Freebie & a Giveaway!

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I am so happy that my letter packs are helpful to all of you!  I have gotten many e-mails and comments about the remainder of the alphabet.  They are coming!!!In fact…here is letter R!

Click here to get the Letter R pack!
Miss letters A-Q?  Go here!
Now, for the GIVEAWAY!


I recently created this Homework Packet for my little Pre-K sweeties. I wanted them to be able to practice valuable skills at home that were age appropriate, yet simple to complete.
So…I made the Homework Packet.  I plan on creating one for each month.  This Homework packet is perfect for Pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten students. Within the SEPTEMBER Homework Packet, you will find:
-A note to families in regards to Homework Packets
-A grid of 9 activities to choose from each month
-8 black and white (easy to copy) activities pages
-One family project (the 9th activity)
-Family project printables
**Please note: The way these Homework Packets are set up allows the families to decide WHEN they complete the homework during the month. Each week families choose TWO activities to complete. There is also a family project that completed at any point during the month. Families are asked to return the whole packet when finished.
Want to win your own September Homework Packet?



Can’t wait??a Rafflecopter giveaway

Buy the September Homework Packet now!

Stop, Drop and Roll!

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Yes sir-e!  It’s Fire Prevention Week!

 

Sorry I have been MIA lately!  My mom and I had a big fall craft show this past weekend that was sucking all my free-time away from me. But, it is over and now things can calm down a bit (I hope).

 

Anywhooo, I have prepared my Fire Safety Plans for this week.  You will see only 3 days of plans this week because I am *hoping* to get to go to the firestation.  But, I know this is a busy week for those buff firefighters…as it’s fire prevention week.  But, I want to make it there soon ;)

 

*Click the pic above to access the FREE plan*

 

Graphics by KPM Doodles

 

Sidenote… did you know PicMonkey has a special Halloween editing section right now??  Look that this eerie pic I created of my little C!

 

Before-    After

 

Fun right?

 

Halloween Round Up

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Happy Friday!

Tonight I wanted to share some freebies & activities I have posted in the past (in case you missed them!).

 

First up…

Baggie games are games that easily fit in a ziptop baggie.  Click the photo above to get your own Pumpkins Baggie Games- FREE!

 

#2

5 Little Pumpkins Rhyme with printable pumpkins!

 

#3

Song Charts for October!  Click the picture above to be taken to a post featuring my large October song charts.

 

#4

 

FREE color packs featuring the Halloween colors!  Click on the pics to get the files!

 

#5

Pumpkin Counting File Folder Game.  FREE!

 

#6

LOTS of fun activities in this Spooky Learning Pack!  Click on the pic to learn more!

 

#7

My newest product!  Great for pre-K and K take home work!

 

I hope ya’ll found something you can use with your little ones!

Please drop me a note, I’d love to hear how you use some of these products!

 

Back to School For Big Kids & More Horses!

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One of the most overused phrases in my classroom is USE A RESOURCE!  I spend a lot of time teaching my firsties to find and figure out for themselves, so I take a lot of pride in watching them use resources in our room to  problem solve.  The sweetheart below is using a book to help her figure out the labels for the label-a-horse cut and paste activity.

We also made a larger version that we labeled as a class, too.

Then, to reinforce it even further (ha), we also made our own horses and then labeled them.  Shoo!  That was a lot of labeling.  And a lot of paper scraps EVERYWHERE.  My classroom was a stinkin’ mess!   However, it was about dang time.  To conserve class time with these sweeties, I’ve pre-cut almost everything this year.  This time, it was all about them – and I think they did a great job!

    

{Another “fun” thing we do in my classroom is the “Everybody pick up 10 things off the floor!” game. Gets my room cleaned in no time!}

 

After more horse read-alouds and discussion, we also split into small groups to complete a can/have/are graphic organizer…

We started working on the Derby part of the unit today and the kids LOOOOOOVED checking out the Kentucky Derby website. There is an abundance of information there, including actual horse races and the stats on the horses racing this year.  Check it out!  Unfortunately, I didn’t snap any pics of our activities today, but I’ll try to get some for tomorrow.  {Don’t forget, my Derby Days mini-unit is on sale for $3 through Friday!}

* * * * * *

Back to school?

