The Imagination Box
  • home
  • TPT STORE
  • New Year
  • Back to School
    • Fall and Winter >
      • Halloween
      • Fall
      • Christmas
  • activities
    • Summer >
      • The Art of Travel
      • fathers day
      • Canada Day
      • July 4th celebrations
      • Olympics Games 2016
      • The Queen's 90th Birthday
      • World Cup 2014
    • Spring >
      • Valentine's Day
      • Chinese New Year
      • St. Patrick's Day
      • Easter
      • Earth Day
      • Mother's day
  • blog

FREE Growth Mindset Posters for the Back To School Classroom

25/7/2019

0 Comments

 
creative, motivational classroom decor
FREE Growth Mindset Poster Pack for the classroom and homeschooler
FREE Growth Mindset Poster Pack for the classroom and homeschooler
Free Growth Mindset Posters Resource
Free Growth Mindset Posters Resource
I believe that it is key to kids' development to create a learning environment, at school or at home that is:
  • imaginative
  • inspiring
  • colorful
  • positive
  • stimulating
  • motivational
  • fun
  • engaging
What might kids with a Growth Mindset say to themselves or others?
​'I love a challenge'
'Can I try this a different way?'
'I am determined to succeed'
'I'm going to solve this problem'
Free Growth Mindset Posters Resource
What do kids with a Fixed Mindset believe?
​

​'I'll never be able to do this'
'There's nothing I can do about it'
'I'm just not good enough at this'
'There's no point in trying'
Free Growth Mindset Posters Resource
Download my FREE 8 page Growth mindset Poster and Writing Activity Pack if you would like these eye catching posters to decorate your classroom!
Free Growth Mindset Posters Resource
Picture
Picture
Free Growth Mindset Posters Resource
If you like the freebie, you might like to view this 50 page Motivational Classroom Decor Resource, available for $3.95 from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store
Picture
Picture
Motivational and mindful posters for the classroom
Motivational and mindful posters for the classroom
Motivational and mindful posters for the classroom
MOTIVATIONAL CLASSROOM DECOR PRINTABLES
Picture
0 Comments

10 Reasons Why Art is Important in our Classrooms

5/7/2019

0 Comments

 
In this blog post, I’d like to explore why I feel including a good dose of art and creativity can be really beneficial to kids and their new teacher during the first week back to school - and throughout the rest of the year!
10 Ways Art can help kids in the Classroom
I’m a great believer in the positive power of art on our mental wellbeing.

Art is a fantastic vehicle for learning, communicating feelings and exploring outside of the box thinking.

​
Do kids feel more comfortable or free to express themselves in a deeper way via creating imagery rather than just using words?

​I’ve listed 10 Ways Art Can Help Both Kids and Adults:

​1. to make sense of our thoughts
2. to connect with our feelings
3. to tell our story, explore our internal world
4. to encourage play, stimulate our imagination
5. to relax, quieten our minds, aid concentration
6. to relieve stress, reduce anxiety
7. to develop self awareness
8. to build confidence and self esteem
9. to lower blood pressure
10. to express complex states of mind


(Posters are available to download for FREE at the end of this post)

So, it's Back To School Week....
The class meets up again after the long holiday.
Children get to reflect over their summer memories, catch up with friends, and start to get to know their new teacher.
They explore their learning preferences, where they excel, the challenges they face, they set new goals for the coming year.

And the new teacher starts to build a picture of each child - what a lot is going on!!

How are the children really feeling on their first day back to school?
And how do teachers feel?
A mixture of excitement and apprehension?
We are all unique and can feel happy, sad, scared, anxious and excited all at the same time.
Excited to see friends again.
Sad, or maybe glad that the summer holidays are over.
Anxious about building a relationship with a new teacher.
Scared that maths might be too challenging this year.

This is where we can introduce icebreaker games, ‘all about me’ activities, student surveys and teacher questionnaires.

Researching ‘Back to School’ activities on the web (mainly pinterest because I love it), I found such an abundance of printable pages and activities, teacher surveys and questionnaires.

Most of them involve answering questions with words.

Being a visual, creative type who sees the world in pictures, this information gave me the inspiration to fill what I see, as a gap – to design some relevant, modern, imaginative back to school activities that involve illustrating our answers, exploring color and imagery, alongside expressing ourselves with words.

View my popular Back To School Resources available at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store by clicking on the images below:

Have a great start to the new school year!

All the best,
Diane
Imaginative Back To School All About Me Activities
Imaginative Back To School All About Me Activities
Imaginative Back To School All About Me Activities
Imaginative Back To School All About Me Activities
Imaginative Back To School All About Me Activities
Imaginative Back To School All About Me Activities
Download these 4 posters, for FREE, just click on the jpegs below:
Blog: 10 Ways Art Helps Kids / Back To School
Blog: 10 Ways Art Helps Kids / Back To School
poster_1_print.jpg
File Size: 1855 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Blog: 10 Ways Art Helps Kids / Back To School
poster_2_print.jpg
File Size: 4115 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

poster_3_print.jpg
File Size: 2527 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Blog: 10 Ways Art Helps Kids / Back To School
poster_4_print.jpg
File Size: 3261 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Picture
0 Comments

Back to School Art Projects That Kids Can Really Relate To!

