Making Art History FUN

Every summer I like to spend one morning a week focused on art history. During the school year, we tend to be on a tight schedule, but the summer allows us to be more laid back and truly enjoy every minute of bringing art history to life.
If you have read my previous posts on art, you already know that my kids go crazy over art projects, so we do those continuously throughout the school year. But this post is on teaching art history, so this is how we do just that. :)
Beginning in second grade, we complete one module/workbook of the Beginning Drawing with Thomas Kinkade curriculum each summer. My children, including my little ones, enjoy watching the late Thomas Kinkade teach art concepts on the DVD and then they practice creating artwork in their workbooks using the concepts they learned about. Previous summers we've had an "Art Club" meet in our house with our close friends. We complete our art lesson together, eat lunch, and then jump into the pool and swim. My kids get very excited for art club!
TIP: If you only get one module from this set, it has to be Unit 4 which focuses mainly on Art History. I think it does an outstanding job of teaching on an elementary level. 

Now that my middle boys are graduated from the elementary grades, I drill my boys weekly on the names of several famous paintings and their creators using Usborne's Famous paintings cards. We focus on six paintings every week and by the end of summer, they will have mastered them all. We plan to have a contest between my two boys to see who knows them the fastest, and yes, there will be a prize!  Breaking up learning into small bits and then playing a game with what they have learned are two tricks to make learning fun.

We are also reading Usborne's Book of Famous Paintings this summer. We take our time with just a small section each week. I don't want my kids to feel like they are doing schoolwork over the summer, but they love it when I read to them so that is simply what I do.

When my children are in 8th grade, we begin God and the History of Art, which is an extensive art history curriculum. We continue to work on sections of that curriculum every summer throughout high school, and they earn an art history credit for high school. It is a terrific program, and I enjoy working alongside of them and learning, too.

Enjoy making art history FUN!

FUN Math Art Ideas

I love incorporating art into subject areas whenever I get a chance. Last October, my kids really enjoyed making spider webs with number spirals for Halloween.

Since my boys have been learning a lot about geometry this school year, I didn't let the opportunity pass us by without adding a few FUN, geometry, art projects. My boys were thrilled!
We began with the classic symmetry art project, and my boys totally blew me away with their attention to detail! I had them cut out a photo from a magazine and then cut it in half. They glued half of the photo on a sheet of paper and drew the rest. I had to remind them to create a mirror image so it is symmetrical (like a butterfly) since kids naturally want to finish the picture. Can you tell both were created by boys- Legos and guns? Boys will be boys. I'm sure my girl would have chosen a flower or a cute animal. ☺

Next, we learned all about tessellations, which are repeating patterns of polygons that cover a plane with no gaps or overlaps. Click HERE for a mini-lesson on tessellations to learn how to create a tessellation. It can be a bit tricky for some kids to grasp the concept, but what an excellent critical thinking skills activity this is!

Since this was their first time working with tessellations, we kept it very basic.

In the future, I'd like to challenge my boys to create more detailed designs. Check out this fantastic slide show of children's tessellations created by a middle school teacher. Very impressive!

Below are two really cool sites that you can create your own tessellation designs on the computer.

Click HERE.

Click HERE.

My little ones joined in on the fun and made designs with their pattern blocks. I cherish these times that we are all learning together, just on different levels.

We went on to create these BEAUTIFUL circle paintings. These colors were so vibrant and popped with the black circles. My favorite art project this school year for sure! Kudos to my friend Annie at the Moffatt Girls for sharing it on her blog. Click HERE to learn the step-by-step directions.

I like this geometry art project because it looks like an optical illusion. Using a ruler, I have my kids draw lines from left to right the same distance apart and then make straight or wavy lines going up and down. Next, they alternate two colors on every section going from side to side. (Markers look the best.) 

The next art project I have planned is this incredible project from my friend, Jen at Runde's Room. Check it out! Isn't it absolutely amazing? Click HERE to learn how to create it.

by Jen at Runde's Room

Enjoy making geometry fun!

Earth Day Shaving Cream Art

A year ago my son Colton decided to use the same technique that we used for creating marbled eggs with shaving cream HERE to create an earth for Earth Day. The art project came out so stunning, and it became very popular after I wrote about it HERE.

When Fox contacted me to film an Earth Day segment on the Mom Squad, I knew exactly what to share.

For more shaving cream art ideas, check these out:

Hearts for Valentine's Day Fall Leaves Easter Eggs Stars for 4th of July
Can you tell my kids are hooked on shaving cream art?  Your kids will be too, trust me.
Click HERE for more Mom Squad segments (and keep scrolling down.) Enjoy!

 For more Earth Day activities, click HERE and then SCROLL DOWN to see all the posts.

Easter Silhouette Art

I recently read The Tale of Three Trees to my kids. I LOVE this book! It is a beautiful folktale of how your dreams can come true in the most unexpected ways. The Tale of Three Trees is not a traditional Easter book but it can be read during Christmas, Easter, or any time of the year. That is why it is one of my favorites.

After reading the book, my kids made breathtaking Easter Silhouette paintings. We did a similar art project a couple of summers ago. They enjoyed it so much that I thought it would make a great art activity that could be adapted for this story. {Click Here} for all the instructions.

