Author: Kathleen McGiveron

My Name is Kathleen McGiveron and I am an Artist and the creator of Ms Artastic (Art Education Resources). My favorite art medium is clay!
The Ultimate List of Distance Learning Art Projects and Resources for Kids

The Ultimate List of Distance Learning Art Projects and Resources for Kids

Even in a crisis or emergency, students deserve the BEST art education, whether they are able to access their classroom or not. These art resources have been selected for this list because they can either be used as take-home art resources, accessed online for e-learning, or can be used with any choice of mediums or materials. These Art Resource creators and educators are here to provide you with assistance during this crisis. All the quality and easy to implement art resources that you need to be able to support your students through this new thing called Distance Learning.

Distance Learning Art Resources for your Students

Distance Learning Art Resources for your Students

Art instruction has become a challenge with the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. In this post, I will provide you with the Distance Learning Art Resources and Activities that I have created for you to use for instructing your students. From Distance Learning Art projects that can be used with any mediums or materials to my Full FREE Art Lessons on my YouTube Channel that I’ve created for you, my goal is to alleviate the stress of planning and creating for you and to provide your students with quality art ideas and at-home lessons.

St. Patrick’s Day Art Lesson, Project, & Activity Ideas for Kids
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St. Patrick’s Day Art Lesson, Project, & Activity Ideas for Kids

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in your classroom with art projects, ideas, and activities for kids. These cute art projects for kids are suitable for teaching a range of art techniques and skills and can be done as either an artwork or craft. Read this post to find art ideas for kids, directed drawings, coloring pages, and St. Patrick’s Day teacher shirts to make your St. Patty’s Day celebration complete.

5 Must Have Mediums in an Art Classroom and WHY
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5 Must Have Mediums in an Art Classroom and WHY

This is my list of ideas for the 5 ultimate art mediums that you should have in your classroom for making art with kids. If you can’t have everything, then these are the different art mediums you need in your art classroom to allow for hands-on, creative, and possibly mixed media art projects. Art teachers, read here to see what you MUST have in your art classroom.

How to Fuel Your Creativity: Tips and Ideas for Artists and Art Makers
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How to Fuel Your Creativity: Tips and Ideas for Artists and Art Makers

Creativity can’t happen if you don’t allow time for it to occur. Sometimes we have intentions on “painting this month” or “writing a blog post this week”, but before you know it, the month or week has passed and you made nothing happen. It is important for your own success that you schedule a specific date and time when you are going to block out the rest of the world, including your TV and phone (music is allowed). In my life, I schedule my own business and my free-creative times in my studio on my digital calendar. I use my OneDrive calendar, but you can use your Google Calendar or phone calendar app. You can also purchase a calendar or notebook calendar or agenda for the year where you can pencil in all your adventures and blocks where you will dedicate yourself to being creative in your office, lounge, studio or wherever you’re creative experiences occur.

How to Encourage ALL Your Students to Create Art (even those who don’t want to)

How to Encourage ALL Your Students to Create Art (even those who don’t want to)

Inspire kids to make art through encouraging them, earning their trust, and building a relationship in your classroom! These are classroom management strategies for art teachers to help them reach all their learners (even those who are unwilling to make art or are challenging to teach). Learn how to draw out the artist in each of your students, inspire them, and be YOUR BEST teacher through reading this blog post! #artteacher #artteachingstrategies #firstyearartteacher #msartastic

Steps to Walking a Creative Path in your Everyday Life – Strategies for Artists & Art Makers

Steps to Walking a Creative Path in your Everyday Life – Strategies for Artists & Art Makers

Learn the steps of how to be creative and integrate creativity in your everyday life. In this blog post, I’ll tell you the secrets of creativity inspiration and how to get ideas that will let you be creative with your ideas, thoughts, DIY projects, art, drawings, design, poetry, blog post writing, podcast making or any other creative adventure you want to pursue. Don’t know how to get over the creativity fear? Here is how. #becreative #creativeinspiration #creativityquotes

How to Encourage a Maker Mindset in your Classroom | Teaching Strategies for Art, STEAM, & Design

How to Encourage a Maker Mindset in your Classroom | Teaching Strategies for Art, STEAM, & Design

A Makerspace is an opportunity to allow kids to be creative, experiment, and learn and apply Growth Mindset thinking when trying to solve real-world problems or STEAM design challenges. It is important to expose kids in Elementary and Middle School to design challenges or projects that require building to provide hands-on experiences to solving problems. Read about my ideas on how to encourage a Maker Mindset in your classroom, library, or home. #backtoschool #makerspace #steamchallenges

5 Ideas for Valentine’s Day Art Lessons, Ideas, & Activities for your Classroom
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5 Ideas for Valentine’s Day Art Lessons, Ideas, & Activities for your Classroom

Have fun creating one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day Art Pieces with kids this February. These 5 art ideas will allow your kids to get their hands-on art mediums that are easy to use and quick to clean. This illustrations and how-to drawing tutorials are the perfect solution for your at home art night needs or for creating in your classroom with your students. Whatever you need, these tutorials and art ideas are bound to get you and your kids or students creating amazing Valentine’s Day Artworks that will capture an audience! #valentinesdayart #valentinesdayartprojects #valentinesdaydiy

10 Reasons Why Arts Integration in Schools is Important | Art Education Resources

10 Reasons Why Arts Integration in Schools is Important | Art Education Resources

Arts integration in schools are important as they provide students with a complete education. Visual Arts teach visual communication, fine motor skills, culture, how to persevere, how to problem solve, how to think critically, and how to face challenges. All these skills can be learned through the arts, then applied to other academics, and later, a child’s career. Here are my 10 Reasons on why arts integration in schools is important. #artseducation #artintegration #artteacher

Valentines Day Art Project Tutorial for Kids: Valentines Puppy
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Valentines Day Art Project Tutorial for Kids: Valentines Puppy

Teaching Art to Kids leading up to Valentine’s Day can be fun! Here is an art project tutorial that teaches elementary students how to create a Valentine’s puppy using oil pastels and paint. Teach how to use a variety of art mediums with this quick and easy art activity that will have kids making a fun illustration. Perfect teaching resource for grade 4 and grade 5 students.

