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8 Simple Ways to Prep for the Upcoming School Year That Won't Ruin Your Summer
Prepare for the upcoming school year without sacrificing your summer with these simple, stress-free tips. From organizing your classroom to updating lesson plans and planning a welcome activity, these strategies will help you start the year smoothly while enjoying your summer break. Discover how to make the most of your summer and set yourself up for a successful school year.
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How to Respectfully say No to Excessive Requests as an Art Teacher
Art teachers often face numerous miscellaneous requests that can overwhelm their schedules. Learn effective and respectful ways to say no, maintain boundaries, and focus on your primary teaching responsibilities with our guide on how art teachers can manage extra requests in schools.
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Unlocking the Power of Arts Integration: Fueling Creativity and Learning
Discover how arts integration transforms education, enriching the academic experience and boosting creativity. Explore the myriad benefits of infusing art into traditional subjects, from enhancing academic performance to fostering emotional intelligence. Unleash the potential of your students as they paint a brighter, more colorful path to knowledge through art-inspired learning.
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Diverse Famous Artist Posters for the Art Room
If you're looking for a way to add color, creativity and rich art history into your art room, then I have the perfect visuals for you. Meet the Famous Artists Poster series, perfect to bring art history to life for art students of all ages. Your art room is about to become a living canvas as we showcase the work of some of the most celebrated artists in history, spanning various eras and genres. From the timeless beauty of Leonardo Da Vinci's Renaissance masterpieces to the bold, contemporary expressions of Jean-Michel Basquiat, we've curated a selection that's as diverse as it is inspiring.
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6 Fun & Engaging Self Portrait Lessons for Elementary Art
Self portraits can sometimes be a bit boring and stuffy for young artists, so I am sharing six super fun self-portrait projects perfect for elementary school artists! Get ready to dive into a world of colorful creativity where your students can create meaningful and engaging art that's all about them! 🎨✨
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10 Effective Ways to Foster Genuine Connections with Your Art Students At the Start of The Year
Discover 10 practical strategies to establish authentic connections with your art students at the start of the school year. From showing genuine interest in their interests and hobbies to creating and fostering a supportive environment, this blog offers valuable insights for art educators seeking a way to further connect with their students.
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Mixed: A Colorful Art Lesson on Expression and Emotions!
Looking for a fun, easy and engaging art lesson for students in grades k-5 that teaches students about color mixing but with a focus on SEL? This is the perfect arts integrated lesson!
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Watercolor Cityscape Art Lesson
If you're looking for a great lesson to start the year off with your elementary school students, I've got the perfect art project for you! WIth a focus on line, shape, unity, and repetition this watercolor cityscape lesson is great for all ages.
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How to Make Sensory Bottles for Adapted Art
Creating sensory bottles is one of the best projects to do at the start of the year in adapted art class. Here are the easy steps you can follow to create sensory bottles with your students.
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The Ultimate Adapted Art Supply List
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Y'aLL ReAdY fOr ThiS?? *cue up the 90's Jock Jams * No seriously, are you ready for the *Ultimate Supply List * for your adapted art class? After 15 years of teaching self contained adapted art, I have compiled a list of my go to supplies that can be used in many different ways. Oh and there's more good news: most of these supplies can actually be found at your local dollar store! Quick sidebar: If you are teaching a self contained adapted art class this year and are looking for help with HOW to go about navigating this class, I encourage you to head to my previous blog here, and you can also check out this blog post with some of my all time favorite art lessons to do in adapted class. Ok, let's do this!! The Ultimate Adapted Art Supply List * The first three sections of this list are made up mostly of items that can be found at your local dollar store. However, to make things easy, I went ahead and linked what I could to Amazon for convenience. I have also linked my favorite brands for the more traditional art supplies. Containers for Holding Supplies or Used for Printing * Muffin tins Sheet pans Salad Spinner Aluminum Casserole Pans Foil Plastic cups w/ lids Ice cube trays with lids Plastic Spray bottles Materials Great for Sensory Play * Cornstarch (for Oobleck) Food coloring (safer alternative to liquid watercolor) Shaving cream (or whipped cream for sensory play) Flour Dish soap ( Salt (salf resist for watercolor) Baking Soda (for fun experiments with vinegar) Colored Rice (sensory bin filler) Mini plastic animals or cars (perfect for sensory bins!) Kitchen storage rack (for Oobleck play) Chips & dip dishes (for sorting paper, materials or sensory supplies) Recycled Supplies* Bubble wrap (all sizes- for all the printing!) Cardboard (all the cardboard!) Cardboard egg cartons Styrofoam egg cartons Plastic containers (for sensory bottles) Cardboard tubes Materials to Add Texture * Dish brush with handle Loofahs Rolling pins Tooth brushes (use to splatter paint) Cotton Swabs Clothes pins (to hold small pieces of sponge) Plastic silverware Plastic combs Marbles Potato masher Kitchen utensils Garlic press Eye droppers Plastic Wrap Craft Sponges Squeegee Supplies From Art Distributors Kinetic Sand or Play Foam Sand Fun Foam Cloud Clay Model Magic Clay palm printers Texture Rollers Easy grip texture rollers Texture Scrapers Fluorescent Tempera Cakes Fluorescent Tempera Paint (tip: add white to each color to make them more opaque on black paper!) Squeezable paint brushes Kwik Stix Bingo Daubers Chalk Markers (great for drawing on transparencies or windows ) Contact paper Transparency Film Plexiglass sheets (for printmaking & painting) Standing Plexiglass (reuse those old sneeze guards from covid times) Adapted Scissors Large Pencils Clear Glue Empty Daubers (to add glue to) Pom Poms Craft Foam Googely Eyes Adapted Paint Brushes Textured Art Tools Whew! I know that seems like a HUGE list but honestly, I bet you already have many of these materials in your storage room. Stay tuned to learn more about how I use many of these materials for specific activities and lessons in my adapted art class. Embrace the mess and have fun! Cheers!
