Hello and welcome! On my first post I'd like to share one of my favorite sayings - my adapted version goes like this: One who works with her hands is a laborer, one who works with her hands and head is a craftswoman and one who works with her hands, head and heart is an artist. I use all those skills on any given day in my art classroom.
As an Art teacher for over 20 years, I thought it was about time I paid it forward to all those wonderful teachers who are just starting out on their journey. I've been helped, hindered, mentored and inspired by many over the years! Above all, I LEARNED from them. I hope you take away ideas from me and share with others who will cross your path in the years ahead.
I plan to share lessons, tips on supply management, discipline ideas and whatever strikes my fancy on any particular day! I hope you will check in frequently - I would love to hear what you think of my ideas.
More Elementary Art Blogs
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Cute & Cozy "Kittens with Sweaters" Craft
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This is a super adorable cozy winter textile craft I did with a mixed class
of Kindergarten, Grade 1, 2 and 3 kids yesterday on my last day of school
be...
2 days ago
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Magnetic Building Blocks | Early Finisher Idea
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I wanted to share with you something that is sure to be a hit in your
classroom. These are some really fun magnetic building blocks my kids love
to build...
5 days ago
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Why Hopper’s paintings feel like a mirror to life.
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This month, we’re excited to introduce you to Edward Hopper. If you’ve
ever felt captivated by quiet moments in life, you’ll love Hopper’s art.
He mas...
5 days ago
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Travelling With Kids – 101 Ways to Save Money and Your Sanity!
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This year, my family and I did something that we had been planning for
years. A 3 month trip to Italy. It’s amazing how much planning went into
such a ...
2 weeks ago
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Tempat Beli Arang Aktif di Jakarta Semarang
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Daftar Isi
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How to Draw a Christmas Car
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Looking for a fast art project to do with your students? This cute
Christmas car is quick (two sessions at 45 minutes each) and full of art
techniques: s...
2 weeks ago
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Need Ideas For Winter Bulletin Boards?!?!
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Need ideas for winter bulletin boards?!?! Here are several I've done over
the years that might get some ideas cookin' for you! I don't do holidays
becau...
4 weeks ago
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Front; foreground & Distance; background
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TODAY WE ARE GOING TO CREATE A BEAUTIFUL FALL TREE.
THIS IS THE EXAMPLE FOR BACKGROUND
We will use the information we learned to created a muted backg...
1 month ago
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Pro Tips for Creative Pumpkin Carving
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Pumpkin carving is one of the most creative and fun traditions of the fall
season. Whether you're a seasoned carver looking for tips, or helping kids
carve...
2 months ago
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Middle School Mix-up!
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The first month of our *Middle School Mixed Media* class has flown by, and
it’s been an exciting journey watching the students grow as artists. We
starte...
2 months ago
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Olympic athletes
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You need:
1. scissors
2. glue
3. white drawing paper A1 size
4. cardboard in Olympic colors
5. compasses
Start this lesson with the ...
5 months ago
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Holton Mural
-
Last summer I had the opportunity to design and paint a mural representing
my hometown of Holton, KS. The mural is located on the side of the LaborMax
St...
9 months ago
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5 Tips To Make Art Assessment More Fun.
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Assessing your students’ art work doesn’t need to be a tedious and boring
chore. It should be dynamic, ongoing, inclusive and fun. This blog post
will guid...
1 year ago
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Seven Mind Mapping Tools to Try This Year
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Earlier this week a reader emailed me to ask for my suggestions for online
mind mapping tools for her students to use this fall. My preference is
often to...
1 year ago
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Happy Teacher Application Week
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Celebrating the Teacher Appreciation Week with a new lesson and a SALE May
3rd and 4th on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Animal Weaving Project
2 years ago
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Pictures from my last day at Dolvin
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I had the best celebration I could have ever imagined! Thanks to all the
students, teachers, and friends who made my retirement celebration so
special. I...
2 years ago
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Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Fro Yo Sandwiches
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Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Fro Yo Sandwiches
3 years ago
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Failure to impress at the Bahrain Grand Prix F1 race in 2021, this said
Mick Schumacher
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Haas team racer, Mick Schumacher, opened his voice after failing to impress
at his debut race in Formula 1 (F1) Bahrain GP, Sunday (28/03/21).
Mick S...
3 years ago
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Submit Your Work: Draw Your #TrueSelfie Challenge
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Let’s celebrate diversity! The newest challenge over at Doodle Addicts is
to draw yourself, whether it be a spot-on representation or a more creative
and...
4 years ago
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Dahlia's around the lamp post
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After a very hot summer my Dahlia's are in full bloom. This photo was taken
at the end of September.
