Summer musings

I have no idea if i use cookies or not. I just write a blog. However my business bank account was hacked and it is still such a mess. personal consumber accounts are protected but not business!!  My advice is Yall be careful now ya hear? If any cookies are in use here I sure dont know it! I am not that computer savvy.
 I have been busy making candles, bath bombs, soaps, and lotion bars for my business, but  I have made one nice batch of lessons for out door art. I hope you all will enjoy it. Here it is:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Art-Lessons-for-the-Outdoors-3849980

Valentine TPT Sale

That's right- You heard it here! Treachers pay TEachers is having a Valentines Day Sale! So when you are tired from those class parties and cant make to Ash Wednesday service, come go shopping with us! Everything in my store will be 20% off and Tpt takes an additional 5% off your entire purchase.
Click on this link to get to my store:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gena-Mcwilliams

Valentines Day is coming!

I have Valentines Coloring Sheets, Valentine Collages, Valentines connected to Symmetry and Valentines and the art of Jim Dine. Here are the links:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentine-Coloring-Sheets-2979429

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-and-Symmetry-534034

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easy-Valentine-Art-Projects-1090267

Snow and Valentines

Well last week we got snow! It was only for one day and it wasnt much but enough for schools to be cancelled. The next day some schools were still out because the snow melted and then the roads had ice. It was my birthday too. At least the weekend before I went to Saint Simons Island- my birthday gift to myself.
So now it's time to start preparing for Valentines Day and Black History month and Presidents Day. That's a lot for one month. My store has lessons for all three. One of my favorite lessons is the one about colonial art and the Limners who were really house painters. They also would paint portraits. They would take boards and paint bodies of people and children in various poses, all holding something. They would let the customer choose which pose he liked and paint the customers portrait on the body and also whatever personal object the customer would be holding.
Here's the link to the lesson:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ye-Olde-Colonial-Portraits-a-cross-curricula-drawinghistory-lesson-422600

Snowflakes

Ok I 'm here in the South. Last week or so ago the snow missed us and went to Atlanta. This week the snow went to South Georgia and turned to ice on the beach of Saint Simons Island. Again we were missed here in Middle Georgia.
 Monday is the big Georgia/Alabama game and they are calling for rain but a low of 33. I wonder if we will get any ice or snow? It usually happens when its not predicted.
I still have a cool product for cutting snowflakes, linking it to symmetry(both math and an element of art design) and some cool ideas about creating art with those snowflakes. Here is the link:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Snowflakes-and-Symmetry-1007433

I also have Winter coloring sheets. Here's the link:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Coloring-Sheets-2197096

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everybody! Ready to go back to school? Snow Wonderful snow? I wouldn't know. Here in the South we rarely get any. We usually get the dreaded ice. However it's a good time to teach cutting out snowflakes. My art lesson on Snowflakes and symmetry not only teaches how to cut out snowflakes but also gives suggestions what to do with those snowflakes.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Snowflakes-and-Symmetry-1007433

thanksgiving

Wow! I haven't blogged in awhile! So what's been going on with me? My grand children started a new school. We were hit by Hurricane Irma on September 11. My husband had back surgery already scheduled for the end of October so I had to help him clean up on the weekends and get the yard and any of his projects completed. Now we are in the recovery stage. I still have to help him because he cant bend. lift. or twist or drive a car or even ride in a car until December.
Our candle business has had some huge orders come in lately so that has also kept me away from blogging.
Thanksgiving and Fall art is one of my favorite times of the year. I like to introduce and study Native American art. The National Ocmulgee Indian Mounds is in my town. There is a lot of history here and over the years children have found scads of arrowheads.
A favorite lesson is my Easy Native American art lesson. It tells a bit about early Native American art  and can be taught as a review of geometric shapes.
Click on the following link to find the lesson:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easy-Native-American-Art-Project-1545675

TPT Bonus Back to School Sale

Did everyone enjoy the eclipse? I was home and the cicadas started chirping. We didn't get but 95% eclipse but I did get some photos of some strange reflections that looked like the moon partially eclipsing the sun in  patterns!
For some odd reason Teachers Pay Teachers powers that be decided to have their august Bonus sale tomorrow. My store is on sale for 20% off and tpt gives you the buyer another 5%.
Clickthe link below to get to my store:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gena-Mcwilliams

Back to School Art

Have you notice that students get scared or anxious over drawing on that blank white piece of paper? I have some great ice breakers for back to school art jitters! Check out this one. It's a freebie:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ice-Breaking-with-Line-Designs-1339838

Back to School Sale

My store is having a sale- Tpt is having a sitewide sale! Save upto 25% off ! Please remember those needed art projects! Click on my link to get to my store! www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Gena-Mcwilliams

Happy Fourth of July

I am usually on Saint Simons Island for the fourth of July. Saint Simons has fireworks going off from several spots on the beach and from the pier. It is a fantastic display if you can position your self to see most of the fireworks and Jekyll Island's display and there is another one off in the distance.
I am working on creating art projects organized by grades. My first one is posted on TPT. Here's the link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Art-Projects-for-First-Grade-Bundle-3227204

Summer Art

It's  summer time and the living is easy! I wish... There have been two too many deaths so far- Gregg Allman was the first. He was buried here in Macon and the fans all partied. Unfortunately one of my former art students (now a grown young man) ingested something that took his life while asleep. A lot of folks had drug overdoses and a few have died from fake opioids. The young man's family is suspicious that he may have taken one.
 On a happier note my grand children have gone one week to a Roman Catholic School's summer camp and have absolutely loved it! The camp is 6 weeks long and is themed based. The theme this year are Luaus and Hawaii. They have studied volcanoes and will create them this week. Last week they learned how to hula and made leis. They also go on field trips and visit a water park each week.
Learning can be fun!
I have created some new products:
One is a coloring workbook based on the color wheel which I use to teach children how to make colors not mud!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-to-make-colors-workbook-3186978

Another product is making a color wheel triangle for preschoolers through first grade.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Triangle-Color-Wheel-3187038
Both of these will be 50% off starting on Monday and ending Tuesday night.

