First day of school art projects

Hello! I am already seeing lots of posts in Facebook groups asking what to do in the first few days of art class. In this post, I will walk you through what I plan to do this year in my classes. This is very similar to what I have done in other years. First, I start all classes with basic introductions and talking about the room and art class. We go over the rules and expectations. I use a video … Read more... →

It is always tricky to have a finished piece of work after one lesson that is decent to put up in the main office area! Here is a quick display that everyone loved and the 3D aspect added greatly t…

All art students created a leaf on the first day of school. Each leaf was added to our classroom tree collage. Throughout the day my bare tree trunk transformed into a bright and colorful piece of collaborative art.

This week was our first week back and, boy am I tired! My class is great though...very inquisitive and eager to learn. They take their work seriously and are actively working most of the day. Who could ask for more?? We did quite a few things this week, but I want to share with you one "get to know you" project we did that really came out great. I seriously can't stop staring at it! I saw this pin on Pinterest. I love how it looks and thought it would make a great welcome sign. Now, on the…

The first days of school are always hectic and stressful. If this is your first year teaching elementary art it probably feels downright overwhelming. For me it is about getting to know my students, getting them comfortable with me, introducing rules, and giving them a quick drawing activity. I do it the same every year and it works great for me. I have 30-40 minute classes. I move very quickly through the following activities. I also have these steps outlined on the board, so that I don't…

I always like to start the year with a review of lines. Every grade level does a project that reintroduces all the different ways to make lines. By 4th and 5th grade, we are ready to turn those lines into something really amazing! These projects are partially inspired by the many "zentangle" lessons out there, but I don't actually teach the zentangle method. I have the students start with a line pattern and then fill it with doodles. We focused on contrast-making some areas dark, and some…