4 years ago
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Live Art Class #8- Bunny Doodles!
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I hope you will join me Monday morning on my Facebook Page!
4 years ago
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Prints, 5th Grade
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These prints were made by my fifth graders. Students carved into styrofoam
and printed it four times.
This is the first year that I allowed them to exp...
4 years ago
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The New Plan
-
I have decided that full TAB is not my style. Although I have loved the
deeper conversations the kids are having about their artistic decisions,
the messy ...
4 years ago
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Line Paintings... In Progress!
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View this post on Instagram
Learning about #lines in @faystonschool #gradesoneandtwo after reading the
book #linesthatwiggle
A post shared by Nora (@art...
4 years ago
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DragonWing Arts Students 'Discover' Treasure!
-
Our theme for the fall DragonWing Arts session was Discover! My five
students (two 3rd graders, one 4th grader, one 5th grader, and one 6th
grader) did ...
4 years ago
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Mixed Media Gel Printed Fish Bowls
-
Here is a fun way to use your gel printed botanical pages to
create fish bowl or terrarium collages.
Gather some leaves - the greater variety of silhou...
4 years ago
-
Handy Work
-
It's intensely satisfying to make things with my hands: pie dough, needle
point, pencil drawing, painting a wall or a canvas, it makes no difference
to me...
4 years ago
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The Art, Math, and Science of Triflexahexagons
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I have wanted to try this lesson ever since *SchoolArts* published Phyllis
Levine Brown's article, *The Art, Math, and Science of Triflexahexagons*. I
f...
5 years ago
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Theme for Utah Youth Art Month 2019-2020
-
One of my adventures is promoting art education in Utah! We have a great
theme for 2019-2020. The flag contest entries based on this theme will be
du...
5 years ago
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New Season, New Website, and New Blog Look!
-
*Utagawa Toyokuni III (Kunisada I)*, *Girls in a Garden at Cherry Blossom
Time*. Triptych, color woodcut on paper, 14 5/8" x 30 3/8" (37.2 x 77.1 cm
overa...
5 years ago
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10 Watercolor Artists to Inspire Your Students
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When it comes to teaching watercolor, do you feel confident about pushing
your students’ work to the next level? Do you have your students split
their pa...
5 years ago
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Owl watercolor
-
Begin with a simple sketch of an owl. The eyes need to be an eye space
apart. The beak starts in between the eyes.
Next cover the background of the owl wit...
6 years ago
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into the deep with yellena.
-
I've loved the work of Yellena James for many years. 2 of her prints hang
in our living room and they are such a treat in terms of shape, pattern,
and subt...
6 years ago
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Vincent VanGogh
-
*Third Grade Artist Study:* After watching a video clip from Mr. MeMaio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj_gSVb_EMY&t=316s
regarding plant structures, we ...
6 years ago
-
Always Learning, All Ways Learning
-
Last Friday I used a Professional Practice Day to visit three art
galleries. First the wonderful Tin Shed Arts Gallery in Malmsbury, secondly
the Castlemai...
6 years ago
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Feeling The Georgetown Love
-
Well folks, the time has come to bid you good bye; I will hang up my
paintbrush on June 8th and begin my new job….Retired Art Teacher! Huge
thanks to my Ge...
6 years ago
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Drawing Horses!!
My co-worker and I asked for money to buy supplies to construct drawing
horses this year. My coworker was in charge of building the 3...
6 years ago
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Rainbow Spider Webs
-
My Grade 3s created these happy little spiders in rainbow webs inspired by this
activity on Artsonia by Gateway Elementary. This is a great activity for
...
6 years ago
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3D Printed Architecture
-
The blogging community is a wonderful source for ideas. It's one of the
reasons I started blogging in the first place. Through reading blogs, I
found many ...
6 years ago
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Hi Blog Readers!
-
Hi readers! I am back with a few new blog posts. It's a new year and with
that, I've signed up to get my Master's +30 at Fresno Pacific University.
I a...
6 years ago
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36 hours left to vote
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We have 36 hours left to vote for the You Be You ArtPrize entry.
https://www.artprize.org/66018
7 years ago
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Don't Let the Pigeon Make a Print
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I closed out the 2016-2017 school year with an ode to Mo Willems and his
fabulous "Pigeon" series of books. A favorite in our school, just about
every ...
7 years ago
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Dot Day Audition
-
A short walk from school we have a wonderful park overlooking the Pacific
Ocean. In that park is a bush I think of as "the polka-dot bush" just
waiting to ...
