ART STARTS for the HOLIDAYS is now complete.  This is not a book.  It is a folder that contains 18 holiday art starts. 

What is an ART START?  An ART START is an idea that a student or child can use to build on for an art project. 

Art in children encourages them to develop the creative part of their brain.  Many students as they progress through elementary school, stop drawing for a variety of reasons.  Maybe they think their picture isn't as good as the student next to them, but most of all it is because they are in an "idea drought".

This folder was designed for students in an "idea drought".  It gives the student the idea and they can develop and build on it.  The most fun will come when you put all the ideas together in a big binder so the students can go through and enjoy everyone's ideas.

Your ART STARTS will come in a folder.  On one side are the ideas that you can run off and give to your students to work on.  I suggest that you make this a Monday assignment and give them all week to develop it.  The other set of pages are the title pages.  If you will take them out you will find that they are all in color and you can laminate them, three hole punch them and have them ready to go into the binder as you give that particular art start out to your students.

On Monday when you give out the Art Starts page, take 5 minutes and explore the subject briefly with them, then give them at least 15 minutes to get started.  Encourage the students to use the papers just like a canvas, use the whole area.  Encourage the use of color instead of black and white.  Explain to them that all artists sign their work and not on the back.  They need to take pride in their work.

On Friday when they are handed in take them to a three hole puncher and punch holes in them, insert the laminated title page in a large binder, so you can add to it all year, and then add the students work to the binder.  Leave the binder where students and visitors to your classroom have ready access and can enjoy the work.  You might want to title the binder "Classroom Book of Art".

Caroline S. Mackay