Beginning the AP Art Course: 4 Tips for Setting Your Students Up for a 5
Beginning the AP Art course can feel kinda like opening a brand-new sketchbook… exciting, full of possibility, and maybe a bit intimidating. Whether it’s your first year teaching AP or your fifteenth, there are always new ideas, strategies, and reminders that can help set your students up for success. This summer I attended an AP […]
Free AP Art and Design Timeline Poster for 2024-2025
AP Art and Design Timeline: Because May 9th Will Sneak Up on THEM! Welcome to the start of a new school year in AP Art and Design—where the excitement is high, the creativity is flowing, and right now you aren’t even thinking about May 9, 2025. Balancing creativity and time management is difficult for adults […]
First Day of School for Art Teachers, Part 3
WHY are we here? True learning can’t exist if we don’t understand WHY we are learning something. One of the most important things to discuss on the First Day of School for Art Teachers is the WHY. I always explain to my Art 1 students WHY they need to take an Art 1 class. Some […]
First Day of School for Art Teachers, Part 2
First Day of School for Art Teachers, Part 2: Do you dread the beginning of a new school semester the way that I do?? Its not just about ending summer and going back to work. I struggle because its hard for me to feel like I’m on a stage in front of students that I […]
First Day of School for Art Teachers, Part 1
The First Day of School for Art Teachers is Vital! First Impressions are IMPERATIVE! Let me tell you a little story… Once upon a time, I was at an art event and I met up with a retired art teacher that…well let’s just say had a reputation for having no classroom control and no student […]
Best Back to School Art Lesson? Name Designs!
The start of this school year has been interesting! I missed all of last week due to testing positive with COVID! I’m feeling better now and I’m back to work this week wearing a mask for these first few days. For the last 4 years now, my first Art 1 back to School art lesson […]
Growth Mindset and the Power of Yet!
Have you heard about “Growth Mindset?” I hadn’t really heard about it until 2 years ago. The idea came from a Stanford Professor, Carol Dweck. She found that students who believed that intelligence can improve and isn’t just something someone is born with are more successful than students who believe the opposite! This works beautifully […]
Here’s to New Beginnings!
Well, here we are in a new school year again! I’m excited to start with a new group of Art 3 and AP Studio students as well as two new groups of Art 1 students! I spent a lot of time last semester posting Art 2 assignments here. This semester I don’t have any Art […]
My #1 Best Review: Elements and Principles of Art Accordion Book
My Favorite Elements and Principles Review: The Elements and Principles of Art Accordion Book I posted a couple weeks ago about my Elements & Principles of Art review that I like to do at the beginning of Art 2. We start with the review and complete the Design Matrix worksheet. Next, we view examples of […]
Art 2 Challenge: Elements and Principles Review
We are beginning a new semester here as our school is on “block” schedule. This semester I have all Art 2 classes. To begin in Art 2, I like to start with the basics! So, we always start Art 2 with an Elements and Principles Review. Over the years I done this in a variety […]