Good Advice

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"Knowing the capabilities of your tools is the first step toward feeling pleased with your drawing." February, 1986, Marla Kantor, Instructor Magazine

As a teacher, the ultimate enemy is - time. So much to teach, so little time.

I'm glad I read this quote because I need to be reminded that kids need the opportunity to explore with their tools without regard to creating a beautiful product.

Power Tools!

When I find a small blow-dryer at a yard sale, I buy it!

In the classroom, we call them power tools and kids love the "power" to speed dry their art. Our rule is that the blowdryer must be kept on "low" to keep the noise down and also to keep the paint from moving if it's really wet.

Appreciation Walks

One of the best parts of my job is being in other teachers' classrooms and seeing firsthand terrific ideas for classroom management, lessons, and other fabulous tricks that teachers have up their sleeve.

When students finish their art, there is a plethora of choices a teacher has in deciding what will happen next. What should the students do? One of my favorite ideas is to have kids do an "Appreciation Walk".

Kids walk around the room once, quietly admiring the other students artwork and appreciating the hard work their fellow artists have put forth. During the appreciation walk, kids are told to keep their hands folded or in their pockets so they don't accidentally touch someones art or bump another student who's still working.

Art Lesson - Collage

Art Tip:

Wrapping paper is great for making collages bright and fun. (And it's inexpensive when found at the Dollar Store.......also known as the "teacher store" by some of my friends.)

Matisse inspired collages.

Students are given instructions to create a house and a tree using collage technique. Once they have a house and tree, they may add anything else their heart desires.

San Benito Elementary artists

Art tip

It's June! Perfect time to put a bag in a teacher's lounge with a note on it saying, "I'll take any old file folders you're no longer needing." You'll never have to buy "cardstock" again for making templates and other art projects. And teachers will love that their old materials are going to good use:)

Art Teaching Tip

Book Covers make wonderful "art mats" to protect desks and tables during art lessons. (Thank you Mrs. Brown.)
Your school probably receives free book covers from various vendors at the beginning of each school year. (Hint, if you can't find 'em, check your library.) They last forever, but be forewarned, kids will beg you to keep them for their own. Then after they've been used often, adults will want them too because they end up looking like works of art.

(Back of mats)(Front of mats)

These art mats have been used this year by kids at 5 different schools. That's more than 1,000 students!!

Art Teaching Tip

When students are painting their sky, they can turn their paper upside-down, so the sky part is on the bottom (closest to them). This keeps blue drops of paint from landing elsewhere on their painting because they won't have to reach across it to paint the sky.