Beginning of the school year art ideas

Download our All About Me Preschool activities and themes to help kids explore and describe unique aspects of themselves.

Each year, I love to have the kids create something personal and little for the bulletin board on our classroom's front door. I always try to teach with the door open (unless the air conditioner is on!) and I love to have it show something inviting. Here's what I came up with this year: lol, my hand seems {huge!} in the middle :) This is such a super-easy project and the kids loved it! All you will need are: cardstock Sharipes markers & color pencils scissors I first decorated my own hand…

Use our step-by-step drawing tutorial to create a unique and colorful name art project for kids. Great for upper elementary & middle school!

A couple times a month, my 12 and 14-year-old daughters join me for some art journaling. It’s a great opportunity to sit and chat over a simple, personal art project. Elementary-age kids through adults can enjoy creating these unique illustrated names. The goal of this project is to illustrate the letters of your first name, nickname, or … Continued

I love starting the school year with a name art lesson. It helps learn kids’ names and kick start the creativity for the year. Here’s some of my favorite name art lessons that also incorporate a variety of artistic skills, art history and self expression.

Get ready to inspire your young Picassos with SparkleGal's Art Magic Blog's Ultimate First-Week-of-Art Middle School Lesson Plan! Packed with easy prep art lessons and engaging 'About Me' worksheets, these creative resources burst with colorful ideas to kickstart the school year. A masterpiece in making art education fun and accessible!

Hello! I am already seeing lots of posts in Facebook groups asking what to do in the first few days of art class. In this post, I will walk you through what I plan to do this year in my classes. This is very similar to what I have done in other years. First, I start all classes with basic introductions and talking about the room and art class. We go over the rules and expectations. I use a video … Read more... →

The first days of school are always hectic and stressful. If this is your first year teaching elementary art it probably feels downright overwhelming. For me it is about getting to know my students, getting them comfortable with me, introducing rules, and giving them a quick drawing activity. I do it the same every year and it works great for me. I have 30-40 minute classes. I move very quickly through the following activities. I also have these steps outlined on the board, so that I don't…

As a drawing teacher for years, I've found that these four worksheets are at the core of what all students must know to tackle all drawing subjects. From still-lifes and landscapes to perspective drawing, and the human form, these are the basics that all artists learn to utilize. They are always introduced to my own art students at the beginning of any drawing unit and these techniques and terminology follow them throughout the year. Take it from a seasoned drawing teacher...these four…

In this blog post, you'll find the best books, resources, ideas, and activities for the first week of school! If you're looking for the perfect back to school read alouds for your elementary classroom, they're all right here in this post! You'll find unique and engaging activities that can be paired with each of my books within this blog post. My books focus on building classroom community and setting the tone at the beginning of the school year! Get all of the back to school ideas here.