I know, I can’t believe I’m getting ready to say it either.  Don’t unfriend me.  BUT, I just wanted to let you know that I recently uploaded a Back to School for Big Kids pack that contains a variety of back-to-school activities for grades 3-5.  This came after MANY requests, so I finally converted my Fun with Firsties and Super in Second packs into a similar pack for the intermediate grades!

{The activities are the same except for very minor changes!}

Potential customers, PLEASE NOTE: I do NOT teach grades 3-5 and have NOT taught grades 3-5. These are very basic activities that are pretty easy to accomplish the first few weeks of school. The purpose of these activities is to build classroom relationships, establish rapport with your kiddos, and define the responsibilities and expectations of the grade you teach :)

And, in case you’re in first or second grade, here are those packs.  Just click on the pic to go to my TpT shop:

    

Hope you’re having a great week!  It was 80 something here today and I was in all kinds of heaven!

So in Need of Summer!

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Hi, hi!  Long time, no see!

How many of you are still in school?  Boo.  Me, too.  We work all the way up until next Thursday, with Wednesday being our last day with kids.  Thankfully, we’re off today for the primaries and we have a three-day weekend coming up.  PTL!

So, where to begin?  So, this blog has been neglected because my life is crazy…and, in all honesty, I’m short on time and motivation to be in front of the computer!  Summer sunshine has been calling my name.

Why have things been crazy?  Well, we were going to move.  And then we weren’t.  And B was going to change jobs.  And then he wasn’t.  And I was going to go part-time/quit.  And now I’m not. 

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Oh, and I have faulty fallopian tubes, hence the reason we’re still I’m not one of the fifty thousand other people I know who are expecting right now.  {Believe me, if it was appropriate to overshare pics of your insides, you know I would.  However, it’s probably not even legal by hospital standards that I snapped a pic of the x-ray before I left in the first place.}  So, on to fertility drugs.  Squee!  Not really.  At least we have some answers, right?

I think that catches me up. 

Backtracking to this statement: And I was going to go part-time/quit.  And now I’m not.  This means I’m back in fulltime first grade again next year :)  I’m a teensy little smidgeon bit excited about it.  I think?

At school, we’ve been taking it minute by minute.  Barely keeping our heads afloat, knowing that summer is soooooooo dang close. 

We did the Wizard of Oz a few weeks ago, and started Charlotte’s Web last week.  I’ve taken very few pics (see, no motivation!).  But, there’s a worthy shot or two here…

We culminated our study with cake my momma made. YUM!

  

In other news, I *finally* added a “follow by email” button to this blog, after many many many requests :)  If I’d realized it was so easy to do, I’d have done it months ago!

Also, I’ve renewed my love for Pinterest.  Sigh.  I could be on that sight all dang day!  There’s a Pinterest button up there now, too. Or, you can click the screenshot below to go to my boards.

Well, happy last day(s) everyone!!!!!!

I'm a Person, Not a Service

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Teaching Art can be a lonely pursuit, and the online community is vibrant and a wonderful resource. One of the main reasons, ArtfulArtsyAmy has continued is because I like to share my experiences in the classroom with other Art teachers. The other reason I blog is because I feel very passionately about giving back and sharing with the Art Education community.

It is important for us to contribute to our community.  Art Education, as a whole, becomes richer when we do so.  I've begun using lessons (and hopefully creating lessons) I might not otherwise due to my online exposure to Art Education blogs. Ultimately, that helps to make me a stronger teacher.

Since the advent of Pinterest, and few other positive reviews of ArtfulArtsyAmy online, I now get a lot of daily email from readers.  On the one hand, I'm incredibly flattered anyone likes anything I do enough to contact me. I've had the opportunity to collaborate with, and and actually meet, quite a few amazing Art teachers because they have emailed me. I wouldn't give up those opportunities for the world.  Yet, more often, I receive rather rude emails from teachers demanding something and/or emails from the technology-challenged who are frustrated about how to download a lesson etc. etc. I've received about five alone in the past week that were just really rude.  So, I thought I'd make a little informational list for when you contact blog owners and/or me.

1. Everything on this blog is free. If you find something of mine online and it has a cost, that is because the website host required it. I also do not actively or knowingly post anything on a website requiring a monetary membership.  If a site requires a monetary membership, it began doing so after I uploaded content.
 
2. I value sources. I work very hard and very diligently to link back to any source I use both in lesson plans, images, and PowerPoints.

