Keep Calm and explain to kids why this is so popular.

I took a class through The Art of Education on Common Core Instruction in the art room.  The "Keep Calm and Carry On Poster" lesson was used as an example for one of our projects.

We had a little bit of time between lessons and my fifth graders were becoming obsessed with "keeping calm and ...." slogan.  It was getting around.  What a great teachable moment.  The best part of this lesson is the video that tells the story of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster.

I made a little PowerPoint to introduce the lesson too.  The entire project took about one hour.

I love Portlandia. I want all the art to have birds on it.

I've watched and rewatched all of Portlandia a few times now.  I love it.

I was having a day where kids kept asking me what to do.
"What should I draw??"
"I don't know what to put down!!"
"Can you tell me what to draw?"
 "What can I make??"
and I was like,
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!"

My usual response is, "I can't think for you" or "anything you put will work" or "I don't want to see my ideas, I want to see yours." But some days, you're spent.

I started telling kids to "put a bird on it"

Of course, with elementary kids, they have no idea what I am talking about.  But, it seemed like a good response, and I couldn't stop using it.
I made a little poster to hang, but after a Google image search, I realize there are a ton of posters!  I'm not sure how many actually hang in an art room, and I do realize the joke is that the bird is so trite... But like most things, I like to see the opposite and enjoy it for the irony.

Please Recycle! This art teacher loves your garbage.

It is amazing some of the beautiful projects that can be made from found objects, garbage, and recyclables.

I always send out the alert at school for boxes, cans, and lids, and I always have a few kids who bring in bags of stuff every week!  This summer I will be hosting some projects in my community and wanted to get the word out to my local friends that I need their junk!

I spent way too much time on this 8.5 x 11" poster than I care to admit, but wouldn't it look pretty hanging by someone's trash cans?  The full size version is available to download, so you can use it to get stuff for your art projects too!