Whether you are a brand new teacher preparing for your first art class or an experienced art teacher looking to change things up, knowing what to do on the first day of school can be challenging. We all have questions: Do you create art right away or do you establish a management plan? You may wonder what projects to do or what supplies to prep. This episode offers a few ideas to think about as you start to plan for your big day back.
Download the First Day of Art Class Freebie and Back to School Guide, and start planning your awesome week!
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
- How deciding what you want your students to experience when they step into your art room is a great way to begin your year
- What painted paper is and how children can have fun with it.
- Why I created student portfolios and the best system on how to do this.
- How line drawings can be used as a project technique (and may be the most effective one)
- How self-portraits can be a great option for demonstrating student improvement in art throughout the year
LISTEN TO THE SHOW
DOWNLOAD THE FIRST DAY OF ART CLASS FREEBIE
Download our back to School Guide | Resources to help kickstart your art program.It’s a 3-part strategy on how to use the Elements of Arts when planning your art curriculum including ordering supplies, a grade level checklist for the scope and sequence of K-7 Elements of Art and What I’ll Learn in Art Class posters.
SHOW NOTES
PDF – First Day of Art, with lessons and resources
AME:013 Scoping the Sequencing on Portrait Making
Managing Artwork with Student Portfolios
Watch this video to see how to make painted paper

Awesome! I am a first year Art teacher and am on my own. This was so very helpful! Thank you.
The download I got was art teacher toolkit. Is that the one for the first day of school?
No. Perhaps you subscribed to both? I just tested the link and it send the correct PDF. Try again and if you receive the wrong PDF, just contact support@deepspacesparkle.com and they’ll help you out. 🙂
I received the PDF download, great ideas but not able to upload the 35 min video of AME:063. Please advise.
Thank you !
You can listen to the show via your desktop or download on your iPhone. I don’t know if you can upload the audio file. No one has ever asked!
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Particularly appreciated your sharing the importance of keeping calm with a calm environment. Awesome advise. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much Patty! I am nervous about the first day of Art class which will be in a week and this lesson was absolutely essential for me! I am re thinking the first day project. I am a grandmother who loves art and volunteered last school year and loved it even with all the ups and downs! So…….here goes another year, but now I have so many tools with DSS!!
I can’t do it without being a Sparkler!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I teach art in a homeschool co-op. I love the idea of portfolios, especially because I’d like to have an art show this year; but my parents really enjoy seeing what their kids are making each week. Do you have any ideas for me?
Thank you Thank you!! You guys are wonderful!! Your back to school pages are very helpful!!
Simple stress free lesson for beginning of school. Thanks for the free ideas and I have already begun putting them in action.