Favorite Art Lessons for Spring!

The weather here in Tennessee has been hinting that spring is on the horizon! Of course, if we all wait a good 15 minutes, then that will change but, for now, I'm embracing the notion of spring! And, with that in mind, I thought I would put together a blog post of my very favorite art lessons for this time of the year. 

Be sure and tap the link I've created for these lessons. Many of the lessons contain free hand-outs and/or kid-friendly videos. I know this time of year, before spring break, is exhausting. I do hope to help you out a little bit! 

Okay, let's get started...

This first lesson is one I loved doing with my second grade students in the spring. We used HUGE pieces of paper, ink-filled bingo daubers and were inspired by the contemporary artist Heather Galler. Once our drawings were complete, we added color with liquid watercolor. 

Here's the link to my first blog post about this lesson. 

And here's a link to the follow-up blog post with more details on how we finished our creations!

Seeing these large and colorful beauties in the hallways always brightened our days!

Of course, what better way to celebrate spring than with CLAY! My third graders spent a couple of 30-minute art classes creating these. This lesson was posted to my blog before I created video content...so that lets you know it's an oldie! But I do share step-by-step photos...which would be perfect to print out and provide for students. 

Lesson can be found here. 

This lesson could also be done with air dry clay! I shared that in my book Clay Lab for Kids which is FULL of 52 clay projects for those who do not have a kiln!

If you do have a kiln...I've got a lotta videos and blog posts all about clay. If working with clay frightens you a bit (trust me, I get it. I melted down a kiln once at the expense of $500...so, I GET IT), you might want to start here. 

Since we are on the topic of clay, another fun lesson for spring would be these clay butterflies!

Not only are these super fun to create but also super fast! My kindergarten students created these butterflies in just one 30 minute class period! 

All the details here. 

If you are looking for more kindergarten clay lessons, check out this blog post where I put 'em all in one place! 

Since we are on the topic of butterflies...check out these created by kindergarten! My other students were so interested in this lesson (and loved the printing process) so much that I ended up doing it with multiple grade levels. 

I created a video for students to follow along here. 

A couple years before that, I did a similar lesson with second graders but used chalk for the wings. I thought they turned out so pretty! Lesson with video here. 

The trees are already starting to blossom here so that means it's the perfect time for THIS lesson! I did this one with second graders when we were learning about Japan and each turned out so beautiful!

Vincent van Gogh's cherry blossom tree paintings are always so beautiful and they inspired this lesson here!

Got teachers asking for lessons for Mother's Day? This is one that my kindergarten students created that they loved! You can find the lesson video here. 

In the mood for printmaking? My students LOVED creating these Warhol-inspired prints. We used sunflowers I found at Dollar Tree but real flowers would be fun to use too. Of course, when I busted out the Puffy Paint, that's when the real party started! Full lesson with video here. 

When I shared this printmaking lesson many years ago, GelliPlates were not a thing. I made my own plates! However, I wouldn't recommend it as it's not vegan friendly nor does it last long. Also, who has time to make them?! So if you have GelliPlates or something similar, you will LOVE this lesson!

Each printing plate yields two of these gorgeous prints!

Bringing nature inside is always fun! I've done so many variations of this leaf relief lesson and it's always a hit! You can find all of the details here. 

I love this one with the watered acrylic painted on top!

Bright and cheery landscapes are always fun this time of year! A great way to review color mixing and mark making too. This was a hit with my fourth graders. 

And just look how pretty! Full blog post here. 

Got a million-trillion popsicle sticks?! Behold! A lesson that is super fun and uses 'em all up! Lesson details with video can be found here.

Details on this cute, little painted paper collage by kindergarten can be found right here!

My third graders really knocked it outta the park with this lesson! They loved creating the details on the vases. I loved watching them explore warm and cool colors for their backgrounds. This lesson can be found in detail here. 

If you've never tried using liquid starch with chalk and seeing the AMAZING results...consider this your sign! This lesson comes with a full video created for fourth grade students. They will love it!

In the mood for some fibers lessons? I'm not gonna lie: this project took A LONG TIME. So if you need something to carry you through to spring break...this might be it! 

I promise this lesson won't take nearly as long...and the kids will love it! Especially once they get the hang of weaving. Video lesson here. 

If you are looking for even more fibers lessons, you might want to check out my book Stitch and String Lab for Kids!

So...this lesson is labor intensive because you do have to put the mural together...but when I do large murals like this, they stay up for as long as the walls will hold 'em! This was hung at the start of the school year and left up until the end! Full details here. 

Of course, the idea for that mural came from this one! I created this spring-y mural for Dot Day but I think it would also be fitting for spring. All the details here. 

And there you have it! Over 20 art lessons for spring. I hope you find something here that you can use or are inspired by!

In case ya missed it...I wrote a children's book! Larry the Line can be found right here. This 48-page rhyming book for kindergarten up to second grade (and beyond!) will introduce all lines to students in a fun and engaging way. I promise, you'll love it!

AND...I've not told anyone this yet so...STAY TUNED! This is a series of books on the Elements of Art and the next installment is coming SOON (I'm so excited!). 

If you've not checked out my other book Art Teacherin' 101, you might wanna! You can find the details here, just scroll down.

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!

Top Tips and Lessons for Using Chalk in your Art Room!

Hello!

Last week I dumped everything I could think of into one video all about watercolor painting with kids. I hope you got something out of that video and enjoyed it! I made it just for you (and your sanity.

This week, I thought I'd share all things chalk! I know a lot of art teachers avoid chalk because of the mess. I'm going to encourage you to give this video a watch and try some of these tips on for size. I think you'll find it helpful...and maybe even fall in love with using chalk with your students! 

Also in this post, I'm throwing in all of my very favorite chalk lessons and projects. All are free for you and your students to enjoy. 

I shared several projects in that video so I thought I'd place them and the links below for you to use!

Always a hit! This one is done with the liquid starch and chalk hack I shared. Here's the video. And here is a blog post of the finished results!

This project was done with the same method of starch and chalk. It's a huge hit with the kids. Video lesson is included here!

Another method for liquid starch and chalk is this one I did with my fourth grade! Video lesson included here. 

One of my most popular lessons of all time is this one! BUT don't do what I did: don't make black glue! Instead, follow my demo in the video and go the much easier route of using Elmer's Glue All and black marker. 

Here's a blog post with the finished results. This one is always a crowd pleaser!

Here's another one inspired by the artist Sandra Silberzweig! Video lesson included here. 

Yet another glue and chalk combo! Lesson video here. 

Before tackling their butterfly ceiling tile project, one second grade class created these beauties! A fun project for the end of the school year. 

Looking for a quick chalk project that introduces a contemporary artist? Try this one! 

I have a LOT of videos and blog posts on our annual chalked event but this blog post breaks it all down for you, if interested!

This lesson is fun to show kids how to use stencils with chalk! Full lesson and artist reference included in this blog post (with video!).

Floating chalk prints is ALWAYS a huge hit! And this year, I did it with kindergarten. Independently! You can read the details here. 

Still want more?! I got you! Check out even more chalk pastel lessons here and have fun!