Tag: art

Art, On Being A Parent

Mother-Daughter Painting Activity

My daughter shows a fond interest in art.  She loves all things painting, coloring, molding, etc.  I really wanted to nurture that interest, and so we’ve started a new mother-daughter tradition: canvas painting.  The idea is: we each get a canvas, or share one, and paint art that conveys a message or theme we’ve been talking about.  We’ll display our art in my daughter’s room as a reminder of the experience we shared, and will switch up the wall displays with each new art adventure we take :).  Here is our first set of canvases: The Theme/Message: We chose to have a star theme.  “Reach for the stars” is the first quote that came to myContinue reading

An adorable, lovey-dovey Valentine's Day center activities package! Receive 6 fun center activities ranging in curriculum topics such as: Math, Science, Writing and Art. Each center activity comes with it's own instruction page, for absolute clarity. Your class will love showing their Valentine's Day spirit, while still learning with these creative activities.
Art, Centers, Cross-Curricular Connections, Teaching Ideas & Inspiration

Valentine’s Day Activities – Centers Package

We could all use a little more love right now; that’s why I’m excited to share my newest TPT package with you!  It’s a Valentine’s Day inspired center activities package!  Don’t want to set up centers? No problem! Use each activity as a morning Valentine’s Day activities/warm-up or as lessons on their own.  It contains 6 fun Valentine’s Day activities, with instructions.  Here is a closer look at the package: Center Activity #1: Each center activity comes with an instructions page, so that students can have a reference point when working on their activity. This activity gets students creating mosaic art!  They simply tear or cut construction or gift tissue paper, and label each pieceContinue reading

Art, Seasons, Teaching Ideas & Inspiration

Winter Art Activities

Finally, snow!  Last week (depending on where you live) we finally experienced some snowfall. Granted, it was probably very annoying for all the adults out there…but, it was exciting for kids!   So, I’ve been inspired to continue with my winter lesson series, and do a post all about winter art activities! Catching Snowflakes This is a great activity for kids to experiment with creating different patterns.  They have the added perk of creating another dimension with a snowflake to be glued on.  This activity would be a nice opportunity to use pastels, or even colored chalk, to give students practice with using different art tools. Snow Globes Isn’t there something about snow globes that isContinue reading

Book Corner, Resource Reviews, Teaching Ideas & Inspiration

Book Review: Ish by Peter Reynolds (with Activity Ideas)

*This post contains affiliate links for convenient viewing* If you’re looking for a book to uplift and inspire young students, then Ish by: Peter Reynolds will do just that! Summary: Ish is a story about a boy named Ramon who loves to draw.  One day his brother catches a glimpse of one of his sketches and mocks his work.  This causes Ramon to feel a sort of dread, which eventually causes him to give up on artistry!  But, all of his self-doubt comes to an end when he notices that his little sister has created a gallery of all his crumpled up art papers.  He realizes that his work is a unique representation of the world aroundContinue reading

Art, Cross-Curricular Connections, Teaching Ideas & Inspiration

8 Wonderful Fall Art Activities

Fall is such an aesthetically beautiful season.  The changing colors, the cool winds that rustle the leaves and the harvesting of pumpkins and apples are among the joys of Autumn.  This is what makes Fall the perfect inspiration for some art activities.  It’s a great opportunity to present elements such as color, texture, line and shape.  Take a look at my favorite fall art activities below:   1. Yarn Trees   Doesn’t this look fantastic?  It’s a great activity if you want your students to do art work that goes beyond the typical 2-dimensions.  This yarn tree will literally pop out of the canvas and attract onlookers’ eyes.  You could use this activity to discussContinue reading

Art, Classroom Organizaion

8 Unique Ways to Display Student Artwork

Creating Art is a time for celebrating free thinking, creativity and workmanship.  Often times, when students complete an art piece they feel proud about it and want to display it.  Of course teachers love to display student artwork as a way to liven up their walls.  However, with time and experience that form of displaying art can get dull and predictable.  So, I present to you: 8 unique ways to display student artwork.  Your students will be thrilled to see their artwork this way! 1. Create An Art Mobile This is an awesome way to give your room some umph! An art mobile adds a 3D element to the work, and allows the artwork toContinue reading

Art

8 Ways to Teach Landscape Art

Landscapes are so beautiful to look at, which is why it is so great to teach your students how to recreate them.  There are so many artistic principles that can be taught through a landscape unit.  For example, you can create lessons around line, foreground & background, artistic messages, color representations and symmetry (to name a few).  Landscape art also ties in really nicely with a Social Studies unit on Urban & Rural communities.  Here are ways to teach landscape art. 1. Start with the sky: In this form of landscape art, the sky is the main feature.  So naturally, students plan out their landscape by first painting/coloring the sky.  I like the swirl approach,Continue reading

Reading, Writing

Biography Unit Ideas for Primary Grades

By grade 4, students are expected to be able to conduct some research, organize ideas and use their knowledge to create various pieces of writing.  What better way to facilitate these practices then by conducting a biography unit?  Biographies offer students many benefits, some of which are gaining a new perspective on their own life, while being inspired by the works of others.  Below are some biography unit ideas for primary grades. Before beginning this unit it is a good idea to have a discussion about fictions vs. non-fiction texts.  As well as, discussing how to write an engaging story/biography. For reference, you can look into a story writing unit and learn more about nonfictionContinue reading