3. I don't have a lot of time. I work approximately 55+ hours a week as an Art Teacher. I attend graduate school (working on my doctorate) full time.  I commute 3 hours round trip to my job. I write 36 pages of lesson plans a week (no really, I do). I want to respond to all of your emails. I take time about once a week to sift through blog emails.

4. I don't monitor my online content after posting.  Once it is up, I rarely go back after the first week to check links etc.  ArtfulArtsyAmy has been around for nearly four years, and has over three hundred posts. I am one person. The internet is a living entity that is ever-changing. I do what I can, and then let the rest fall away.

5.  I cannot help you with specific technology issues.  Feel free to send me an email when something is hard to download, a link is broken etc. etc.. If there is something not working, I will fix it from my end. But, I do not have the time to walk you through how to download online content. And, honestly, 99% of the questions I have about this are from people who simply are not tech savvy. I feel for you, and I'm impressed you're working outside your comfort zone. You should get the media specialist and/or a colleague to help walk you through the process. They can see your screen; I can't. But, I'm a sucker for nice people, and I love teaching about technology. . So if you send me a really nice email, I will probably try to help you.

6. I'm a person, not a service.  About half the emails I get each week read like this:  "I want this resource. Send it to me in this format."  I'm reminded of a line in Dirty Dancing when I get these emails: "I don't just have to do anything for you." I'm human. I like manners. I like the words "please" and "thank-you."  I will never, ever, email anything to anyone who can't be polite. When I get emails like this I read them aloud to my partner, and we laugh and the rudeness.

7. I love to collaborate; I love to help. If you have a collaboration idea or a question, don't hesitate to email me. It may take me a week to return your email, but I will.  I really, truly, do like to be helpful.

From the bottom of my heart I love blogging with and for the Art Ed community. This online community has been one of my favorite and best sources as an educator.  I really encourage you to participate by making comments on Art Ed blogs and/or maybe even hosting your own blog. 

Defining Graphic Design

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My yearly budget for Art supplies is very small.  On average, I have approximately $0.25 to spend per student.  I teach 921 students. . . I long ago learned one of the easiest manners in which to enrich a budget-thin Art curriculum is to introduce and teach Digital Art.

Defining Graphic Design for my 8th graders is easy; by this point in their lives they recognize their consumption and may even earn their own money to support it. They understand their purchasing is often driven by design.  Getting my 6th graders to understand Graphic Design can be more of a challenge. This year, my 6th graders have had very little Art experience (the reason is actually rather complicated), and many of them are still struggling to participate in elementary activities such as guided drawing.

Last week, we (6th graders and me) worked on a wonderful Typography project (I can't wait to share it with you). I'm so proud they truly understand the concept of Typography and can articulate a definition in their own words. This week, we're moving on to Graphic Design. I came across the fantastic video below.  What a wonderful, and succinct, introduction to Graphic Design!

Enjoy!

what is graphic design from Steve Quinn on Vimeo.

Wooden Face Pins for Art Club

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Holy Smokes. I have 75 (s e v e n t y - f i v e) students in my Art Club. . . And, they all showed up last Thursday to make (as they would say) "something cool." So, we did.

Also, I may or may not have had a really stiff drink after work that day.

My kids have never gone to summer camp or made any of the ubiquitous cutesy-crafts synonymous with the American middle class upbringing. Rather than utilizing Art Club to create intense, serious, high art, we make duct tape wallets, shrinky-dink charms, pins, plush animals, and stickers. I'm hoping we get permission to graffiti something this year, though.

This week, we made personalized wooden pins inspired by the ah-mazing work of artist Kim Welling. Go now and check out Ms. Welling's work!

Welling uses left-over chips of wood from her artworks in a beautiful circle of no-waste. . .I bought cheap balsa wood from a local supply shop (that was probably processed in a chemical shit-storm that began with a beautiful, pristine, tree).

1. I pre-dyed all of the pieces of wood to represent a wider spectrum of the skin rainbow.


2. I cut the pieces into 2 inch squares. . .I cut approximately 100 squares.


3. Students sketched pin design onto a 4 inch square of paper (in an attempt to avoid wasted wood).

4. Students selected a wood square and drew their design in black pen/sharpie (and added white for eyes w/colored pencil).


5. Students added colored marker and/or paint as-needed.


6. I hot-glued (I need no lawsuits from the parents of burned students) a metal-tone pin to the back.

I love seeing these cruise the hallways.