Elementary Art Education Articles for Teachers - Page 2

Throughout history, artists have been captivated by the flower as the subject of their artwork. Georgia O’Keefe, who painted flowers as her specialty, is quoted as saying, “If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it, no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower ...

There truly is no match for the feeling of pressing your fingers into a wet slab of clay. The “squishiness” kids notice when clay is wet, make it an unmatchable tactile experience.  Plus this wonderful quality makes clay a very expressive medium that is also very forgiving. Part of the joy o...

A blank sheet of slick paper. A spoonful of yellow finger paint. Can you feel the excitement? If you haven’t finger painted since you were a child, it’s time to get your hands in the paint to remind you of the joy of an unplanned art experience. One of the pleasures of finger painting is the sing...

In the spring, the ground below our feet undergoes remarkable changes. Some days we look down and see puddles caused by April showers, other days we slog through mud, and on sunny days we can shuffle our feet on dry soil. While many see soil as just plain “dirt”, it is important to remember that ...

Finding art supplies in a grocery store is an adventure in creativity. One aisle that can provide inexpensive, three-dimensional supplies is the pasta aisle. While most of the dried pasta found there is mass-produced by machine, it is important to remember that pasta was at one time made only by ...

A tessellation is created when a shape (or polygon) is repeated over and over on a surface (or plane) with no empty areas or overlaps in the arrangement. Squares, triangles, rectangles, and hexagons can be repeated like tiles on a surface to create a tessellation. These shapes can also be ch...

St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in the United States for many years, and is observed around the globe by the Irish and the Irish at heart. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and one of the most celebrated religious figures around the world. On March 17th, many people march in para...

Symmetry is defined as the quality of being made up of identical parts facing each other on opposite sides of an axis. But a child’s understanding of symmetry comes more from personal experience than by hearing and repeating a definition. Symmetry is present in just about every environment a chil...

A collage is a picture or design created by adhering flat elements to a flat surface. The word “collage” comes from the French word coller, meaning literally “to glue”. And glue is one of the most important elements in collage art. Other materials can include almost anything that can be glued or ...

Fabric is something many students take for granted. As they choose which pair of jeans to put on each day, few will think about what went into weaving the denim fabric of the pants. Weaving is the process of creating cloth by crossing two fibers under and over each other. Most often done on looms...

Winter provides unique opportunities for exploring creatively. Snow, frost, and other cold weather formations can offer art classes a sparkling new subject for drawing and painting. Students get very excited about major cold weather events, so many teachers take advantage of that motivation and p...

A landscape is all of the visual features of an area of land. Landscapes are all around children. They pass landscapes on their school buses, in their family cars, and on trains going in and out of the city. Exploring the topic of landscape can help students become more aware of the world zooming...

December brings a special feeling to schools everywhere, even in the art classrooms. Christmas art activities take advantage of children's holiday anticipation energy and provide decorations and gifts enjoyed by families and the school community. Holiday lessons provide an opportunity for childr...

  One of the stars of the Thanksgiving holidays is the turkey. Seen by adults as the main course, for children turkeys inspire wonder and whimsy. The nature of the creature with its lush, colorful plumage and its noble bearing make it a compelling subject for art activities as well. The lar...

Photography is the art of taking still or moving pictures. At one time, possessing a photograph was a treasure, possessing a camera rarer still. Today children have seen hundreds (perhaps thousands) of photos of themselves and their families, and may even have their own digital cameras. Ta...