One of my favorite books for introducing about color is Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Now, there's an abundance of resources online for using this book but the best one I've found is by Cassie Stephens. She has a awesome, simple tutorial for drawing mice that you can find here. And because it's a … Continue reading Mouse Paint
I really believe students will live up to your expectations - if you expect great things, they will show you that. If you expect a room full of chaos - they will show you that too. With this in mind, I took a chance and used permanent markers with kindergarten and first grade. And they … Continue reading Sharpie Wielding Six-Year-Olds
It turns out that being pregnant, teaching 750 students a week AND updating a blog at least once a week is a lot of work- because I haven't been doing it. This summer, as I envisioned my organized classroom full of eager students deeply engaged in meaningful art making, I was sure creating a world-class … Continue reading Iyanla Fix My Classroom
My greatest accomplishment for the second week of the new school year: successfully using wet bottled glue with kindergarten and first grade. This from the teacher who, last year, spent two full classes practicing procedures for painting WITH NO ACTUAL PAINT. I've learned the importance of song, repetition and anthropomorphism when teaching new skills to … Continue reading Six Year Olds + Wet Glue = Triumph
Paint Think Play 