Also, we are using Blick tempera paint. I've used a lot of tempera over the years...definitely splurge on the more expensive stuff. I like Sax Versa Temp, Blick and Crayola...but not the washable stuff. Just a thought since I'm sharing our painting process.

And in case you are wondering what we are creating: our Royal Selfies, thank you very much! This image is from last year. We've just moved on to creating our faces...tomorrow we'll add our hair and start our crowns. If you'd like to see the complete lesson, you can find it here. 

In the Art Room: Charley Harper-Inspired Fawn Collage

If you follow me on Instagram, then you've seen me share my teacher sample of this Charley Harper-inspired lesson. I filmed the demo a week or more ago...and finally got around to editing it and posting it to my YouTube channel. My plan is to do a series of woodland animal videos inspired by Harper...we'll see how many I manage to complete. I have a tendency to be a pokey lil puppy. 

But enough about that, let's get to the lesson video:

Now, like I said, this is the second in a series of Harper-inspired lessons. In case you missed it, the other lesson is a mash-up of van Gogh's Starry Night and Harper. You can find it here. In this lesson, I'm using the same supplies as I did in the raccoon project. Here's the list:

* Faber-Castell Oil Pastels Full disclosure: I work with Faber-Castell frequently and create lessons for them using their supplies. That being said, I do enjoy their oil pastels for a couple of big reasons: they are sturdy. Unlike many other oil pastels I use, they don't break as often. They don't roll! I love that we aren't constantly chasing after them rolling off the tables. AND they are big...some oil pastels are very small and hard to hold for my students. Not to mention, they wear through them quickly. For all those reasons...and the fact that the colors are fabulous...I would definitely recommend these oil pastels.

* Brown Watercolor Paint This is for the light wash used on the raccoon.

* Texture Rubbing Plates or Burlap Don't have texture plates? Burlap makes for a great rubbing surface!

* Construction Paper I love Tru-Ray because the paper doesn't fade and seems stronger than most.

* Tempera Paint 

* Tempera Cakes My new favorite discovery: painting with tempera cakes on construction paper. Like, whut?! The colors stay true and I just love it! 

 I just had a GREAT couple of questions thrown my way after sharing this lesson on YouTube:

Fabulous questions, don't you think? Here's my response...

May I have a soapbox moment? I'm aware that there are art teachers who do not like guided drawing instruction. I've grown tired of folks speaking of the right and wrong ways to teach art. I'm also super leery of those who speak as though they have all the art teacherin' answers. Here's a secret: they don't. NONE OF US DO. We're all working with our students everyday, listening to them and trying to figure out how to best teach this amazing creative process to them. There are many different ways to teach art...and it's good to dabble in them all. But it's no good to put the methods of other art teachers down. Okay, soapbox moment over and out.

I will keep you posted on how these Harper-inspired projects progress! Until then...