5/7/2019

2 Comments

 
Blog: Both girls and boys really do love to engage creatively with current, relevant themes that reflect their 'tech savvy' lives and 'appy' pursuits! Art is great for Back To School Week when anxiety can be running high. Through art, kids can express themselves in an abstract way, explore their feelings, how they fit in the world, their hopes, fears, goals, likes and dislikes - often in a deeper and more meaningful way than using only words.
Through designing and road testing art resources for the classroom, grades 3 to 7, I've learnt that kids - both girls and boys - really do love to engage creatively with current, relevant themes that reflect their 'tech savvy' lives and 'appy' pursuits!

Many pre teen kids now own cell phones or mobiles as we call them in the UK.
Most parents, including me, are keen to limit screen time and remind our kids about pastimes from 'the olden days'  including engaging with 'books', 'paper', 'pens' and 'pencils'!

So my mission is to keep art going in the classroom and combine the two  - Good Old Art with a Modern Tech Twist! - 
Through art, kids can express themselves in an abstract way, explore their feelings, how they fit in the world, their hopes, fears, goals, likes and dislikes - often in a deeper and more meaningful way than using only words.

Art activities can be especially useful at the beginning of a new year when anxiety may be running high - for both teachers and students!
Picture
A ROBOT ABOUT ME
Picture
A T SHIRT ABOUT ME
Picture
A PHONE ABOUT ME
Themes that spark kids' interests include:
  • ​​Modern Technology - phones, tablets, watches, gadgets, computers, social media, instagram, facebook. Tech Geek is the new cool! 
  • Sport themes - always a great cross over with art, and can help engage reluctant artists, energetic boys and girls. Kids love expressing themselves through the clothes they wear and the sports they participate in and watch - prints, logos, t shirts, hoodies - all part of their developing identity.
  • Graffiti, Street Art - Banksy, 'tags', spray can art, reflections of the world today
  • Pop Art - bright colors, bold imagery and graphics, simple eye-catching patterns

My classroom and homeschooler/parent art activities are designed to engage kids of all abilities, are low prep, include finished examples for inspiration, require limited workspace and basic art materials

You can view some of my resources here by or by clicking on the images below:
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Download these FREE templates and start experimenting!
  • Phone
  • Soccer Ball
  •  T Shirt
Download these 3 FREE handy printable templates to use with kids at home or in the classroom - cell phone, soccer ball, T shirt. Kids love to engage with current themes that reflect their 'tech geek' and sports interests.
Picture
cell_phone_template.jpg
File Size: 1000 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Picture
soccer_ball_template.jpg
File Size: 1241 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Picture
t_shirt_template.jpg
File Size: 1061 kb
File Type: jpg
Download File

Blog: Both girls and boys really do love to engage creatively with current, relevant themes that reflect their 'tech savvy' lives and 'appy' pursuits! Art is great for Back To School Week when anxiety can be running high. Through art, kids can express themselves in an abstract way, explore their feelings, how they fit in the world, their hopes, fears, goals, likes and dislikes - often in a deeper and more meaningful way than using only words.
KEEP IN TOUCH!
Instagram
Pinterest
Facebook

Picture
2 Comments
    Diane Pagan, The Imagination Box
    Welcome!

    Welcome!

    Hello! I'm Diane Pagan from Manchester, UK.
    My ideas are road tested by my 11 and 9 year olds - or at workshops I run with all kinds of kids and adults in schools, hospitals and community settings :-)

    Archives

    December 2019
    July 2019
    June 2018
    January 2018
    June 2017
    January 2017
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    3d
    4th Of July
    Articles
    Autumn / Fall
    Back To School
    Chinese New Year
    Christmas
    Collage
    Collecting
    Colouring
    Doodles
    Easter
    Explore Colour
    Exploring Shapes
    Food Art For Kids
    Graphic Design
    Group Activities
    Halloween
    Independence Day
    Kids Travel
    Links
    Mosaic
    Olympic Games
    Olympics
    Outdoor Projects
    Painting
    Printing For Kids
    Stitch
    St Patrick's Day
    Travel
    Valentines Day
    World Cup 2014
    Year Of The Horse

    RSS Feed

The ImaginationBox

The Imagination box logo
Favourite quote:
  “ The imagination needs moodling, long, inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering. ” 
Brenda Ueland

Copyright © 2018
The ImaginationBox
All Rights Reserved

about Diane Pagan

Diane Pagan uk

Hello! I live in Manchester, UK with my partner, and our two children. Luckily our house has a converted basement, where my art studio is packed full with art materials of all shapes and sizes!
read more......

quick links

HOME
BLOG
FREE PRINTABLES
TPT STORE
TES STORE

Picture

Submit
Design by DivTag Templates