I?ve been holding afterschool drawing classes for a few years now, and I?d love to share a few things that seem to be working pretty well. Whether you...
Turning a square into a cube is fundamental in learning how to draw with dimension. But for some reason, I often see students first draw the angled li...
Here’s another way to make a cardboard house. I made this one yesterday with a detachable roof, but gluing everything in place would make it nic...
This project may be more craftsy than artsy, but I keep finding that so many of my kids at the end of the day, just want to make ?stuff?. I … Re...
The idea of coloring with chalk over dried glue lines is not new to me, but trying it out on really large paper is. I loved how it let students …...
The credit for this super cute paper cat idea goes to an old Family Fun Craft book. I just worked out a few details about the size and materials, that...
My school holds an art fundraiser every fall, working with a company that places the student?s art on coffee cups, notebooks, key chains, you name it....
2 
I believe that many students are starting off the year with classroom projects about themselves. I thought this lesson plan that I created last last y...
This week I found a few great ways to use Woodsie Craft Picks to make some delicate little stick sculptures. If you cut off the little pointy tips, th...
My students love to draw cute animals with big eyes, so this guy should go over pretty well for my next Cartoon Drawing class. ? View and download Dra...
Metallic markers are great for adding a bit of ?highlight? to any drawing or painting. 1. Draw many large simple leaves that are overlapping and even ...
Here?s an idea for a fun and simple turtle painting. I experimented with the value of the blue background, and decided that I liked it much better whe...
Van Gogh?s art is famous for it?s texture and thick paint. My mini painting has the texture added first (with plaster) and paint applied afterwards....
Save all those clean packing boxes, such as for cereal and pasta, and you can make some really colorful collage roosters. For a lead in story, ?Farmya...
Here?s an idea for using leftover textured paper from a Coffee Filter Tree Collage. I don?t know about you, but I have a hard time throwing any of it ...
Here is a pretty simple way to draw a cow, starting with just some very familiar shapes. This one was done with crayon and watercolor, but white tempe...
So I made a very simple Z-shape sample dragon for my afterschool Clothes Pin Craft Class, only to turn around and see this creation by one of my 3rd g...
I started with one of my favorite poems, ?The Wise Owl? for this 2-page spread layout. 1. I really love the look of white on dark journal pages I have...
Here?s one way to draw a simple but very cute raccoon. I found it to work really well with kinder through 5th graders today. Bows and crowns and other...
I have to say that new art products available today sometimes make all the difference. These owls were decorated with poster markers and they just kin...
Drawing a tree on acetate and placing it over a collage of tissue paper keeps the drawing nice and smooth. I?d like to try it next with torn paper as ...
Here?s a recycled craft that was so popular, students came back today and asked to do it again. It took a little prep, but used a lot of old things &#...
Here?s another version of the Coffee Filter Collage I posted yesterday, with the addition of some textured grass at the bottom. The good news is that ...
An old supply of coffee filters has led to some crayon-resist watercolor experiments. I?ll be posting more about the results later, but meanwhile I?ve...
Are any studies of birds in your upcoming lesson plans? This profile drawing worked well for me the other day, and could be easily modified in all kin...
Lately I?ve been inspired by scrapbook artists and the layered-looking collages they often create. This project lets students get creative and colorfu...
This kind of simple landscape lets chalk pastels do what they do best ? make smudgy, soft colorful shapes. 1. Starting with an orange or yellow sheet ...
1 
A Scratch Art Drawing class calls for a different plan than a regular drawing class. Erasing is not an option, and I?d like the kids to focus on drawi...
If you want to help students break free from their tendency to make tiny art, ask them to make their subject matter touch the top and bottom of their ...
2 
If you?ve every tried painting on a paper towel, and enjoyed the way the color just soaks in, then you will love this project. Turns out that coffee f...