7 years ago
-
Family Responsibilities Narrative Drawings
-
Inspired by Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout by Shel Silverstein, first graders
illustrated their family responsibilities. We brainstormed a list of chores
and o...
7 years ago
-
Back to School Art Bulletin Board
-
Here's a great back to school bulletin board for the art room. You can find
it ab the blog: Young. Art. Love.
7 years ago
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Color Theory Leaf Paintings
-
I've been working on different ways for my 5th grade students to
collaborate in the art room. We discuss how every child's work has value,
and how all of u...
7 years ago
-
Where Does Pokemon ....Go?
-
I've been thinking a lot about the role of Virtual Reality and Augmented
Reality in Art Education recently. The success of Pokemon Go creates a lot
of int...
7 years ago
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The Sumi Ink Club Visits The University of Florida
-
(view slide show) During the last week in February 2017, the UF School of
Art and Art History hosted the Sumi Ink Club as part of its Spring 2017
Visiting ...
7 years ago
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Mondrian Inspired Grid Drawings
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Sorry, I'm not sure why these images are rotated on the side! I've tried
uploading them twice.
Anywho, after a lesson on cubism, abstract art, and Mondr...
7 years ago
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How cute are these??
-
This is a project I learned from my colleague Shelly one of my first years
as an art teacher. I read a couple of books about princesses and princes (I
like...
7 years ago
-
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Two sweet notes!
-
My son (kinder) brought this home today and a student left the other on my
desk! #meltmyheart
7 years ago
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Glaze Recommendation!
-
When a teacher puts together a supply order, especially on a tight budget,
it can be very scary! If you are one of the lucky ones that has a kiln and
a bud...
8 years ago
-
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VIVA LA FRIDA!!!
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My new 8th grade reading/writing/math/ART class recently studied the artist
Frida Kahlo. We used the free worksheets from Art with Jenny K to
introduce...
8 years ago
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Creative Creature Lesson
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[image: creative-creature-lesson-plan]
Looking for an engaging observational drawing lesson? This creative
creature art experience is one of my favorite...
8 years ago
-
Dia de los Muertos: Calavera Prints
-
Block printing is very much like a handmade stamp. You carve a design into
the material of your choice and you can use it over and over again. Block
prin...
8 years ago
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Sleepyhead Designs Studio blog changes to Stacy Spangler Art
-
Hello Friends! Trying to staying positive, but my old blog
www.sleepyheaddesignsstudio.com will be forever gone as of August 23. I
will still have a blog t...
8 years ago
-
Be Kind!
-
I'm returning after 5 months of maternity leave and I'm surrounding myself
with positivity! Head on over to Cassie Stephens blog to follow her Calendar
...
8 years ago
-
Leadership Day Displays!
-
We just hosted our first Leadership Day as an official Leader in Me School!
We had over 80 visitors from surrounding schools to see how we've
implement...
8 years ago
-
Painted Paper has Moved!
-
Painted Paper in the Art Room has moved. Here is our new location!
www.paintedpaperart.com
8 years ago
-
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Symmetry
-
Second grade students have been studying symmetry. We created symmetrical
Ming Vases based on a lesson from Miriam at http://arteascuola.com/.
First stude...
9 years ago
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Do you see what I see?!
-
This is one of my very favorite lessons to do with my first graders! I
haven't done it in maybe 5 years or so but its so great! I used different
media this...
9 years ago
-
Back in the Saddle!
-
I'm back in the saddle teaching "lots" of art lessons to "lots" of kids in
a public school again, and it's feeling good!
One of the local elementary schoo...
9 years ago
-
The minis are here
-
Look what came to the art room today. Yea for us. Question is what apps
do you all use in your art room. I would love to here. Thanks
9 years ago
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Saying Goodbye
-
A friend of mine called this an Irish Goodbye, the kind of leaving where
you just sneak away (usually to avoid being dragged back in for one more
round:) ...
9 years ago
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The Last Blog Post!
-
It's the last blog post of the year, and the last blog post for Mrs.
Leban's Art Blog, as I'll be moving on to a new adventure in the computer
room for nex...
9 years ago
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Op Art and Colored Pencil Tutorial - Art 1
-
*I love Op Art and I thought it would be the perfect lesson to teach Art
1's how to use colored pencils. We began by discussing Op Art, M.C. Escher,
V...
9 years ago
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for the birds...James John Audubon
-
It has been two years since I last did this lesson and we are doing it
again right now which has made me pull up the older photos. This lesson is
inspired ...
9 years ago
-
#RHSforNepal - Social media can be used for good!
-
Last week my middle school students created and learned about the
significance of Tibetan prayer flags. After becoming educated about the
severity of th...
