Blue Dog Mini Lesson

K-6 Art Lesson

50 minutes

K-6 Blue Dog Art Lesson

The end of the year is upon us.  As I struggle to wrap up projects, grade the last minute hand in of final creations and juggle with my classes that have finished everything, I finally decided to create some mini projects to keep my classes busy, still be creative and if possible still learn a thing or two before they head out the door to enjoy summer.

This Mini Blue Dog lesson can be found on my Teacher Pay Teacher Store.  Crazy Busy Art Room Store

It contains the lesson, a grading rubric, a Blue Dog template and some fashion accessories to help design your Blue Dog.  I tried this with my 2nd graders today and they loved it!  So many possibilities!

This would also make a great substitute teacher lesson!

Check out my Crazy Busy Art Room Store, follow it if it floats your boat and THANK YOU for the support!

Student Examples:

Bear Math

 Today I had such a hard working kindergarten class they finished the work I had planned for them 15 minutes ahead of schedule!  I debated quickly in my mind if I should move forward with the lesson, knowing that I might need a filler for the next day they have art or if I should just try to come up with a quick activity to fill the time during this class period.  For whatever reason, the idea of creating a bar graph popped into my head.

To my delight, it worked out well, it engaged the students and YES...I incorporated some math (which, I must say to our defense we do all the time...but this was just a much more obvious demonstration).

This activity worked out so well, I am planning on incorporating into the other 4 sections I teach at this level.

Sometimes, I must say, I surprise myself on my quick thinking in the classroom.  Three cheers for spontaneous lessons that actually work out well!

Summer School Bugs

Grades 1-4
Two Class Periods
Summer School Lesson

Grades 1-4, Summer Bugs

Day 1:
The first day of this lesson, students spent examining numerous photographs of insects.  To fit for the time period of this summer school lesson, I provided students with a drawing bug idea worksheet. Students could pick one of the bugs off of the worksheet to draw, use the photographs provided to help them draw, or rely on their imagination to draw their insect.

Drawing the bug with pencil.

After the bugs were drawn with pencil, students used black glue to outline their buggy creations.

Outlining bug with black glue.

Day 2:
Students used chalk pastels to color their bugs.  Some tips and techniques were discussed for chalk pastels in the beginning of class.

Coloring composition with chalk pastel.

The last few minutes of class, we went outside and sprayed our pieces with fixative spray.

Student Examples:

Group Photos:

Girl Scouts Earn Drawing Patch

I was asked by Girl Scout Troop 3031 in our community for help in earning their Drawing Patch.

The girls had a lot of tasks to complete in order to earn their patch.

1.  Identify and draw a still life.

2.  Discuss and test out different mediums.

3.  Create value.  Show light and shadow within their drawing.

4.  Understand the importance of having pride in their work and the importance of displaying art.

I feel so honored to be part of this action packed hour of instruction.  Thank you Troop 3031!

Playdough: Roll, Cut, Squish, ACTION!

Playdough either puts a smile on your face or it makes you cringe.  I am often surprised to hear how many of my students do not get the chance to play with playdough at home.  My only guess to this reason, must be the fear of the mess that is created with this very important art media.

My advice.  Embrace the mess!  Set up an area on a table, picnic table or a plastic table cloth to work on.  Take a deep breath and let them play!

Playing with playdough helps in imagination and creativity skills.  Squishing, rolling, cutting, poking, chopping, flattening and building with playdough all helps with building strength in the tiny muscles and tendons in your hand (FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT) that helps with learning how to grip and control pencils and scissors (so important for the art room and class room!).

Playdough is fairly inexpensive to purchase, but making your own can also be a great bonding activity with your child.  There are a ton of recipes that you can find online, but the one below is my favorite.

Mrs. Allen's Favorite Playdough Recipe

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup of boiling water
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
1/2 cup of salt
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
food coloring

Combine all the ingredients  in a bowl.  Mix with a spatula.  Once the mixture becomes thick you will have to use your hands to mix it.  Then knead, knead, knead, until playdough is soft. 

Last step:  PLAY!  CREATE!  WORK OUT THOSE FINE MOTOR MUSCLES.


Playdough can be stored in an air tight container.