Oil Pastel Organization

After four complete years of teaching I have finally figured out a way to sort my oil pastels in a way that will be easy to pass them out as well as store them. It should be relatively simple for my first through fourth graders to keep them organized as well - here's to hoping!

Here's the run down. I bought 6 jewelry sorters from Michael's which normally run $8.29 each ,which can be pricy, but I waited until they were on sale for 50% off and then used my teacher's discount on top of that for an extra 15% off. This brought the grand total of each container to $3.53.

Jewelry containers do go on sale for 60% off every once and awhile and if you can couple that with a 20% entire purchase (including sale items) then you can really get the most bang for your buck!

I bought these specific containers because the inserts are removable so I could really customize how I wanted to sort my pastels.

Each container has an attached lid with two small latches that ensure the lid is securely closed, which will help prevent any spills while students are passing them out. I love how easily they stack as well!

Art Room Tour 17-18!

Every year I have changed the layout of my tables/teacher desk trying to find the most efficient use of space is a smaller sized art room. This year I may have found a winner!

Other new things in my room include: the pencil above my desk with my name on it and the color coded paint cans hanging from the ceiling (LOVE these).

Another brag moment: I FINALLY organized my how-to-draw books with labels and stickers. Now heres to hoping they stay this organized all year long ;)

Still on the to do list: Get rid of those tired elements and principles posters and come up with/find some that are more elementary friendly. Have any suggestions for me? Please comment!

On to the pictures...

Check out the FREEBIES section of my blog to download your own watercolor rules, hand washing, and paint brush washing posters.

If you have any questions about anything you see, ask in the comments and I'd love to give you the info!

Watercolor Center

In my elementary art room watercolors are a staple. We use them all the time, so I have a counter dedicated in my room to the watercolor center.

It has always been a challenge to get the students to clean up their tray the way I want, so I created this poster as a guide! 

Not only does this show how I expect the trays to look at clean up, but it also reminds my students of the few watercolor rules I am constantly going over.

Here is a little more information about how I set up my watercolor center:

I started with these 6 trays, one for each table in my room.

On each tray I put some paper towel so students can blot off extra water.

In the middle of the tray is a large bucket. I have the old round tubs that Crayola Model Magic used to come in

- similar to what is pictured below-

but any large, sturdy plastic container will do. Another great choice is Folger's coffee containers.

On one side of the bucket I have four brushes, one for each student at the table.

On the other side are the two watercolor trays.

In my room they have to share the paint tray with the person sitting next to them.

This helped me cut down the initial cost of buying all of the 16 count sets. I couldn't stand the basic 8 colors - not enough variety for how often we use these!

Now I just buy the refills and have even rearranged the colors to be in rainbow order to help my younger grade levels find what they need.

Don't forget to complete your watercolor center with your very own rules poster! Download your own copy for FREE here.

Poster Freebies!

Here are some posters/signs I have created throughout the years that I am finally getting around to uploading! Enjoy and let me know what you think :)

Click here.

Click here.

BINGO Game

I've worked extremely hard on creating this BINGO game to use as a sub activity, especially on those last minute absences. Easy for any adult to run and fun for all ages! Head on over to my TpT Store to check it out and purchase a copy for your own art room :)

 

  

Click here!

Georgia O'Keeffe Landscapes

Third graders are starting their landscape unit with a focus on Georgia O'Keeffe's work. Here is a preview of the lesson.

Look forward to the full lesson write up in my TpT store coming soon!

Kindergarten Curriculum Outline

Check out this new edition to my TpT Store! Grades 1-4 coming soon.

Click here.

Throw Kindness Like Confetti Bulletin Board

Just a simple placeholder bulletin board while I get some artwork ready!

I love using inspirational quotes.

Fourth Grade Painted Paper

Fourth graders were working hard today on their patterned painted papers! Each table got a different set of colors to use with a variety of scrapers for adding texture. These papers will ultimately turn into the background of their color wheel project.

I will post the final results with the color wheel 'eyeball' glued on top when complete!

Illuminated Letter Lesson Plan

Purchase and download my version of illuminated letters inspired by medieval art and The Book of Kells. I ran this lesson with fourth grade and I don't suggest going any lower since you are working with sheets of metal which can be sharp.

The 8 page booklet includes three handouts created by me: a design inspiration handout, the frame template required, and an extension activity as well as instructions and a list of materials.

Check it out over at my TpT store!