9 years ago
-
Shape and Texture
-
Junior kinders made shape and texture pizza today. We taled about shapes
used on pizza and we talked texture, both real and implied. Next the used
yarn, ...
9 years ago
-
Henna Hands
-
Fourth graders created these scratch art hands as part of a unit on the art
of India. They looked at images of henna hands and henna designs for
inspirati...
9 years ago
-
Collaborative Circle Weaving
-
Using cardboard looms all 6th-8th grade art students created two small
circle weaving for a permanent collaborative installation in the library.
Most of ...
9 years ago
-
Watercolor Henna Hands
-
Fifth grade students are creating Henna Hands using watercolor and wax
resist.
We began this lesson by discussing the following questions:
How do we dec...
9 years ago
-
-
I have taught art for over 16 years at every level from age 3 to adult in
both public and private schools. I have taught in an art in a room with a
sink, ...
9 years ago
-
Class tree
-
This new variation on an well known project was created by the 7th graders
with guidance of my colleague.
More on the Dutch blog:
http://tekenlesjes....
10 years ago
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Prompting Our Students to Write about Art
-
Reflection is a very important component of the creative process. As we
look back on the work we have created, we find aspects of it that are
sometimes sur...
10 years ago
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TWITTER
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If you have a TWITTER account, make sure to follow the
LAKE FOREST LOUVRE
@LFESlouvre
10 years ago
-
New blog!
-
So it seems that MMSD isn’t fond of WordPress so I am officially switching
my WordPress blog over to this BlogSpot format. Everything remains except
the we...
10 years ago
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Draw a Sitting Dragon
-
*Here’s a tutorial for drawing a sitting dragon. A print friendly PDF may
be downloaded HERE.*
1. Follow the steps on my handout to make the drawing shown....
10 years ago
-
Apps in the Art Room
-
Recently I was lucky enough to purchase two ipad minis from Donors Choose.
The parents at my school, as well as friends and family, made this purchase
pos...
10 years ago
-
Color Robots - Kindergarten Collage of Shapes
-
Kindergarten students created these fun collage robots while learning
about shape and reviewing color.
We started our project by using stamping diffe...
10 years ago
-
Tunnel Book Fun with 8th grade
-
I wanted my 8th graders to create a dimensional tunnel book based on a
favorite story or scene. They began by folding two side panels like an
accordion....
10 years ago
-
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Construction Begins
-
Our 4th grade class has started construction on their Pop Art paper mache
sculptures. We studied the work of Claus Oldenburg and then sketched out
our i...
10 years ago
-
art.abroad
-
*2013 has come and gone and I didn’t post a single entry.*
I took many pictures of student work, of bulletin boards, of (fully
clothed) life drawing with s...
10 years ago
-
It's been a long, long, loonngg time!
-
I realize that it has been quite a few months since I have posted, I am not
entirely sure where the time has gone! My school is bigger than ever
(officiall...
11 years ago
-
New Camtasia 8 book is out
-
New or intermediate user of Camtasia Studio and want a book to keep on hand
to answer your technical questions? This is a great book for you. This
book ...
11 years ago
-
VAEA 2013 ~ Electives! In Elementary
-
I just attended the VAEA 2013 Professional Development Conference in Falls
Church. It was only about 45 minutes away but I was able to get my school
to pay...
11 years ago
-
International Dot Day Lesson Ideas
-
Our school is participating in International Dot Day this year! Students
from all over the world come together on September 16th each year to
celebrate t...
11 years ago
-
I am computer-less!!!!!
-
It seems that I am extremely hard on my school issue HP laptop. I dropped
it off with the techie wizards this morning and the message I got back from
one o...
11 years ago
-
Art on the Move is Getting a NEW LOOK!
-
*Art on the Move is Under Construction! Please be patience while I figure
out how to get this all working! *
11 years ago
-
Elements of Art Handout and The smARTteacher
-
I try my best to stay up to date on the best way to stay connected with
other art teachers. I follow many teachers on Pinterest and look at lots
of the...
11 years ago
-
About Pixels and Paintbrushes
-
Pixels and Paintbrushes is the technology and art blog from Karen Bosch
from 2010 – 2013. We are planning the archive the posts from those years
at this s...
11 years ago
-
Dance and Theatre Credentials – Coming Back???
-
Let’s hope this will come to fruition – California with dance and theatre
credentials to identify qualified teachers! Just had to share the link to a
recen...
11 years ago
-
New Etsy Site!
-
*Eleven Skies Studio *
FINALLY I have it up and running! My long awaited etsy shop. I have dreamed
about getting it going for years and now I finally hav...
