Many times I have heard other teachers saying, “somebody gave me a pile of this or that, what I am going to do with all this? “I was in a similar situation when a parent came to the classroom with a big number of flat pizza boxes, my first thought was also, what can I do with it? I have never rejected a donation, no matter how big or how small. I keep everything but I do try to use our bits and bobs as so
A fun lesson to learn and to have fun creating and experimenting with paper and lots of imagination. This lesson on paper construction is ideal for students to create, to experiment and to use their imagination working with paper. Students are encouraged to make flat shapes and lines, and to transform them into 3D shapes, by folding, gluing and fastening with staples or tape. It also offers the opportunity to create
Primary/Elementary/Early Childhood A fun activity to do at the end of the year or any time. Going for a treasure hunt in the garden is something young children love. My two and half years old granddaughter loves to come with me when I invite her to go for a treasure hunt, so this activity can be adjusted to different age groups. I found that wrapping around sticks with yarns is a meditative activity that results on t
Clay figurines inspired by a visit to the Metropolitan Museum NYC The inspiration for this project comes from the ancient Chinese figurines at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. At the Museum, I found so many things to be inspired by: people dancing, animals in a pen, animals/birds figurines and many more beautiful terracotta small characters. This is an easy and fun way to do clay modelling. Ideally the clay pieces sho
Multilayered Repetition Foam Print Time to think of greeting cards, gift paper and other goodies that can be made using these very easy and economical printmaking techniques. Printmaking is a great technique that can be done at home or at school. A printing block can be printed on different surfaces like paper, calico bags, paper bags, big sheets of paper to create beautiful gift wrapping paper and many other applica
Teaching Art on a Shoe String Here are some ideas that I’d like to contribute: how to source art materials in order to provide art experiences in the classroom with a small budget. Whether you teach, TAB or Direct Instruction, there are always teachers out there who struggle to get the necessary funds for their Art programs. I love to use recycled materials in my classroom. To find recycled materials takes som
Grouped desks Set Up for Painting and Drawing in the classroom by Raquel Redmond Room Set Up This blog entry provides ideas on how to make art teaching in the classroom possible without much fuss or mess. Art teaching can be made easier if students collaborate with teachers setting up for an art lesson and packing up after the lesson. Students enjoy being part of the process and love setting up a still life compositi
Great project inspired on the puppets of Paul Klee to do at home or in the classroom. Suitable for 10 to 15 years old students Paul Klee made 80 puppets with his son Felix, they used bits of fabrics from old clothes to cut up and to make the puppets costumes. With his puppets Paul Klee represented different characters from his neighbourghood. The teacher, the butcher, the baker were some of the characters represented
Rambunctious students are normally the most creative students. I find that the best kind of projects to do with rambunctious students are projects based on their personal interests. Another important aspect is to discuss their ideas, to help them to plan and to give them personal freedom to express. During our conversations, I first ask them what their ideas are and based on their information I facilitate t