Memorial Day Art

Memorial Day is coming soon. Being from the South my grandparents always called it Yankee Memorial Day because there is a Confederate Memorial Day but I don't even know when that is! According to Google there wasn't a separate Confederate Day so maybe I'm not remembering things correctly or my grandfather was a little mixed up.
Even though we are supposed to be honoring those military personnel who gave their lives for us I still think of my father. He didn't die in battle but was a p.o.w. in World War II. He was in Stalag 17 which a movie and a play was based on. There were rumors that Hogans Heroes was a comedy based on Stalag 17 but those were not true.
 So if you would like to use some red white and blue patriotic papers before hand, check out this product by clicking on the link:


https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Patriotic-frames-borders-and-papers-1925107

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Before I retired I loved it when the parents at my school brought in goodies to the workroom. Some of us specials would roam the three workrooms looking for the best treats! Then the parent group took over and got organized. They started bringing in the same dishes for each workroom. It quit being fun!
To celebrate the week Teachers Pay Teachers is having a site wide sale May 9-10! Everything in my store is 20% off and with TPT's added 10% that makes my products 28% off. I am no mathematician but that is what they say!  Just click on the link below to get to my store! and be sure to add the code thats at the top of my store when you check out. Mizz Mac
www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Gena-Mcwilliams

Earth Day Art Projects

Hey there! Earth Day 2017 will arrive on Sunday April 22. I do believe that is the week after Easter. If you are looking for some cool Earth Day Art projects to create with your children/students, I have a couple in my TPT store. Just click on the link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easy-Artsy-Landscapes-Galore-1212604

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Amazing-Landscapes-a-drawing-and-painting-project-for-beginners-615788

And Shhhh- I'm having a sale RIGHT NOW- 20% off my entire store thru tomorrow- April 3.

www.teacherspaylteachers.com/Store/Gena-Mcwilliams

Saint Patricks Day

If you are here in the South, particularly Middle Georgia, you are already experiencing Spring. The azaleas are blooming. Our cars are covered with yellow pollen. Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday already. That means Saint Patricks Day is not far away. Wear your green or you will be pinched! Children love it!
 There is an easy drawing lesson for Saint Patricks Day with a little interesting history about leprechauns, pots of gold, and rainbows in my store. click on the link:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Leprechauns-Rainbows-and-Pots-of-Gold-1739580

Valentines and TPT Sale

SHHH! Guess What is about to happen!! A TPT sale! YAY! This is one of those great sales that I cant figure the math but EVERYTHING in my store is on sale at 20% off and TPT takes off another 10% off your total purchase. Somehow that equates to 28%. The sale is February 7 and 8 and the code is LOVETpT

Here's the link to my store:

www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gena-Mcwilliams just click on this link to view my whole store.

Or if you are looking for Valentines projects, I have a few in my store. This one is a good one:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-and-Symmetry-534034

And there is this one that is just valentine coloring sheets:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentine-Coloring-Sheets-2979429

Happy Bargain Shopping !!! Mizz Mac

Valentines

When I was a child I LOVED making my Valentine box for school. Back then we could buy crepe paper by the sheet. First I would cut a nice size opening in the top of a shoe box. Then I would wrap the top and bottom of the shoe box separately with the crepe paper. I liked turquoise colored paper. My next step would be to cut apart paper lace doilies and tape or glue paper lace around the bottom edge of the top. My third and last step would be to cut out a variety of sizes of red and white hearts from construction paper. I would glue them all over the top and sides of the box.  Some would even be glued on top of each other. Sometimes I would glue some leftover doily lace around the edge of a heart. Making my Valentine box was a lot of fun!

Happy New Year

My New Years Resolution is to try to blog more. I am surprised how little I have done lately. I have been busy making candles! My daughter and I started a business about a year ago. I not only learned how to make soy candles but also how to create scents, which wax works the best etc. That has occupied my time. The holidays kicked in about the same time my daughter announced our candles. We are now selling in two local stores and have been approached to sell in two other stores in two different cities at opposite ends of the state. Update- a store in Griffin, Ga will soon be carrying our line and one in Savannah!
Here in the South we don't get much snow but  the weather channel is predicting the possibility of snow and ice coming soon. We go back to school on a Friday this year. The cutting out snowflakes is something all children love to do. The snowflakes are also a part of some math curriculums for teaching symmetry. Here is a product of mine that is an easy method for cutting out snowflakes and making art projects with the flakes:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Snowflakes-and-Symmetry-1007433

On the Farm an art theme

Many teachers use the farm theme for fall. It is a good one to teach children about animals and where our food comes from. October is a good month for corn and corn mazes and scare crows. Art teachers can teach color mixing with paint. Little ones can learn red and yellow make orange pumpkins.  Creating art with warm colors can be taught with an “On the Farm” theme.

Plastic farm animals can be bought at the dollar stores or the dollar bins at the big box stores. These are great for children to use to draw and create their own symbols or art style. Of course the internet is full of farm animal images to choose but sometimes these are difficult to draw and there may be copyright issues.

Fall landscapes of farms can also be taught. Artwork by artists such as Grandma Moses or Grant Wood can be found and projected and analyzed for colors used, how texture is created, and how was depth (close-up and far away) achieved.

I have created an On the Farm product with art lessons and examples of the steps. Here is the link:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/On-the-Farm-art-projects-2068051