11 years ago
-
Visiting Dryden Elementary Art Program with Tricia Fuglestad
-
On Friday, March 22nd, I had the rare opportunity to leave my classroom and
go visit another. Our school art program is in year one of the three year
curr...
11 years ago
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Google Reader! WAAAAHHH!
-
Apparently, I am a day late on the news, but I just read when I checked
google reader that it will be shutting down as of July 1st! HOW are you
planning to...
11 years ago
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Update
-
It's been awhile but I figured I should probably update this to reflect
what I've been up to recently. Just after getting married in 2011, my wife
was told...
11 years ago
-
-
Here are a few quick pictures I took of some lessons we have done lately.
We talked about India and did animal projects: Tigers- 5th grade, Festival
Elepha...
12 years ago
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I've Moved!
-
Hi, this is Anna and I am so excited to tell you that Art and Creativity in
Early Childhood Education is now hosted on Wordpress. Just click here!
Please c...
12 years ago
-
The art room is no more... and I am no longer the art teacher...
-
The art room is now an empty shell. It will house in 2013, 2 Year 1 classes
and the art room will be relocated.
Over the past 23 years of my teaching c...
12 years ago
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First Grade, Lesson 2: Line Review
-
This lesson is a lot of work in the beginning, but is visually stunning in
the end. The students are reviewing the art element: Line. Additionally,
they ar...
12 years ago
-
This blog is no longer active, yet will remain open
-
This blog is no longer active, yet, will remain open for
archival purposes. I wanted the images and adventures over the years to be
availab...
12 years ago
-
Thank you....
-
Saying goodbye to FACA…
Three weeks after turning in my resignation to The Falcon Academy of
Creative Arts, words can’t begin to express all that I will ...
12 years ago
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Integrating Music & Art
-
It began with a single idea...to teach the art of Romare Bearden to my
fourth graders. As I researched Romare's life, a major theme bega...
12 years ago
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Clay - Pinch Pots & Colored Clay
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*The children make pinch pots and decorate them with colored clay using one
of two methods: adding it to the already pinched pots as shown above; or
addi...
12 years ago
-
4th Grade Monet Lily Ponds
-
I love Claude Monet. I love teaching students about him and his art work.
I came up with the idea to paint a Monet lily pond from an inspiring post
fr...
12 years ago
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isn't is surreal?
-
I cannot imagine how it is March already. This year is just blowing by and
with so many things happening, changing and being busy there does not seem
to b...
12 years ago
-
Hello, again.
-
Well, I have been really busy with my new life after college. And I've
finally gotten around to updating my blog. Shame on me for not keeping up
with it. A...
12 years ago
-
Hello there!
-
Remember me?
Thank you so much for your inquiries. I have had numerous e-mails wondering
where I have been! You all are very kind to ask. I recently took a...
12 years ago
-
5th Grade: Figure Drawing–Structure
-
In class today I decided to prepare 5th grade for a painting project that
will focus on having figures in their picture. The website below was a
great...
12 years ago
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“Woman in a Hat”
-
2nd Graders did observational drawings based on the Picasso print “Woman in
a Hat with Pompoms and a Printed Blouse” They did not draw with pencil
first. T...
12 years ago
-
Welcome Naramata Folk! Bienvienue!
-
As you can see, I have not updated this blog in a long while.. since about
last year's trip to Naramata, actually!
However, I wanted to give you a brief p...
12 years ago
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Here's a video about Artsonia....FYI
-
Thanks to Brunswick Acres Art. I grabbed this video off of their awesome
website.
13 years ago
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Kindergarten - Playing with Primaries
-
The kindergartners love painting! This week they really practiced washing
their brushes well between colors. While they've had fun mixing paints in
the pas...
13 years ago
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FRUSTRATED
-
I have given up on trying to move this blog onto my new account without
losing followers and my place in cyber space. I am adding my art blog to my
persona...
13 years ago
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Blue + Yellow = FUN
-
I was not exactly sure what the lesson of the day was going to be with my
second graders. They are such a wonderful class and easily go with my
impromptu i...
13 years ago
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White House.Gov Showcases Videos on Arts Education Champions
-
As part of the Obama Administration's Champions of Change, Winning the
Future Across America initiative, a series of videos have been posted on
Whitehouse....
13 years ago
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migrated to www.danchina.net
-
Please note this blog has been moved to www.danchina.net . All the contents
here have been transferred so please revise any links.Filed under:
Uncategorized
13 years ago
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Farewell :'(
-
This has been quite the journey as my first year teaching. The kids are
amazing and I couldn't have ask for a better group. Although they weren't
always pr...
13 years ago
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