Deep Space Sparkle Art Lessons for Kids
In a few weeks I will be giving a talk to my local SCBWI group (The Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators). I belonged to this group for ten years while pursuing my dream of publishing my middle grade novel. I LOVE this group. They are the most giving of people and the encouragement [...]
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What do homophones, homonyms and art have in common? Not much but the book, Cat Tale
In this single, subject lesson plan, children create secondary colors from primary colors without even using a paintbrush. Inspired by three adventure-seeking cats who spend the afternoon chasing words, including homophones and homonyms, this book bridges reading skills and art.
The book provides wonderful visuals to support their tongue-twisting adventure and offers art students the chance to explore shapes, movement and self-expression. Perfect for children in grades 1-3.
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I went to my local Indie bookstore a while back searching for a book to tie-in with my Valentine’s Day themed art lessons. I gravitated towards the sea of pink and red and searched for an appropriate book for my first and second graders. I was disappointed with the selection but to be fair, I [...]
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A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is a perennial favorite in art rooms. The text is simple yet it easily brings round memories of my childhood days in Atlantic Canada; cold, raw and filled with possibilities. My Southern California students have very little, if not any, experiences with snow. A few have gone on ski trips but I suspect that might be the extent of it. Still, with the help of this book, I show them that it is not always possible to wear shorts year round.
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Arlo Needs Glasses by Barney Saltzberg is about as cute as you can get when it comes to interactive picture books. My group of Kinders LOVED this book. We read the book before we created our own Arlo dogs. Because the book is interactive, it is difficult to expect the children to stay seated. They [...]
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Children’s books add so much to an art room. Not only do they provide wonderful inspiration for great art lessons but reading a book for 5 minutes can calm the children and create a lovely transition into an art lesson. Here are a few titles that will be transformed into art lessons soon…. 1. The [...]
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Paul Klee has quickly become one of my favorite artists to showcase in my art room. Purchasing The Cat and the Bird by Geraldine Elschner and Peggy Nille is a big reason for this excitement. It’s so much easier holding up an exquisitely illustrated picture book than coming up with my own powerpoint or dry explanation [...]
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Lois Ehlert’s book, Snowballs, is yet another inspiring book for elementary school art lessons. Instead of the featured snowmen, I gravitated towards the wonderful birds in birch trees. I created bird templates before for my “Pie in the Sky” art lesson and was excited to use them again. For those of you who don’t like [...]
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Drawing trucks is one of my most requested how-to-draw subjects in art class. I love the stories of the people who drive them, the cargo they haul and the best question of all…where are they going? Inspired by the incredible picture book,Trucks: Whizz! Zoom! Rumble! by Patricia Hubbell and illustrated by Megan Halsey, my fourth grade [...]
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A while ago, I stumbled across the most adorable children’s books. Do You Have a Hat? written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Geraldo Valerio features the hats of some very famous individuals: Goya, Lincoln, Carmen Miranda to name a few. It’s a great read for the classroom; funny, brief, historical and visually dynamic. Since the [...]
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Based on the books by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle, my What Do You See? Art Lesson booklet contains three adorable art lessons for the younger set. Children create their own painted paper for either a brown bear, panda bear or polar bear and use templates to create their own bear. Alternatively, the polar [...]
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Couldn’t resist creating an art project based on the book Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Beuhner. I read the story to my first grade students and then we got busy creating a dark night sky with either tissue paper skyscrapers or houses in the background. Mod-Podge kept everything in place and added a nice little sheen. [...]
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Barbara Jean Hicks is a beloved children’s book author from Port Hueneme, California. If you visit Barbara’s website, you’ll discover that she is not only a writer, but a lover of cats! I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Barbara recently and as a tribute to her adorable book Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli my first graders created some [...]
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Children’s picture books make the best art projects. Sometimes I use the illustrations for inspiration, other times, I read the book to the class and create an art lesson around it. If I read a book, it’s mostly fiction, but every now and again, a non-fiction book makes a perfect read-aloud. Here are my favorites [...]
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Art and Literature is a natural combination. Art lessons flow directly from the illustrated pages of the picture books and right onto the art tables. For this 23-page Art Booklet, I have chosen three beautifully illustrated books and created kid-friendly, classroom-tested art lessons for you to use. Each lesson has a supply list, photo-tutorials, gallery [...]
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