Jeanette Bradley Illustration
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Drawing Portraits for Kids

8/16/2020

 
I have two videos to share with you about drawing portraits! Both of these tie in with the portraits I drew of the young activists in NO VOICE TOO SMALL.  

Watch my mini art class on visual storytelling in portraits, recommended for grades 3-8, This video is seven minutes long, and delves into a little bit of portraits in art history before introducing the #MeetTheArtist meme. I then walk you through how to create your own using my template or on a blank sheet of paper. 
This second video is recommended for grades K-2, and is only three minutes long. Younger kids can watch me draw my own #MeetTheArtist cartoon self portrait, and then make their own! 
Download the printable #MeetTheArtist drawing prompt page!
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Playing with Line, Shape and Color

5/11/2020

 
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Some kids absolutely love the freedom of playing with line, shape, and color without trying to make their art look like something realistic. Others may have a hard time letting go of the concrete, or of ways of drawing familiar shapes like hearts or stars that they have been taught.

This free, downloadable class introduces kids to some famous abstract artists, and to some of the basic elements of design: line, shape, and color.  It includes a game and a simple,  name-based painting project that makes abstract art and color theory accessible to elementary age kids (or preschoolers with a bit of help from an adult) 

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF: 
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Drawing Prompt Printable - WHEN THE BABIES CAME TO STAY

5/1/2020

 
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Download this free printable drawing prompt for your classroom or home use! 
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LOVE, MAMA: Mother's Day Craft

4/13/2018

 

This is easily adaptable for the youngest of toddlers (think handprints!) through grade schoolers. 

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LOVE, MAMA inspired photo frame (v. 1) 

1. Purchase unfinished wood heart frame from craft store. (About $1 each)
2. Decorate with stickers, markers, paper cut outs and washi tape. 
3. Insert photo - you are done! 

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LOVE, MAMA inspired photo frame (v. 2) 

1. Print out the frame template onto colored card stock.  (download below) 
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Click image to download printable pdf template
2. Carefully cut out heart, leaving edges intact. (Younger children may need assistance getting started.)
3. Fold paper on center fold line.
4. Use glue stick to glue photo into inside of frame. 
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5. Glue interior of paper together.
6. Decorate with handprint, stickers, crayons, markers, or wherever your imagination leads. 

Craft: Make Kipling's Box from LOVE, MAMA

1/19/2018

 

What you need:

Small cardboard box (reduce, reuse recycle!)
Pink or red paper for cutting out hearts (if desired, use the template to print 6 hearts to a page)
Used postage stamps cut off envelopes
Glue stick
Stamps and stamp pad for “cancelling” the stamps
​Crayons or markers
“Treasures” to put in the box, like rocks, feathers, pom poms, buttons, beads, or other found objects
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Directions:

Step 1: Cut postage stamps off envelopes.
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2. Print out the heart template on pink or red paper.  (It's fine to skip this step and just cut a heart from whatever paper you have on hand!
3. Cut out hearts. 
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4. Glue old postage stamps onto box using glue stick.  Decorate the box with crayons, markers, or stickers. Write a pretend address if you desire, or address it to a friend or family member. 
5. "Cancel” the stamps with whatever rubber stamps you have on hand.
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6. Write a love note to someone you love.
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7. Fill your box with treasures, add your heart, and give it to someone special! 
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Pro tip: avoid the problem of kids cutting one heart out of the center of piece of paper by printing out this heart template that fits six hearts to a page. I like to print it onto pink card stock. 
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Click on image to download printable PDF

STEAM in the Classroom with LOVE, MAMA

11/15/2017

 
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Source: Photographs of Antarctica by Christopher Michel
LOVE, MAMA is fiction, but the illustrations in the book are based on my research into the animals and built environment on real Antarctic islands. I even had the chance to talk with scientists who work in the Southern Ocean about the animals they saw in their work - and what kind of souvenirs are available in Antarctic research station gift shops. 

Cool facts: 
Chinstrap penguins actually collect rocks.  They will even give them to each other as gifts. (And also fight over them, like human siblings.) 
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Source: Photographs of Antarctica by Christopher Michel
Kipling and his Mama live on an imaginary island in a real part of the world.  Chinstrap penguins make their homes on the rocky islands in the Weddell Sea - between the southern tip of Argentina and Antarctica. ​ All of the animals in LOVE, MAMA live or migrate in this part of the southern ocean.
map of antarctica
Click on the map to download a printable PDF
This is the southern-most post office in South America - located in Tierra del Fuego National Park, Argentina. It is staffed by human postal workers, but it looks like birds and seals could easily take over. 
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Source: Wikimedia commons, user Zuarin
Interested in learning more? 
Download this free educational guide created by Deb Gonzales!  It's full of STEAM-infused activities and printables for K-2 students. All are aligned with common core standards. 
Educational guide cover
Click on the image to download a PDF of the guide.

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    Jeanette Bradley loves penguins, art, and chocolate, though not all at once. 

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