'I Can' Statements Download

Another TpT document available!

Previously in my room I used laminated pieces of paper to write my I Can statements for each grade level. It has become increasingly annoying to get up on the ladder to clean them, then re write based on the new project.

I have created 8.5x11 printable I Can statements for all my projects through out the school year. Most of these are very broad and can probably be used in your room. However, in the download I have included a word doc as well so the files can be edited!

FYI, the font I used is called 'throw your hands up in the air'.

Next is to print them, add the color coded border, laminate, and use for years to come!

To purchase this resource head on over to my TpT Store!

4th Grade Artist Statements

Here is another post on teacher evaluation for you!

As my previous post mentioned, a standardized/concrete measure is required of all teachers. This falls under Indicator of Academic Growth and Development (IAGD) #1.

Now I will touch upon what is required of IAGD #2, the non-standardized assessment. The success of this goal is measured based upon a rubric. In the past, my focus area has ranged from critical analysis of an artwork to self portraiture. This year I am focusing on artist statements with my fourth graders!

The slightly confusing part of it all is that these two IAGDs should work together to support one larger, broader Student Learning Objecting (SLO) that works to support our school wide goals. Our school wide goals happen to be the 4C's:

Creativity

Collaboration

Critical Thinking

Communication

(oh and a new one this year) Character

Pretty easy to connect anything I do in my art room to AT LEAST one of those!

My SLO this year: ​Students in 4th grade will develop excellence in communication by conveying meaning through the presentation of artistic work. (VA:Pr6)

In order to further support our content area I threw in which specific National Standard I am using. (Presenting, Anchor Standard 6)

On to the freebies!

I have been working on some documents to guide my 4th graders along through the process of writing an artist statement. Included in the PDF is also the rubric I created to grade them.

Hope this was at least a bit helpful to you as we all try to figure out and manage data collection in the art room!

These are only previews. Download the full version (for free!) at my TpT Store.

Color Theory Pre and Post Test

As part of teacher evaluation I am expected to collect data within my art classroom. My standardized (concrete, measurable) goal has dealt with color theory over the past three years. Here are some of the tests I have created for my students in grades 2-4. I hope this helps you on your journey through data collection in the art room!

  

These are only previews. Download the full versions (for free!) at my TpT store.

Bulletin Board Dump

Here are a few of the bulletin boards I have created so far this year!

I hope that these help to inspire you in your own creations :) 

What I did this summer!

Hello all, I hope you had a restful and exhilarating summer! I myself traveled to Europe for the first time ever. Needless to say it was exciting. When I got back from my vacation I painted a staircase to the entrance of a local middle school as well as some old, unused lockers. This middle school is an Arts Magnet Middle School, so on the lockers I painted in the style of a few famous artists. I did not finish my task, and will be sure to post the final installments upon completion! Here is what I did complete:

The remaining artists include: Piet Mondrian, Romero Britto, Vincent van Gogh, and Roy Lichtenstein.

Artist Map Bulletin Board

In my art room I have the following bulletin board to use as a reference when I introduce a new artist to my students.

My students absolutely love it! They are often shouting out 'I can see him on the map, wow he's close/far!' It helps them make connections to the artists by seeing where they are from, when they lived, and what they look like.

The map is always growing as I add new lessons with new artists. Currently I have 15 different artist cards created (only 14 are hung up this year). If you would like to implement this map into your own classroom I have put the download file on my TpT.

My cards are also color coded by grade level learning about them. The colors are the same as the 'I Can' statements for each grade level. K-Yellow, 1-Orange, 2-Blue, 3-Green.

Some artists are discussed in more than one grade level, but I haven't figured out a great way to change the border color so it still appears cohesive. I'll figure it out eventually!

Corduroy Lesson

I finished this project back in March and finally have gotten around to getting a lesson plan pdf ready for you all if you'd like to bring a little Corduroy into your own Kindergarten classrooms.

The download includes everything you will need to run this lesson with your students, including: tracer templates, materials list, an extension activity and even national art ed standard connections.

Head on over to my TpT to purchase this 10 page booklet for yourself!

Cellphone Wallpapers

On this lazy Sunday I felt like designing some new wallpapers for my cellphone. As I have an iPhone 6, the dimensions work best on that phone, but can of course be modified when you set up on your own device. Hope you enjoy them and they help you to keep art in your heart!

Drag to your desktop or right click and save!