In the Art Room: Mini-Monochromatic Self-Portraits

Well, hello there. This big toothy grin is brought to you by our mini-monochromatic self-portrait project! Our first project of the new school year is a collaborative one. Each of my four hundred-ish students will be making a 3" square selfie to contribute to a large mural. Y'all might have seen the rainbow portrait mural that was all the rage on Pinterest a couple years ago (in case you missed, it's the same process as what I'm sharing here. When complete, the portraits are hung in Roy G. Biv order which makes for a beautiful display). The last time I did a project like this (back in 2012), we hung the pieces to create a large world map. This go-round I have something different in mind which I hope to have ready to share with y'all real soon. In the meantime, let's chat monochromatic self-portraits!

 I have my older students, third and fourth grade, for an hour. After watching the start of the video below, I allowed the students the choice of either participating in the guided drawing in the video or working on their own. My classes were pretty evenly split between those who preferred guided vs. independent. Some kids would draw along for a while until they felt comfortable then migrate to their chosen table (more on that in a sec) while others would decide they'd like a little guidance and join the kids on the floor.

Creating this video was great in that I could add vocabulary pop-ups when needed. I also think that the intro would work great with a variety of self-portrait projects. Feel free to show it in your art room, that's why I'm sharing it here! You can find many more videos like this on my YouTube channel. I add more videos weekly so if you subscribe, you can stay tuned. 

My third graders (seen above) were able to bust these bad boys out in no time. I had only one rule when coloring: only use colored pencils on the face. I learned from experience that the dark markers will often cover too much of the face and the kids lose their beautiful details. 

So, who did they know which colors to use? 

I color coded the tables! I told the kids that the table cloth signified which color was available on the table. Inside those plastic bins were markers and colored pencils of only one color. I also had mirrors and "idea sheets" (with a variety of faces and facial features) drawn on them.

So on the first days of art, the kids sat where they liked, no assigned seats. This gave me a chance to see who would migrate together and who would not be able to sit with their buddy (more talkie than workie means new seatie for sweetie). 

 AH!! First grade! Their selfies made me smile! 

 For the wee ones, we did a guided drawing activity. We spent one day learning about self-portraits and drawing them together.

I love this activity because it's such a great assessment of student skill level at the start of the year. It also is gonna make a super sweet mural that I can pop up on the walls right away. And, who doesn't love a selfie? Especially when they are this cute. 

Love to hear what y'all are doing for these first weeks back to school! 

In the Art Room: My Favorite Sub Plans!

DISCLAIMER: I am offering these lessons, handouts and videos to you for free. PLEASE do not take my lessons and sell them. Because that would be super crappy of you (yes, someone is doing this. Yes, they are super crappy). Thank you.

Going to NAEA in Boston next week? Need some sub plans? Y'all, I got you COVERED! Today I'm sharing my favorite VIDEO sub plans and my tips and tricks to planning for being out. There's nothing like the amount of WORK you gotta do just to take some time off. I'm here to make your life a little easier, I hope. So, without further ado, my Top Ten Sub Plans!

Let me just start by saying that the sub plans I am sharing were created for my kindergarten through fourth grade kids. I ALWAYS make a lesson that's age appropriate for all my classes. This makes my prep life so much easier and the life of the sub all the better. For more tips and tricks, check out this video!

Lessons like this require a lotta prep. Yeah, I will be keeping it much easier this time. More about how I prep for a sub can be found in this blog post. 

1. James Rizzi Cities! This sub plan was a huge hit with all of my kiddos. They started it while I was away and I was able to easily slide back in to a low-mess/low-stress project for them to continue. Lesson, handouts and video can be found here!

 2. Loud Mouth Collages! My kids thought these were the most fun ever...while I thought they were the most funniest ever. Complete video lesson and plans here!

3. A Colorful Village! Again this is another lesson that the kids work on while I'm away and we finish up with oil pastel and watercolor when I return. Easy, fun and super colorful. Video and lesson here! 

4. Chris Uphues Inspired Hearts! Who doesn't love Chris Uphues and his happy artwork?! My kids love learning about him. I've not only got a video lesson but I have a short clip of an interview I did with Chris and his wife Jen. More here!

5. I am a Super Star! This lessons is so fun...it really incorporates so much, from mixed media to literacy to a good ole boost to the self esteem! I DID ask the sub to make the stars for the kindergarten before they arrived because I'm not that crazy. Lesson here! 

6.  Collage Monsters! Another fun lesson that the kids really enjoyed. This one required more prep than most, just an FYI. Complete details and video here!

 7. Kerri Ambrosino-Inspired Still Life! Need a pop of colorful happy for spring? Try this sub plan on for size. So fun and we busted out the PUFFY PAINT! Lesson here. 

8. Wings Mural! I know, you've seen it a thousand times...but the lesson originated here! The feathers were created while I was out on jury duty, I believe...and then we assembled it when I returned. Lesson and video here. 

9. Britto-Inspired Collaborative! I love having the kids work on collaboratives when I'm out. It means we have a big beautiful work of art to hang when I return! Lesson video and details all right here! 

10. Monochromatic Self Portraits! Lastly, here's a lesson that's always a hit: monochromatic self portraits. We love hanging these in rainbow order for a beautiful display. Have your kiddos follow along with me in this video! 

There are PLENTY more lessons and videos on my YouTube channel so be sure and give those a glance if none of these strike your fancy. And be sure to subscribe, I upload videos and content all the time. If you are gonna be in Boston, see you there! 

