Cassie Stephens's Blog, page 15

What a Wonderful World Mural

Well, this blog post has been a long time coming, as we've been working on this What a Wonderful World mural since the start of the school year! I'm excited to say that it's complete and it's up (when it wants to stay up, sigh). You can take a tour of the mural and learn all about who made what and what lessons were involved in this video right here! We've done SO MANY school-wide collaboratives at my school. I absolutely love them. They are also my favorite way to start the school year. I'm working on creating another blog post of all our collaboratives compiled in one post...but until then, check out the video for details and THIS podcast episode on how you can use song as a collaborative inspiration! This mural makes me so happy and I thought it was such an appropriate song for this school year. I've gotten so much of a wonderful response from the faculty and staff (and kids!) that I'm thrilled. I mean, doing a collab like this is so much work. Especially when it comes time to assemble and hang the beast! In the podcast episode, I mentioned the painted party my students did to create the background papers. Here is the blog post all about that! 
And here's the video if you'd like to see us in action:
One of the many reasons I like to start my school year with a collaborative is because it means we are all pretty much working with the same art supplies. In this case, we were working with bingo daubers and tempera paint...a lot!
Some of the lessons were tired and true like the first grade flowers you see at the start of this blog post. Some were new like the funny face clouds by kindergarten!
Our next mural is going to be based on our school song! I'm so glad we have a school song, it's so sweet and our students love to sing it. I think it will be perfect and hope to create a permanent display.  I got many requests from teachers for future songs....but next time I think I'd like to go with a song that the kids really know and love.  Adding the component of also learning the song in sign language was very fun and a great way to connect with our deaf friends. We have fabulous ASL teachers in our school who helped us learn the song.  Of course learning a song in a different language would be amazing too! The kids loved creating these painted plates with greetings in different languages for the mural. This was an easy early finisher activity for my students as they worked thru their paintings.  I know I'm totally oversharing in this post but I just love this mural so much! Funny face raindrops by second grade.  Collage and stitched houses by first! Second grade read It's Okay to be Different by Todd Parr as their inspiration for their contribution to the mural.  Third grade created these warm color flowers! And I got to put it all together. Lucky me! It's okay, I love it so much and can't wait to create another! You'll have to let me know if you tackle a project like this and how it goes.

Favorite Clay Lessons for Kindergarten!

I just uploaded a new clay video to my YouTube channel for my kindergarten students that I thought I'd share with you all. I also thought I'd pile all of my favorite kindergarten clay projects right here in one blog post in case you are interested! I'll be adding a lot of clay videos to my YouTube channel this week so you may want to subscribe! 
If you are new to working with clay and kids or feeling like you need a crash course, you may want to start with a couple of videos I created just for you! Here's one on how I set up for clay:
Here's a video all about glaze! 
Okay, now that that's outta the way, let's talk about sharing our love for clay with out students! 
Let's start with the video I created and shared with all of my students before embarking on our clay adventure!This video made a world of a difference! Suddenly my students understood clay and the process of creating with clay so much more. After this video, all of my classes spent the rest of their 30 minute art class creating and exploring with clay. The following day, my kindergarten viewed this video:
Then we created our clay plaques! This year, we made ours using heart-shaped cookie cutters but really any could be used. In the past, we have glazed these or painted them with acrylics. Not sure how we will finish them off but we will definitely be using wire and beads to create a fun hanger!
Here are some of my other favorite kindergarten clay lessons!
Clay turtles! If you'd like to see the kids in action creating these, check this out:
Need a lesson that is ALWAYS a hit and each kiddo is successful? Try this Texture Taco lesson on for size! Roll the clip:
You might have noticed that I have a thing for texture and clay! Kindergarten created these texture butterflies and we had a blast. In fact, I just might have to do this one again this year! All the lesson details here.  These clay fish are also a kid fave! And check out that alternative to glazing. You can find out how these were created right here. 
These kindergarten clay birds always turn out so cute. Here's a video!Kindergarten has also had a blast making clay pups and clay cats! Really, we just love creating in clay so much in kindergarten (and all classes!). I can't wait to share with you what else we are making out of clay. 

WHAT?! NO KILN?!
No problem, I got you! Check out my book with 52 clay projects that don't require a kiln! 

Art Teacherin' 101: New Seat Spots and Dance Party Color Wheels!

I've been in school since August and since that time, my room has changed more than it ever has over the course of my 21 years teaching! First I was told I'd be on a cart...then that I would have to have my students hear instructions from their tables (which I hate as I find it's just too distracting for them) and THEN I was told that I could have my students sit on the floor as long as they are spread apart and all wearing their masks. We never take off our masks in art so this was like a gift sent from heaven. I'm lucky in that my room is very big...but it did mean that I totally had to revamp my instructional area, even getting my T.V. and document camera moved, to accommodate all of these changes. At the start of the new school year, my instructional area looked like this:
To keep on top of contact tracing, all of my students in every class have a number order. They line up this way, sit next to the same friends this way, grab supplies this way...you get the idea. I numbered my line up spots both in the hallway and in my room as well as our instructional area (seen here) and tables and chairs! It has helped tremendously. BUT...these floor spots were simply numbered paper circles taped to the floor. Their life didn't outlast the determination that is small humans picking at things. So this weekend, I thought I'd trade them out for dry erase cirles! I ordered some, they arrived with lightening speed and today I was blessed with a ...
SNOW DAY! I didn't find out about it until I arrived at school to find the parking lot deserted. No worries! It gave me plenty of time to create my dream floor! I created a video to walk you through it, if you are interested.Oh, y'all! I'm so excited!
If I could dry erase the art room from floor to ceiling I would...oh, wait. I think I pretty much have! 
Like I said, not sure how this is gonna work, if it is gonna work. BUT I am forever switching the script to find something that just might. It keeps me and my students on my toes. Here's a pic of my toes for emphasis. Also, pleas ignore my pale and hairy legs!
If anything, at least it's colorful! I'm hoping the kids are as excited as I am when they see it tomorrow. In the meantime, I will ALWAYS be checking for a snow day from now on!

What is Clay? An Introduction to Clay and Ceramics for Elementary Age Children

Every year, I give the same spiel to my classes about clay and ceramics: what clay is made from, how it is fired, what glaze is, the difference between hand built versus wheel thrown and more. It's exhausting! So this year, I put it into a video, added some visuals and used it today. It worked great, even my kindergarten understood what I was yammering about. It's a little long and it's definitely not perfect but...you are more than welcome to use it in your art teacherin' world. Here you go:
Stay tuned for a lot of clay videos coming your way! 

DIY Earrings: Embroidered Color Wheel Earrings for the Beginner!

I just stitched up another pair of embroidered earrings, y'all! This time the theme was color wheel. I used a different stitch in each of the triangles and shared the process in this video! I hope you'll stitch along with me:
This has been a lot of fun for me...while I love embroidery, I don't love long projects. These are short and simple. Not only that but these earrings are so lightweight! In the past, I've made earrings of other things and they've always weighted a ton. These I don't even think about once I have them on! 
More plans for more earrings are in the works! I'll keep creating the videos...if anything, it might introduce you to some new stitches! Have fun!

21 Art Lessons with the Theme of Love!

Who's ready to kick off this new year with a whole lotta love, color and bright, fun lessons? BUT who's also not done any real thinkin' about said lessons?! If you said ME to both of those questions than I gotta tell ya, YOU AND ME BOTH. Luckily, I've done a whole lotta love lessons over the years and put all 21 of 'em right here in this blog post. If you follow the links to these, you'll find videos for most and lesson details for ll of them. Have fun creating!
Learn how to draw each of these cuties in these how to draw videos, found here!  Kindergarten tried their hand at printing with this project and had such a blast!  These relief hearts by kindergarten were a hit and definitely a lesson I hope to repeat soon!  Of course, you can't celebrate all things love and Valentines-y without sharing the work of Chris Uphues with your students! We've done a couple lessons inspired by him. This one is a collage and printing project.  This lesson has always been a hit on my blog with other art teachers and my students. In fact, I created this lesson as a sub plan so it's been a hit with my subs too! You can find all the details and video here. My students created this HUGE collaborative mural inspired buy Britto. Lesson video here! First grade created these huge Britto-inspired hearts with bingo daubers, bleeding tissue paper and paint sticks. Lesson details here. 
Ready to tackle printmaking with your students? Here's a lesson I've done a couple of years now with my second graders: Robert Indiana-inspired LOVE prints! 
I created these hearts with wings with foil, Celluclay and plaster strips! They are super simple to make. More here.  Inspired by those hearts, I created a lesson for my second graders to make these! 
A couple of years ago, I did a professional development with the faculty and staff at my school. We created these My Heart Has Wings sculptures. Details here.  Here was a fun lesson where we were able to use our messy mats as apart of our masterpiece! Not only that but this project provided two heart-tastic pieces for the price of one. These... And these! If you are looking to have your students create a large collaborative piece, you can see what each grade level worked on to make this piece here.  Looking for a quick lesson that introduces students to three contemporary artists who used love and hearts as their theme? Check out this blog post with a video lesson!  James Rizzi is always a fun artist to share with your students. We loved creating these love birds! Here's another lesson we do just about every year in first grade: these woven and stitched hearts! All the lesson details can be found here. I created a variation of this lesson recently where students weave together strips of paper in their skin tones. You can find it here. 
These candy hearts were created by my fourth graders and we used plaster strips to create them. It was so fun to see these all come together and display them in a large candy heart box! Lesson details here.  Early finishers of the candy hearts lesson moved onto this project when they were finished! 
Wow, did the third graders have a blast with this one! We made plaster chocolates that looked good enough to eat! All the lesson details here.  Need a quick lesson with a contemporary artist inspiration? Try this JGoldcrown lesson on for size!