On a sidenote, this weekend my husband and I celebrated our anniversary. He showered me with lots of love and treated me to a massage, fabulous dinner, and weekend at a hotel. He surely went all out, and there was no doubt that we needed some quality time alone. 

But the most memorable thing my husband did for me was he gave me a gift that touched my heart instantly. My Bible is my most treasured material possession. I have several Bibles around my home but there is one that is my favorite. I have written in it notes from all of my Bible study classes, highlighted verses that I wanted to memorize, and journaled dates and my life's events. I have also had many tears fall into those pages when I've had to cling to God's word during hard times.

However, the Bible that I loved dearly was surely falling apart. The cover was not attached, and the pages were no longer secured and would come out if I did not hold it tight enough. Yet, I adored that book and had no interest in a replacement for my main Bible.

This is what I came home to on our anniversary. My husband had dark pink roses (my favorite color) and my Bible rebound with a beautiful cover sitting next to my anniversary card. I couldn't stop holding my Bible. What a special gift!

May you find joy reading God's word this Easter remembering what He has done for us.

John 11:25
"I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."

Happy Easter friends!

For more Easter activities, click HERE

Beautiful Shaving Cream Hearts for Valentine's Day

Here's a Valentines art project kids of all ages will LOVE! My eleven-year-old is CrAzY about shaving cream art, as well as my two-year-old in the photos. Hey, I even think it is totally cool!

First, cut out a heart from cardstock. You can also use poster board or construction paper.

Spread shaving cream about an inch thick all over a pan or tray. Next, squirt some  red acrylic paint, poster paint, or food coloring onto the shaving cream.

Use a spoon, popsicle stick, or toothpick to swirl (but not too much) to create a marbled effect. Gently press a paper heart into the shaving cream, and let it sit for 10 seconds.

Remove the hearts and sit them onto paper towels for about five minutes to let the paint soak into the paper. This photo makes the heart look like ketchup and mayo mixed together, nothing to brag about. But just be patient. :)

Using a squeegee, carefully scrape the shaving cream off of the paper heart. Look at the awesome marbled effect it left behind!

 Notice how each heart looks completely different. That is my favorite part.

If you have read my blog for awhile, you already know that my kids are shaving cream fanatics ever since we made these shaving cream eggs for Easter.

 

We made shaving cream earths for Earth Day.

We made shaving cream stars for the Fourth of July.

We made shaving cream leaves for fall.

I must forewarn you that shaving cream art is very messy but so worth it. The end products still amaze my kids every time. 

 Hoping your kids ♥ shaving cream art as much as mine!

For more FUN Valentine's Day ideas, click on the image below and then keep scrolling down for all my previous posts. Enjoy!

Using candy corn to teach the Trinity

Teaching the Trinity to children can be a challenge. Getting children to understand that God has three parts: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit can be quite confusing for children to grasp. The easiest way I have found to introduce the Trinity is to relate it to the three forms of water: ice (solid), water (liquid), and steam (gas). I have also used a shamrock to review this concept. {CLICK HERE}  for that post. 

I recently found this A.DOR.A.BLE craft at www.OrientalTrading.com that I did with the Kid's Club in my home.

For those of you new to my site, I host a Kid's Club once a week in my home for children in my neighborhood. They come over for dinner, Bible drills, games, and a craft. It is similar to VBS but instead of just one week a year, we do it all year long. It has been a powerful ministry tool for children in my neighborhood who do not regularly attend church. We have such a wonderful time together each week.

What I liked about this activity is the kids got the concept of the Trinity really fast. Candy corn is in the shape of a triangle, which is usually the shape the Trinity is referred to in drawings. Candy corn is three in one. One candy corn is made up of three colors just like one God is made up of three persons. The kids seemed to relate better because candy was involved. I guess it must be a kid thing to learn better with food ;) 

The great thing about this activity is that you do not need to purchase it. You can make your own at home using construction paper, or you can print off this coloring sheet and write the poem in each section.

As there are three colors in the candy I see;

there are three persons in the Holy Trinity.

God our loving Father, Jesus, the son,

and our helper, the Holy Spirit.

All three are God, yet together they are one.

For those of you who have younger children, you can print off the candy corn sheet and label the three sections: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to simplify the project.

Here is a great video on how candy corn is made. Do you know candy corn's secret ingredient that makes it shiny?

If you'd like to see other ways I have used candy corn for learning activities, fly on over to Homeschool Chicks to read my post there.

Make sure to also hop on over to A Learning Journey for an A.MA.ZING post on tons of fun ways to use candy corn for learning. Also, check out this post on graphing candy corn, too.

After typing this post, I am totally craving candy corn. I better wrap this up and make a quick run to the store now.

Enjoy!

Beautiful Tissue Paper Fall Leaves

 We recently made fall leaves out of tissue paper and liquid starch, and the finished products were spectacular!

First, I enlarged these templates and printed them on cardstock. My kids cut squares of tissue paper and placed them on the leaves. If you have very young children, cut the squares larger. Next, my children painted over the tissue paper with concentrated liquid starch. (We used the brand Sta-Flo.) The liquid starch will dry clear and make the tissue paper adhere to the cardstock. After the leaves were dry, they cut out the leaves. 

This was a terrific art project that can be adapted for kids of all ages!

Enjoy!