In the Art Room: Monochromatic Selfie Mural

Oh, y'all. Murals. Every time I have the kids create the pieces for one I think to myself: THIS HAS GOT TO END. The crawling on the floor, the hot glue burns, the accidental stapling of flesh (in my thigh? For real tho?). Then I hang it up and immediately forget the pain and suffering. I just stand back and absorb the awesomeness that is the work of my wee artists. 

Like awww, y'all. These selfies created by my first through fourth grade students (with about a dozen missing as they still have some finishing up to do) are just about the best thing ever. And it already has me plotting and planning our next collaborative project. Because I'm a glutton for punishment. 

In case you missed it, we started our school year with a monochromatic self-portrait project. You can see the finer details here. The above is the video that I shared with the kids. 

And here is a look-see as to my set up. The covered tables signify the colors available at that table. The kids could use any ONE color they wanted (which meant for that first day, they sat where they liked) but if a table was filled up, then move along, Little Doggie. On the tables there were two bins filled with markers and colored pencils of one color in a range of values. There were also mirrors on each table. 

At the end of the first week, I had a stockpile of these lovelies that I organized by color. Initially I was going to do something COMPLETELY different with these selfies. However, tried as I might to make the idea work (I was going to make a big ole peace sign), it just wasn't coming together. So I shelved the idea, allowed myself to let it go and I flipped my flop... 

And went with this idea instead: The Many Faces of J.E.S. 

Our students have a STONG sense of school pride. They are happy kids who truly love their school. Our school colors are yellow and blue. I think they are gonna totally dig this mural when they see it tomorrow!

But, like I said, the gluing, mounting, plotting and planning is what completely wears me out. I did this on a Sunday just so I could knock it out with plenty of uninterrupted time. And so no child could witness giant extension cords and hot glue guns on the ground. Is it any wonder why I am so accident prone? I set myself up for disaster. I truly am my own biggest enemy!

Next up: kindergarten still needs to create selfies. AND I had the posters that the kids created in this post laminated. I can't wait to hang them up alongside this mammoth masterpiece. 

I'm also stoked that this is up two whole weeks before Open House! Now I just gotta get three grade levels of Dot Day artwork up...whew. That outta be a good time. 

In the meantime, I'll just be hanging out with some colorful kids.

Who are so uniquely different. I love seeing the variety of creativity!

By the way...I may be a little spotty this week as I'm having a ROOT CANAL tomorrow. Be thinkin' of me y'all. And floss. A lot.

20 of My Favorite School-Wide Collaborative Projects!

Collaborative projects! Collaborative projects are one of my favorite things. I love them at the start of the year and the end. I love doing them with the whole school or just a grade level. I love using songs, themes, artist-inspiration...you name it. I just love collaboratives!

We've done a TON over the years and I thought I'd put them all together in one big ole blog post. So, here you go: my 20 Favorite Collabortive Projects. Be sure and click on the links, many of these have how-to videos. 

Check out this blog post on how we created several canvases in this style for our school and the school library!

Students worked in table teams to create these positive four-letter words to describe our school! 

Here's a simple, fast and fun project using clothes pens, paint and words that describe who we are!

A fun mural based on the book You Be You was created by nearly all of my students. You can learn about the process of creating our fish here. Read all about the making of the mural itself here!

Another book we used for inspiration is the book by Todd Parr called It's Okay to be Different. You can check out how we created these collages here!

The Our School Has Heart mural was a piece with a contribution from each student in the school. You can see the breakdown of who created what in this blog post. 

Our clay collaborative mural is a bright and shiny beauty that hangs in a prominent place in our school. Each student contributed something to this piece...you can read more about the process here. 

One year, we created a Village of Kindness as apart of our art show! Each student upcycled a milk carton that our cafeteria queen cleaned in the dishwasher. The students made little doors that opened and said kind words to those who peeked inside. Students worked together to create the landscape on the bulletin board. 

I love to do collaboratives at the start of the school year. I especially like ones where students celebrate our school and that set a postive tone. That was the idea behind this collaborative!

Another fun way to start the school year is with some selfies! We've created them for a monochromatic mural. You can check out the video here. 

Inspired by the artist Romero Britto, this mural was created by my students when I was out for jury duty! My sub just played the video and when I returned, I assembled the mural!

A collaborative mural that definitely made the rounds was this one! The kids loved creating the feathers and it was a beautiful thing while in the hallway but I will say...it was a lot of work to assemble. All the details here. 

My fourth graders created this collaborative one year that lives at the front entrance of our school. We even 'wrapped' it for Christmas and brought out admin out for them to unwrap it as it was hung on the wall of our school. 

We kicked off this school year with our What a Wonderful World collaborative mural. Details and video tour here. 

Here's another look of our school mural. Above that, you'll see our Learning for All collaborative!

During our field day one year, my students rotated through many art stations. One of them was this alphabet and number series. My librarian requested them and we just love how they turned out. Click here to see them framed and hung in our school library. 

Much like our monochromatic collaborative, this map collaborative was created with a self-portrait of each of my students! 

We are the tigers at my school so we do tiger-themed artwork every so often. This mural was created by first graders of all of their tiger drawings. You can find a how-to video right here!

In table teams, my third graders created a Rizzi City inspired by the artist James Rizzi. 

One year, we did super-sized works of art inspired by Andy Warhol and Vincent van Gogh! When these came together, they were stunning. All the details can be found here.