Resources & links for making art at home

Drawing:

My students' favorite drawing tutorials:

https://www.artforkidshub.com/

More drawing resources (thanks to Avery!)

https://seatup.com/blog/sit-down-and-draw/

And dice drawing games (roll the dice to see what to draw!):

https://deceptivelyeducational.blogspot.com/2011/12/build-bug.html

https://i0.wp.com/www.secondstorywindow.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/monsterdraw.jpg?ssl=1

http://holderbaum.educationextras.com/LegoActivities.html

For young comic book artists, this illustrator has blank comic book panels & activity sheets:

https://jarrettlerner.com/activities/

Fun zentangle/op art ideas:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs023/1101168872594/archive/1103991260417.html

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/aa/c3/0a/aac30ab38fb59341ec353d83538e6725.jpg

Origami:

https://www.origami-fun.com/origami-for-kids.html

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/origami-for-kids-4162883

Clay:

Homemade play dough recipe:

https://domesticsuperhero.com/best-homemade-playdough-recipe/


Pottery app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.idreams.potterylite&hl=en_US

Collage:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/16/95/a4/1695a4d200f9d1bc401d96e6236f64fa.jpg

Painting:

https://www.smallhandsbigart.com/abstract-scraper-painting/

Sculpture & Design Challenges

https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/62002/kids-craft-paper-boxes

https://frugalfun4boys.com/engineering-challenges-clothespins-binder-clips-craft-sticks/

http://colorforeveryone.blogspot.com/2014/05/gesture-drawing-and-foil-figures.html?m=1

https://onelittleproject.com/beaded-pipe-cleaner-people/

https://artfulparent.com/3-d-art-sculpture-ideas-kids/

THE SHAPE OF MY HEART Valentine's Mobiles

Kinder and 1st grade students decorated these sweet streamers after reading THE SHAPE OF MY HEART. I copied heart templates on colored copy paper to make it an easy one day project. They were excited to use these to decorate their classrooms for Valentine's Day.

Older students, in 3rd-5th grade, learned to make a simple one string mobile using 6 x 6" construction paper squares and yarn. They folded two pieces of paper together and cut a heart on the fold. I also showed them how to cut "heart rings" and increasingly smaller hearts to use on their mobiles. They simply glued them "like a sandwich" on either side of the yarn. They made every variety of mobile, from large to small, and some student experimented with other symmetrical shapes.

THE RAINBOW BOOK & Rainbow Mosaic Collage

This was the second rainbow project I did with Kindergarten to reinforce the order of a rainbow. Reading THE RAINBOW BOOK also gave us chance to talk about the way colors can relate to feelings.

After a demonstration on the document camera students began by folding, drawing and cutting a heart for the center of their collage. I always ask students to check with me before cutting since hearts can be tricky! Then, students used strips of paper from orange to purple to cut into different shapes for their mosaic. We reviewed rainbow order and also talked a bit about symmetry. I love the way each student interpreted this differently, but all the variations were beautiful and successful. I'm publishing these on ARTSONIA as my Mother's Day fundraiser.

Animals

I love these magical animals created by 1st and 2nd graders! We started by looking at animals in art, including "Cat and Bird" by Paul Klee and the many Blue Dog paintings by George Rodrigue.

Day 1 we read THE CAT AND THE BIRD, by Geraldine Elschner which was inspired by Klee's painting. What a great idea for a book! To get started I used instructions on how to draw a simple cat from Kathy Barbo's wonderful website, Art Projects for Kids. We looked at how to use basic shapes, beginning with a circle for the head, to draw a variety of animals. The first day they drew with pencils then outlined with sharpies.

Day 2 we read WHY IS BLUE DOG BLUE, by George Rodrigue, then they went to work adding color to their animals using crayons. Day 3 we looked at more examples of Blue Dog with various backgrounds, then used tempera cakes to finish the backgrounds.

Finally, on Day 4, students wrote titles and descriptions for their animals, which they loved doing! For kids who really struggled with writing I transcribed for them.

Leprechaun Traps

This may be my students' favorite project of all time! I read them LOOKING FOR LEPRECHAUNS to inspire them to try trapping their very own Leprechaun to lead them to a pot of gold. Then I pulled out all the random items I had saved in my art closet- for example, the "ladders" are from my watercolor refills, the toilet paper tubes were saved by the custodians, and the "nets" are donated ribbons. Of course we needed shiny things to attract the Leprechauns. They had to make a plan and a "shopping list" before I gave them the okay to start building, and then the Leprechaun trap building began!

Each table got a roll of masking tape, and some students were able to build the entire thing with tape. I also hot glued for the students who needed some help. Students had the option to finish their work in one day or take a second day of art to complete the traps. They were all so excited to take these home and try trapping some Leprechauns this weekend- good luck kids!

Robot Collages

Students loved making these robot collages! They were inspired by the book, ROBOT ZOT! by Jon Scieszka,  illustrated by David Shannon.  They started by planning their shapes with the tissue paper- I had pieces pre-cut in squares and rectangles, and they cut smaller pieces out of those. They glued them on using glue brushes and liquid starch.

On Day 2 of this project we read another robot book, RABBIT AND ROBOT: THE SLEEPOVER, by Cece Bell. It was another book that had us all speaking in robot voices for the rest of class. They used black and metallic sharpie to add details to their robots, which really brought them to life!

NOT A BOX and cardboard sculptures

For the first day of this project I started by reading I SPY SHAPES IN ART, by Lucy Micklethwait.  This gives a good introduction to some 3D forms along with a review of 2D shapes in works of art. Each student then chose a large piece of cardboard or mat board as their base, and 2 or 3 geometric shapes I had pre-cut to start their sculpture. They used glue and glue brushes to attach the shapes- I reminded them to count to at least 20 to make sure they stuck. If their pieces wouldn't stick I hot glued them.

For the second day of the project we read NOT A BOX, by Antoinette Portis. My Kindergarten students LOVED this book and the follow up, NOT A STICK, which we read earlier this year. They also had time to add more shapes to their sculpture and paint their sculptures with tempera cakes. Some students added details with markers, string or construction paper too.

 

They were so creative- here are some of their masterpieces on display:

Valentine's Day & Book Giveaway

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays in the Art room! This simple project starts with my own book, LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING, and is perfect for 1st grade and Kindergarten. I'll be giving away a copy of my book on Monday, 2/11/19- just comment below to be entered!

Here's the lesson. I begin by reading to everyone on the classroom rug:

Then I demo how to use origami paper to create a heart. Each class gets a different color so that when finished I can create a rainbow display in the hallway. Color coding also makes it easier to pass back art to students later ; )

I draw a big example of how to draw a heart on the fold, and have students check with me before cutting to avoid wasting paper. When they have cut their heart they can create a design, drawing, or message for someone they love using black felt tip marker. If there's enough time I let them make a second one to bring home.

 Sweet and simple!

Here's the beautiful display my volunteer made: