Art Teachers! Let’s talk about TLC. As well, find a GIVEAWAY in this post! We are SO STRESSED. This year is completely beyond manageable and overwhelming. This year is going to absorb a lot of our patience, energy, and even our welfare. It is going to be really important that we make sure that we take care of ourselves this year because when we’re stressed and overworked, we can create ill effects for both our mental and physical health. I always find that when I am stressed out that I get sick a lot easier. Scroll to the end of this post to find my Art Teacher TLC Bingo Contest! Let’s look at some ways to incorporate some Art Teacher TLC into our lives. #msartasticbingo #artteacher #artteachertlc

Make some Art!

I don’t know about you but I ALWAYS feel so much better after a creative session in the studio, whether I’m creating for Ms Artastic or myself. I really do need to get in there and start a new sculpture and work on my paintings though. My own creative expression sometimes goes to the side when I am creating art lessons for kids and it is a bad habit because it is what I am passionate about and it GROUNDS me. Whatever your art is, whether it is doodling in your sketchbook, playing with watercolors, oil paints, collage, or sculpture with clay, find and hour of YOU time and create.

Be sure to find a consistent time in your week where you can have a studio or art making session. I think that we need to use it for our OWN Social Emotional states. We’re doing so much to meet the Social Emotional Learning needs for students during this time that we often forget about our own selves, how we feel, and the traumas that we may be facing. Starring at face shields, isolating ourselves, and jumping away from children is not our usual so it is wearing us down whether we consciously know it is or not.

More than ever, it is essential that we connect and check in with ourselves. So for your first Art Teacher TLC Action Item, I would LOVE for you to schedule time (preferably weekly if you can) where you are going to block out time, put down the cell phone and hide it, and just make some art.

woman in blue denim button down jacket and black pants — Photo by Key Notez on Pexels.com

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
Henri Matisse

Healthy Eating

Now more than ever, I think we need to visit our “healthy eating goals”. Even if you consider yourself to be a healthy eater, can you do it better? Is there something you could eliminate? A lot of studies have shown that weight loss and making healthy eating choices (and life style choices) have helped fight COVID-19 infection. Good nutrition can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, and can reduce risk of chronic diseases such a heart disease.

Fill your diet with proteins, fiber, calcium, and health carbohydrates (such as ones from vegetables and fruit). Eliminating all the processed food, fast food, pastas, and which startchy foods will do wonders! Less sugar too. Junk food is called junk food for a reason: there is nothing nutritional in it.

If you’re like me and don’t eat meat and struggle to find sources of protein (or if you want to just limit your meat intake because it is expensive… reducing the meat meals cuts down on grocery bills by HUNDREDS), try looking towards replacing the “meat” on your dish with a couple more sides. I’ll be honest, I eat a lot of food and I like eating variety on my plate. So I balance out different types of plant proteins and veggies, like having carrots, quinoa or whole grain rice, and chickpeas or legumes.

variety of dishes — Photo by Ella Olsson on Pexels.com

Protein Replacements:
–Chia Seeds: (add to oatmeal, cereal, salads, smoothies, baking, soup, or make chia seed pudding. It is also very high in fiber!)
–Pumpkin Seeds: VERY high in protein
–Hemp Seeds: high in protein and your Omegas and they taste nice! I sprinkle them in cereals, smoothies, soups, in sandwiches or wraps (just sprinkle it on the dressing like mustard and it’ll stick. You won’t know it’s there when you eat it). It’s nice on yogurt too!
–Chickpeas: I like to marinate it in lemon, olive oil (a bit) and onions for a chickpea salad. You can make chana masala, or add it to bean salad. You can also easily make Hummus with a food processor (honestly, I didn’t know it was THAT easy to make hummus!). Mmmmm….. hummus… I’m drooling already. Oh yeah… Do you like Pita wraps? Try adding falafels in them instead!!! Chickpeas please!
–Beans: lots of protein, lots of uses!
–Green Beans: Proteins, fiber, and low in calories! Honestly, I have eaten a lot of green beans lately. I eat them greek style, tossed with garlic, steamed… But I grow a lot of green beans in the Summer and I’m still eating the ones I froze last year! So this year, I took all my green beans I grew and I decided to instead PICKLE them! This way I can feel like they’re a completely new snack and I can take them for lunches or eat them as a side. I made some spicy and some not! So if you’re like me and have too many, try this as a new way to eat your green beans.

I’m definitely not saying you should be a vegetarian, but if you have a picky eater in your home that doesn’t like meat or if you’re looking for healthy protein replacements, you can try these. I know people often think “What do you eat?” once you eliminate meat, but honestly… I just eat EVERYTHING but the meat. I just wanted to offer ideas for plant proteins should you want to try this occasionally as a “healthy eating” tactic. Eating meat constantly can have side effects too so even reducing the AMOUNT you eat can better your overall health (and weight) and reduce a lot of disease later in your adult life. As well… It will greatly reduce your grocery bill. And freezer space. Which is great if you are trying to reduce grocery shopping in the pandemic.

Meditation

I love meditation! I do it for me and often incorporate it into my classroom! It is a great way to transition into creating art in your classroom. You can do complete meditation with music, you can do guided meditation, you can even make an art version and do guided meditation with drawing! Mindful art starts such as meditation music with dim lights and silent sketching can be a WONDERFUL art classroom start, especially during the pandemic when kids are needing to sanitize before they start the day: this gives them something to do while they patiently wait for their friends and also gives them the time they need to transition, feel calm, and feel balanced.

But meditation is necessary for you too. Meditation for US, the adults, can reduce stress and control anxiety. I don’t about you, but this year is making me very stressed and anxious. I don’t know what is going to happen. I don’t know who is sick and isn’t sick. I have no means to keep myself safe in my classroom except my own mask. It can bring you focus, calm, and inner peace. It can help you center yourself and bring your attention back to the present moment, allowing you to not worry about the future (it hasn’t happened yet) and not worry about the past (it has already happened and therefore we cannot change it).

Action Item: Try meditating daily or weekly. It might be a great way for you to start your morning! 10 minutes of meditation! If you get up 10 minutes earlier, you can add this into your every day. It has been proven that it is beneficial for both your emotional well-being and overall health.

woman girl animal dog — Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Exercise

One way to keep care of yourself during times where you have feelings of stress and a sense of overwhelm is to exercise. I know you have hear this a lot, and if you’re like me you say “yah yah, I’ll exercise” or “I’ll start Monday” but then you never do. Suddenly it has been 3 months and you haven’t even gone on a walk. However, right now, we really NEED to do this. It throws all the stress and anxiety out the door. It will ground and center you.

I find that after a workout session that any thoughts about work or what happened in the day are lost and gone. Sometimes I get fixated on something that happened and I will think about it and relive it over and over. Exercising make all those racing thoughts disappear and really allows me to move on in the day.

One way to get exercise into your day without making a huge production with it is by walking at lunch! If you don’t want to do full workout plans on YouTube or use weight or if you’re short of time, go on a walk at lunch around your school’s neighborhood! I do this as much as I can because it helps me get in steps and helps me feel clear, calm, and energized through the rest of the day!

woman doing push ups — Photo by Karl Solano on Pexels.com

Download Free Art Worksheets for Kids

Click here to download free art worksheets that you can print to allow kids to explore art at home!

Hobbies or Passion Hour for Adults

I think this is a fun one! Play! Explore your hobby each week to give yourself a little TLC and some escape from everything going on. You could also do a Passion Hour for adults where you explore a passion, hobby, or interest for an hour each week. Set a time and date and do it, 1 hour straight, no cell phone, no interruptions.

You could try setting a timer and hide your phone and get yourself to play for a full hour. Let yourself immerse in making art, crafting, sewing, photography, painting, or research. Whatever makes you happy, DO IT. Do it for 1 hour. Don’t stop at 55 minutes. 1 hour. 1 hour of being YOU.

ENTER TO WIN! Art Teacher TLC Bingo!

I have a GIVEAWAY for you! This is an Art Teacher TLC Bingo contest!

You have until Oct. 31st to complete your TLC Challenge! This is an Instagram integrated, choice based one that will hopefully help you get through the next challenging period in our lives.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR BINGO CARD!

2 ways to enter to WIN:

1) Complete a LINE (diagonal, horizontal, or vertical) to enter to win Halloween Directed Draws and Coloring Pages from my TpT store.

2) Complete the BLACKOUT for a chance to win $30.00 in resources from my TpT Store.

Finish a line or BLACKOUT, take a picture of your bingo card, and post it to your Instagram feed with the hashtag:

#msartasticbingo

Contest Ends Oct. 31st 2020

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR BINGO CARD!

Art Lessons You’ll LOVE!

Thank you for reading my blog post! I am grateful that you did and I appreciate you having took the time to read to the end. Thank you so much. Please write any questions you have in the comments section of this post.

Please help me out by subscribing to my YouTube Channel to help me reach my goal of 100,000 subscribers. I teach full art lessons and drawing tutorials for kids on my channel and I am confident you will enjoy your subscription. Click here to subscribe!

Yours Truly,
Kathleen McGiveron (Ms Artastic)