https://www.yaelbloom.com/teachingblog daily 0.75 2026-01-27 https://www.yaelbloom.com/teachingblog/how-i-teach-weaving-to-young-children monthly 0.5 2026-01-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/4c7a1681-fe46-42bc-b9d1-7f365497e75e/IMG_2378.jpg Blog - How I Teach Weaving to Young Children - Make it stand out If you have time, including decorative techniques like rya knots can keep weaving lessons interesting. Having students draw and reflect on their work is also important. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/0e1fbbc0-4e25-40bc-a4d8-4af392e374df/IMG_4774.JPG Blog - How I Teach Weaving to Young Children - Make it stand out I keep cardboard looms for each of my five 4th grade classes in plastic bins. Here you can see the woven pouches of some early finishers. Every table gets a tool kit with 2 pairs of scissors, 4 combs, and 4 tapestry needles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/8bd44e37-d936-44ba-a0cf-832f01f952e5/IMG_4776.JPG Blog - How I Teach Weaving to Young Children - Make it stand out On the lid of my weaving tool kits, I tape a printed paper ruler. I ask students to measure their projects each week so they can track their progress. Students who are really motivated to make an entire pouch will often measure zealously. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/6b9626ea-16e2-48b8-a03e-e90e9ec52e6f/IMG_20181011_163702_599.jpg Blog - How I Teach Weaving to Young Children - Make it stand out My very first tapestry weaving my freshman year in art school! I hand-dyed the yarn, wove in random materials from the grocery store, and needle felted a nose sniffing around for just right the produce. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/795c12cb-4fe1-43be-a2d1-cc73e97e3c02/IMG_4769.png Blog - How I Teach Weaving to Young Children - Make it stand out I still keep that tapestry loom I built in art school in my studio. Sometimes the simplest tools remain the best ones. https://www.yaelbloom.com/teachingblog/3rd-grade-alebrijes monthly 0.5 2026-01-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/5435e42d-21f2-4120-bbfe-acce52cb661d/IMG_3790.png Blog - 3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes - Make it stand out I wish I’d remembered to take more process photos but here’s a good example of how they looked during the paper-mache stage. This student didn’t make her front legs sturdy enough to support the head, but problem-solved brilliantly by having the head lean down to sniff the ground! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/9d067294-eaa1-4707-a1ef-17867640b983/IMG_4391.png Blog - 3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes - Make it stand out One of the most impressive creatures. This student inspired many others to add more scales and tails. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/babf1670-66d5-4520-8086-685e7deac8ee/IMG_9216.JPG Blog - 3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes - Make it stand out I had been wanting to do a project based on alebrijes since I spotted these little tourist trinket versions. I love how they toe the line between a recognizable animal and fantasy creature. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/2b8c7fc2-297e-48cd-adcf-493f9aa487dc/IMG_4037.JPG Blog - 3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes - Make it stand out These only stayed up in the hallway for a few short weeks because students were begging to take them home as soon as possible! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/ec2361db-d954-42ac-98e5-9a031fd945df/IMG_4347.png Blog - 3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/ad02391b-afcc-4471-8bb9-8f84381647e6/IMG_4402.JPG Blog - 3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes - Make it stand out I love how this student ended up incorporating his plate into a textured environment for his 3-eyed dragon! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/dfa234e0-aaa6-4ca2-9d87-c277fcc8b999/IMG_4370.JPG Blog - 3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes - Make it stand out Instead of a regular artist statement I had them fill out a Pokémon-style character card with sentence starters. This crab-scorpion was one of my favorites. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/4dc7b4c1-ccb3-426e-89ca-63a100285b1b/IMG_4368.JPG Blog - 3rd Grade Papier Mâché Alebrijes - Make it stand out Some sentences were hilarious, like this cat-dog whose magical power is scaring people. Another student wrote that her alebrije’s power was to give flowers when she sneezes— too cute! https://www.yaelbloom.com/teachingblog/observational-drawing-with-5th-grade monthly 0.5 2026-01-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/d92c6ed0-31b5-4a58-a7d9-493802941d79/IMG_5014.png Blog - Observational Drawing with Upper Elementary Students - Make it stand out I have some incredible 5th grade comic artists and illustrators. These students already have strong drawing styles, but observational drawing proved useful for sharpening their foundational skills. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/34b56951-29b0-4f0f-abfc-fdc4d64f6726/IMG_3683.JPG Blog - Observational Drawing with Upper Elementary Students - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/a4c125fc-aa62-4882-acdd-69e2261d48d6/IMG_4885.JPG Blog - Observational Drawing with Upper Elementary Students - Make it stand out It was fun to display larger drawings and parts of their sketchbooks. I included the objects they drew so viewers could see how they worked their way up from simple to complex shapes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/bf4d6e12-7ab3-4b8e-83af-2f422d1dbb58/IMG_3682.JPG Blog - Observational Drawing with Upper Elementary Students - Make it stand out We set up our still lifes with clip lights attached to lunch trays. I inherited a great set of fake fruits from a retired art teacher, and they got tons of use in this unit. Another colleague loves 3D printing and made an entire set of cubes, spheres, pyramids, and cylinders. Lucky us! After these simpler shapes I set up a buffet of still life objects that included shoes, clocks, vintage telephones, glass bottles, and other brassy or shiny things to draw. My favorite way to wrap this unit is to have students sketch their favorite object from the past few weeks and attempt a second drawing using a scratchboard. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/c8a56938-8fed-4f8f-85c9-6d90793f7083/IMG_0851.jpg Blog - Observational Drawing with Upper Elementary Students - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/035560dc-e252-4683-a434-49950b9ef624/IMG_0850+%281%29.jpg Blog - Observational Drawing with Upper Elementary Students - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.yaelbloom.com/teachingblog/prehistoric monthly 0.5 2026-01-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/467f3be0-5e63-4ca5-bb5b-6c93eaa9dba1/IMG_3588.JPG Blog - Pre-historic Art with Middle School - Make it stand out Students used toothbrushes and small cups of paint to create a “spray-paint” splatter effect. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/8c1c4e4e-4440-4802-a3be-6e5ed74a0b87/IMG_3593+%281%29.JPG Blog - Pre-historic Art with Middle School - Make it stand out I also provided black and white chalk pencils for students to add illustrations and details around their animals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/3125823a-14a2-4214-bd2c-b7968d178cbe/IMG_3595.JPG Blog - Pre-historic Art with Middle School - Make it stand out Cuevas de las Manos Source https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/160ad27d-c2ae-4eb8-a1b8-200cbd2ec6cd/IMG_3592.JPG Blog - Pre-historic Art with Middle School - Make it stand out Students also used chalk pastels to create a “halo” by rubbing the pastels outward from the edges of the animal stencils. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6766091afa074c0f3964f270/fd3b5ba6-5cd0-409d-a880-40e90fee90e5/IMG_3594.JPG Blog - Pre-historic Art with Middle School - Make it stand out Here is my teaching exemplar employing all 3 techniques. I’ve seen teachers connect narratives for pre-historic projects to past and present iconography. A fun prompt might be what could we draw to tell humans in the future about our society today? 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