5 New Years Art Lesson and Activity Ideas to Try in your Classroom
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5 New Years Art Lesson and Activity Ideas to Try in your Classroom

Start the New Year off in your classroom in an artastic way! Engage your students with art ideas that are perfect for goal setting, practicing drawing skills, and getting creative at the start of the New Year. Try these 5 New Years Art Ideas in your classroom or at home to get your creative juices flowing. Let’s get started!

Winter Art Project Activity for your Classroom | FREE Winter Evergreen Art Project
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Winter Art Project Activity for your Classroom | FREE Winter Evergreen Art Project

Learn how to create this Winter Art Project in your classroom for FREE with the FREE Downloadable PDF that includes all the tools and steps that you need to not only teach the lesson, but display it too. Students will use paint, paper, and pastel to create this FREE Winter Evergreen Art Project.

6 Christmas Art Lesson and Activity Ideas for Your Classroom
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6 Christmas Art Lesson and Activity Ideas for Your Classroom

Coming up with ideas for what to do with your students before Christmas break can often be difficult, especially when you’re burn’t out and tired from both teaching and getting-ready-for-Christmas-life outside of work. Here are 6 Art Activity Ideas that you can do in your classroom to be prepared and done planning before your vacation days start.

Thankful, a Thanksgiving Art Project for Kids to do in your Classroom

Thankful, a Thanksgiving Art Project for Kids to do in your Classroom

Thanksgiving is a great time to create some Autumn themed work that reflects our thankfulness for things that we appreciate in our lives and the harvest that has been collected from the summer. This Thanksgiving, get out a piece of paper or your sketchbook and get ready to create some Thanksgiving art either in your home or in the classroom.

Autumn Art Lesson for Kids, Leaves Line Art Tutorial & FREE DOWNLOAD
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Autumn Art Lesson for Kids, Leaves Line Art Tutorial & FREE DOWNLOAD

I love when the leaves change and they begin to change into those warm, beautiful colors. This is a great opportunity to teach your students about both Autumn and the Element of Art: Line using this FREE Art Tutorial. Click here or scroll to the bottom of the page to download the printable tutorial; great to use yourself or leave for a sub!

Element of Art: Line in 10 Famous Artworks in Art History to Reference in your Classroom
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Element of Art: Line in 10 Famous Artworks in Art History to Reference in your Classroom

The Element of Art: Line is a fun element to work with as an art teacher as most art begins with line and line can take on many shapes or forms or expressions. Line works with the other elements: shape, color, form, texture. Line can help create shape or texture. For this reason, it is is a lovely Element of Art to start with in teaching in your art classroom.

10 Art Teacher Tips & Teaching Strategies for Back to School Success
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10 Art Teacher Tips & Teaching Strategies for Back to School Success

When it comes to Back to School, a little panic sets in because of the unknown. We are unsure if any changes will happen in the school, unsure of our schedule, unsure if there will be supplies budget cuts (why do they do this!?), unsure if the staff has changed significantly, unsure who the kids are… These are all unknowns. These are, for the most part, out of your control. We cannot worry about things we can’t control. We are instead, going to place out focus on things we CAN control. If we focus our attention here and get things we can control organized and prepped, it will make our back to school, as well as the year, a lot more stress-free. Isn’t that the goal anyway?

How-to Guide for a First Year Art Teacher: 10 Steps for Success | Teaching Strategies & Resources
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How-to Guide for a First Year Art Teacher: 10 Steps for Success | Teaching Strategies & Resources

Welcome to the How-To Guide for First Year Art Teachers where I give you my 10 Steps for Success! Congratulations! You got your own classroom. OH MY GOSH, you have your own classroom. Your mind and stomach start racing, both with extreme excitement and panic because now, it all just got real. You will have a lot of students, a lot of planning, and a lot of classroom to keep organized. Figuring out where to even start is a huge stress and will require a tea (or a beer) and a nap (probably some Netflix too).

How to Teach Classroom Routines and Procedures in a Fun and Engaging Way in Your Art Classroom | Teaching Strategies
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How to Teach Classroom Routines and Procedures in a Fun and Engaging Way in Your Art Classroom | Teaching Strategies

Teaching students rules and procedures is a skill in itself. You have to learn to teach it and then reinforce them while doing it in an engaging way. In this article, I’ll give you some ideas of how to teach your students your classroom routines and expectations in a fun and engaging way.

Back to School Guide for Art Teachers | Teaching Strategies & Routines for Success
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Back to School Guide for Art Teachers | Teaching Strategies & Routines for Success

Getting ready for Back to School in your art classroom can sometimes be stressful. There is a lot to think about and remember since you’ve been away for 2 months. As well, the kids that left you knew your routines and now you have to re-teach them to the new set of kids. Or, you might be in your first years of teaching and are still learning how to effectively teach classroom routines in your art classroom. Or in later years and looking for some fresh ideas to allow your back to school run smoothly. I’m going to share with you how to efficiently set up your Back to School routines and systems to allow you to effectively teach rules and routines and create classroom community.