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How to Feel More Confident Teaching Adapted Art
Are you looking to gain more confidence in teaching adapted art? I'm here to help! Check out this blog to learn how to create a valuable, enriching and powerful adapted art program!
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10 Must-Have Books that Inspire Creativity!
If you've been following me for a while on Instagram, you know that I am a crazy Children's lit lover! How many pictures books do I have in my classroom AND in my own kids' rooms? The limit DOES NOT exist! Since recently celebrating Read Across America Week, I thought I would go ahead and share some of my favorite books to have in the art room- or in any space hoping to inspire children. Here we go! 1. The Art Lesson | Tommie DiPaola. Call it nostalgia, but this book has been one of my absolute favorites since my childhood. In fact, my aunt bought me this book when I was in kindergarten and addressed it to me, "The Real Artist" just like Tommie in the book. Cue the tears! This was the book that made me want to be an artist and ultimately an art teacher. Everyone needs a bit of Tomie dePaola magic in their classroom. You can buy it here. 2. Bridget's Beret | Tom Lichtenfeld This is such a sweet story about overcoming your obstacles and creative blocks and finding your creative spirit again! It also always helps when you read it WITH a beret to your students :) Grab it here! 3. Mixed: A Colorful Story | Arree Chung Such a cute book when teaching about color mixing, and a great moral to the story as well. An art room must have! Grab Mixed here! 4. Aaron Slater, Illustrator | Andrea Beaty Did this book make me cry the first time I read it? Yes. Do I see a bit of myself in the main character Aaron? Also Yes. Do I think our children need to read about a character who isneurodivergent? 100x yes. You can buy Aaron Slater here! 5. What do You Do with an Idea? | Kobi Yamada A beautiful story about staying true to yourself and your ideas no matter who supports you from the start. The illustrations are just breathtaking as well. Buy it here! 6. The Day the Crayon's Quit | Drew Daywalt A now "classic" in the classroom. A hilarious tale about crayons who have a real bone to pick with their owner and write him many letters to air their grievances. You can find it here! 7. Be a Maker | Katey Howes I absolutely LOVE the message of this book. Not only does the author encourage the readers to be a maker and explore their creativity- but she shows us how important it is to put your talents to use for the good of other! You can find Be a Maker here! 8. The Creatrilogy Series (The Dot, Ish, and Sky Color) | Peter H. Reynolds It wouldn't be an art room book list without The Dot and the rest of the Creatilogy trilogy would it? Peter Reyonlds' main character, Vashti, takes us along on her journey to find her creative spark to "just make a mark". Grab The Dot here! 9. Swatch, the Girl Who Loved Color | Julia Denos I feel as though Swatch, the main character in this book is an illustrated version of me. Swatch, the color tamer shares her love of color a little bit of chaos. The perfect book for a busy, colorful art room! Grab Swatch here! 10. Boxitects | Kim Smith This book is so inspiring, especially coming out of a 2 year pandemic where my kid and I heavily relied on creating things out of cardboard to save our sanity in quarantine! Not only is the story really sweet but there is also several "how-to's" in using cardboard to create all kinds of amazing creations! This one is my son's favorite on the list! You can grab Boxitects here. Whether you are just beginning to build your art room library or are looking for new books to add to your classics, I hope you were able to find this list helpful! Keep creating and keep reading!
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