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Art Ideas for the Busy Classroom Teacher

Win these beautiful Kwik Stix paint sticks in the giveaway below!

I LOVE having art in my classroom, however with the demands we have these days, it is hard to plan for art and find time for it. I am sharing a few ideas that have helped me integrate art in my classroom without a lot of prep. My students love these activities and I know that art motivates my students and helps them become creative thinkers.

I fell in love with directed drawings this year and so did my students. They loved that they were getting creative time. I loved that all I needed to have on hand was white paper, black Sharpie markers, the Art for Kids Hub on my computer or Smartboard, and something to color with. The Kwik Stix paint sticks are a dream come true for teachers! (Check out the giveaway below! They are a hot commodity because they paint beautifully with no mess.)

Some of my other favorite reasons why I love directed drawings are that it helps improve my students’ focus (since they have to stay on task during the video) and they learn techniques such as blending, shading and symmetry. Here is a link to the parrot directed drawing video that was used in this picture and in the video below.

Collaborative posters were something totally new to me this school year, but I was simply blown away by how fun they were. Each student completes a small section of a poster even though they do not know what the end result will be. It is fun to hear them chatter about what they think the final poster will be. When assembling the poster, the students have to display it according to the grid pattern. Grab a free end of the year collaborative poster from Art with Jenny K and a free flip flops coloring sheet. This is the mini version of the collaborative poster you see in the short 1 minute video below.

Did you see the Kwik Stix Solid Tempra Paint Sticks in the video? They are amazing! No water, no paint cups, no brushes, just amazingness! They glide on the paper so easily, and if your students know how to use a glue stick, they are set and ready! The paint dries in 90 seconds and the paints can be layered when the first layer dries. We were also able to use them with black Sharpie marker and the paint did not smear the black marker. My students always want to use markers to color a page, but I can’t stand it when the markers bleed together. With the Kwik Stix paint sticks, you don’t have to worry about the colors bleeding together or it smearing the black marker outline of an art project.

They are also super easy for all hands (especially little hands) to hold. The wide design of the tube makes it easy for little ones to grip. The Kwik Stix are available just about anywhere including Amazon and Wal-Mart. Win a set for your classroom with the giveaway below! Thank you to The Pencil Grip, Inc. for sponsoring the giveaway!

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Honestly, sometimes the best art activities are the ones we don’t teach. When we let the kids discover ideas through creativity and collaboration, we learn a lot about our students, and we are allowing them to think outside the box, which is the whole purpose of education!

I hope you found some ways to integrate art into your classroom without a lot of fuss. Art should be fun and creative (not frustrating and lots of work for the teacher). Paint on!

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Welcome Teachers!

Thanks for popping in! I’m Amber, a veteran teacher of 21 years who now creates educational resources for upper elementary teachers to help save them time!