Art Teacherin' 101: The Anatomy of a Paintbrush!

I know that somewhere, out there, there's an art teacher putting off their art supply order because they just don't know where to start. I mean, just look at the paintbrush section, for example! There you'll find page after page of paintbrushes ranging in a variety of sizes and shapes. Where to start?! In this wee little five minute video, I'll share with you how to decide what to buy from the bristles all the way down to what the handle is made from. I hope it helps! Happy painting!

DIY Earrings! Learn to Embroidery and Make Pompom Earrings!

For the longest, I never wore earrings. My ears have been pierced since I was a kid but...my poor little earlobes have always been high maintenance. If the metal of the post isn't just right, my ears itch and throb. If the earring is even just the slightest bit heavy, my ears start complaining and driving my left eye to twitch. It was all too much! But a couple of years ago, that changed when I spotted a pair of earrings that just sent me spiraling outta control. These days, all I can say is: I like big earrings...and I cannot lie.
But with big earrings, comes big wait. And, y'all, I just cannot. I tried making my own earrings out of wooden beads and polymer clay but, man, they were so heavy! Not too long ago, on a road trip, I stitched up a couple of rainbow earrings and they were perfect! Not heavy at all, nice and big like I like 'em and, best of all, I can walk around and say "THANKS! I MADE THEM!" to anyone who asks (and even if they don't). 
Since, I've gotten some questions on social media just how I made them and if I'd make a tutorial. So! Here you are! I've created two earring tutorials just for you...one on these rainbows and the other on pompoms. More to come as I'm currently on an earring makin' bender, so stay tuned. Until then, gather up your supplies and get to stitchin'! And get to pompomin'! Have fun!

Christmas Crafts for the Holidays!

Recently, I posted my favorite winter lessons for my students (you can find it here!) Today I thought I'd share my fave Christmas crafts for we adults! These are projects I've done with my friends in years past when I hosted Christmas craft nights. One of my favorite things to do during the holidays...that I've just not been able to do this year. But that doesn't mean we still can't create! You might even want to schedule a Zoom craft night with friends to give these a whirl. So here we go...my favorite Christmas crafts! Check out these cuties! These were made with old paint brushes, polymer clay, paint, yarn and whatever else I had on hand. You can find a video and learn more right here! A handful of years ago, we created Putz Houses! If you aren't familiar, these little houses were created in the 1950's and used to decorate trees. There's a hole in the back where you can slide them onto tree lights and the houses then light up! You can see all the step by step details in this blog post. 
These are highly addictive to make!
And all together, they create a sweet village! Is there anything more festive than an art supply decorated wreath? I say no! ! I also did this craft with my students and they loved it. Check it out here.  You won't believe how EASY this one is! My all time favorite craft is needle-felting. Creating wee needle felted ornaments with small embroidery hoops was a fun and easy craft. Some of us even added some embroidery to our designs. Details here.  To decorate my art room rainbow tree, I used palettes that I just painted as well as old paint brushes and cardboard tube crayons I created! Check it out here. 
Crayon tube sculpture details here, with video!  This majestic thing of beauty actually stays up all year in my art room and is from Treetopia.
For our most recent craft night, we created these! So simple to make. We created them with cardboard cones left over from yarn, yarn bombed them and added details. I'm thinking I may have to create a how-to video of this and the pompoms this week so stay tuned.
Happy Christmas Crafting, y'all!

How to Draw Winter Pups and Kittens!

Hey there, friends! I recently had to take some time off from school putting me out of my classroom for three weeks. I'm fine, everything's fine (and no, I didn't have covid) but coming back...that didn't feel fine. Projects that we'd left hanging for the last three weeks didn't seem the best place to pick up where we left off. So I decided to give my youngest artists and myself a break from those projects and start something new. These little cats and dogs inspired by artist, author and illustrator Angie Rozelaar seemed like the perfect thing. Above is what my first graders created in 30 minutes. I got a lot of questions on this over on my IG so I decided to create a video. Here you go:
Feel free to use in your teaching world! All I ask is that credit be given when asked. I always share lessons and resources FOR FREE...my only "payment" required is that my lessons not be sold on TPT (it happens ALL THE TIME) and that credit be given. Please and thank you!
Just for a little variety, I decided to have my second graders draw pups instead of kittens. This tutorial can also be found in the video. Have fun, y'all! And here's to making it through this last week and a half before break!