Engaging one day projects week! We're making buttons now.

I love buttons and I love them in the art room.

My classes had such a great time designing buttons for Youth Art Month, that I decided to purchase more button snap packs and turn it into a great one day, end of year, super send-off project.

I was taught that learning doesn't stop til the kids' leave for summer.  It's a tough philosophy to stick to when there are so many (sooooo many) interruptions at the end of year. I'm not about to turn my room into a free-zone, but I definitely have to take it down a notch.

I began with a PowerPoint.  It briefly describes the history of buttons and why people wear or make buttons.  It opened up a lively discussion and gave the kids some ideas.

Next, I passed out a Button Design Worksheet.  It is simply six circles the students designed in pencil, traced in Sharpie, and colored with markers.  Their favorite gets cut out and made into a button.

I didn't instill a theme, and they only had to follow a few rules; no text based buttons, and images must be colorful.

Most students were engaged the entire hour, and were proud to show off their button!

Design a Button! Free worksheet download for designing in a circle.

I had students make buttons for Youth Art Month this year.  They turned out great and the kids were super excited.  They wanted to make buttons for themselves!

In my classroom I have "Winning Tables" and basically, each table is a team that needs to work together to be quiet and stay clean.  I award points and keep a tally.  At the end of the quarter the "Winning Table" earns a prize.  The prize used to be stuff from Oriental Trading Company, but I really got sick of that junk.  I decided instead to award Custom Buttons!

My students loved the song Roy G. Biv and even when we were not studying color theory, they wanted to hear it.  I designed these fun buttons and ordered a pack from my favorite button makers, The Busy Beaver Button Company right here in Chicago.

My friend Dianna at The Friendly Neighborhood Art Teacher also uses buttons in her art room!

I made up a handout for kids to design their own button.  Maybe in the future their designs will become our winning table prizes!

March is Youth Art Month! Make a button!

I saw a great post on the Art Teacher's Facebook page that inspired a mini lesson.  An art teacher had her students design buttons to celebrate Youth Art Month and the staff will be wearing them all month.  I immediately thought, "I want to do that!"  I love buttons, I love art, and I am ALWAYS looking for ways to teach my students and classroom teachers arts advocacy.

I already had several packs of Design-A-Button (who doesn't?)  To help my students understand what Youth Art Month is, or why it is important, we watched an advocacy video on YouTube.  (We also watched this one which is terribly awesome in a Lovin' Spoonfuls kind of way).  Then finally, because I love nothing more than worksheets, I made a worksheet to help students brainstorm.  I gathered the images off of Pinterest and Google image search.

I did not have students cut them out, since I only needed about 15, I selected a few to cut out and assemble.  I attached this note (which I took from here) and placed them in teacher's mailboxes:

March is Youth Art Month!

Please show your support for quality school arts programs by wearing this button each day of March.  Did you know that quality art education:

 -develops students’ creative problem-­solving and critical thinking abilities;

-teaches sensitivity to beauty, order, and other expressive qualities;
-gives students a deeper understanding of multicultural values and beliefs;
-reinforces and brings to life what students learn in other subjects
- interrelates student learning in art production, art  history,  art  criticism and aesthetics

Thank you!