7 Tips for teaching art to kids

So you want to sling paint with kids?

Thinking of starting your own class?

Or possibly you just have a houseful of kids bouncing off the walls and you want to channel that energy!

Here are some bits of wisdom from years in an elementary classroom and teaching art.

1. Do your homework. This means time on Pinterest, blogs, reading books, at the library or book store....ect. 

Here are some good sites: 

www.artsonia.com was my go to site when I taught 2nd grade before the Pinterest revolution came about lol

Here are my go to blogs:

www.deepspacesparkle.com
www.sleepyheaddesignsstudio.com
www.splishsplashsplatter.com

Some of my favorite idea books:

Art Lab
Collage Lab
Doodles Unleashed
Art Projects from Around the World

2. ALWAYS try to project out before. This is more for teachers. Not only is it good for the students to see a finished product but you will know the steps it took to make it. I've tried out several paintings that I realized would be better suited for a younger group or once I have an advanced class.

If you are just doing art at home with your own crew it may be an adventure to try out an art project together. Kids will benefit so much from seeing that creating is a priority and making memories doesn't hurt either!

3. Creativity blooms when you are around others who inspire you. My soul sista and I shoot each other texts all the time of whatever we are working on and get together to work on our various projects. It's also good to have people that will give you an honest "professional opinion". Especially if you are like me and can't choose between Warhol, Haring Thiebaud or Johns for the Pop art lesson. Decisions, decisions.... 

They also can double as a photographer when their kids are in your class. Here I am, 4 months pregnant demonstrating the fine art of spiderweb drawing. 

4. You don't have to have expensive materials. Kids just love to create. Period.  My first several years of teaching I had a paltry supply of half empty water color trays, soft pastels, tempera paint and whatever the kids happen to have in their desks that we created masterpieces with.

Here is a Monet inspired lily pads a 2nd grader did only using markers and spraying it with spray bottle of water.
Seriously.
Anyone can do that.

5. Start out small. If you are taking a bold step and doing your own class, wanting to incorporate it more in your classroom or just have the desire for it to be part of your family culture, you don't have to go all out at first. By starting small you figure out what works and what needs improvement. That's why my first summer I only taught on Tuesdays to allow time to reflect between classes.

If you are a teacher find an art project that goes along with something you are doing in science. For example, do a collage of the water cycle and chunk that boring worksheet in the trash!

If you want to do art with the family dedicate one day a month to art. Visit a museum, find an artist you like, get some books from the library and be inspired together! Here is my son admiring his Aunt Afryka's personal favorite by Maxfield Parrish at Crystal Bridges Museum. 

Norman Rockwell is always a hit because his work can vary from hilarious to extremely deep. Could make for some interesting discussions. Here is a drawing that one of my 6th grade students did when he found his favorite Rockwell work.

6. Realize that art is a process and products don't have to be perfect. Kids know this more than adults because we have been trained to strive for perfection. As long as they had fun and learned a thing or two, then I call that a success.

7. Have fun! When my 2nd graders would be cleaning up after a collage project (because those tended to be the messiest) they'd say "Wow! We made a mess!" I would always respond that messes were evidence of fun :)

Summer Preparation

In most areas of my life I am pretty good at winging it.

Teaching and grocery shopping.....not so much.

I had been plotting, planning and pinning all year long but our second son was due in March, so I wanted to see what kind of baby he'd be before I set ANYTHING in stone. After enduring 2 years (and counting) of my first son's horrible sleeping habits, God knew we needed a chilled out kid. By May, it was pretty evident this kid was laid back and would be able to handle a few hours away from mom/milk source for a few hours.

Our newest sweetheart, Griffin ❤

Here is just a sampling of the all prep work that goes into summer classes.

The books:
Not gunna lie. I could spend thousands on teaching idea books. I love Pinterest but there is something about flipping through, dog earring, circling, feeling those pages, that a screen will never do for me. 

period. 

Since I didn't have to buy near as many supplies as I did last summer, I splurged and bought several idea books. Here is a few of my favorites!

A great resource for books you should check out is paperbackswap which is an online book club that is free and super easy to use. I've traded easily over 50 books the last 3 years. All you are out is postage which the last time I checked it was around $3 with USPS to ship a book.
And who doesn't love getting fun mail?

I sure do! 

Heck of a lot better than getting bills!

The notes:
I have a basic class idea note ongoing in my phone at all times but when I want to get a "lesson plan down" I scribble, jot, cross out, draw arrows, over and over and over.....

Then the inner elementary school teacher comes out in me and types it all up with small sample pictures and supply list for each day. Thankfully my days of turning lesson plans in to a principal has halted for the time being :)


The pins:

Digital hoarding is what my good friend Natalie calls it lol


The supplies:
Michael's runs a great sale on their canvas packs a couple times a year in their stores and I load up my little car when they do. Most of the other supplies I get through Blick, which as a mom with two little kids it is pretty nice just having all those goodies delivered instead of hunting all over the city for them or waiting on sales.

The shirts:
After having shirts made through vistaprint last year and not being pleased with the quality, I swore I'd stay local. I found a design I liked but it needed modifying to make it more artsy. After giving my sketch to one of my good friend's husband that works for Graphics Services Inc. in Fort Smith he came up with a design and had them ready for me in no time!

The helper:
Don't know if helper is the right word....but he sure is handsome!

Preparing for Warhol + lesson learned

As a former elementary teacher I am a big believer that the key to success is preparation. I always do a ton of researching (ahem pinning and blog hopping) and practicing the painting before I ever do a project with kids and I always have an example of what they will be creating. So to prepare for Warhol I used Transfer Paper (I'll explained in the Warhol post) and traced a picture of my sweet baby boy's face onto a canvas. Then went over my lines with sharpie.

Next I busted out the neon paint and neon paint pens. Have to admit, painting with a 20 month old and being 7 months pregnant is not for the faint at heart! 

And here is where we come to the lesson I learned. Tis' best to pick the face color FIRST and not last.... My poor child looks like Violet Beauregard from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!! I've got a blueberry for a son!!!! 

Bless his heart. He'll never forgive me....

Preparing for Thiebaud/painting with my cousin

In preparation for the next lesson I spent an afternoon dissecting Wayne Thiebaud's cupcake paintings having been unable to find a decent cupcake tutorial using acrylic. My cousin was down for a visit also, so I let her have one of my extra canvases and let her paint whatever she liked.

Here is what's cousin came up with. 

Looks good hanging in her Hawaiian themed room :)

Here are my cupcakes! 

Added a few finishing touches a couple days later. Hope the kids paintings turn out "sweet" too! 

The kids will do 3 cupcakes on a 2ft x1ft stretches canvas but this is on a 9x12 canvas board, what I do all my examples on because I'm just a tad bit cheap :p