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The Ultimate Adapted Art Supply List
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Y'aLL ReAdY fOr ThiS?? *cue up the 90's Jock Jams * No seriously, are you ready for the *Ultimate Supply List * for your adapted art class? After 15 years of teaching self contained adapted art, I have compiled a list of my go to supplies that can be used in many different ways. Oh and there's more good news: most of these supplies can actually be found at your local dollar store! Quick sidebar: If you are teaching a self contained adapted art class this year and are looking for help with HOW to go about navigating this class, I encourage you to head to my previous blog here, and you can also check out this blog post with some of my all time favorite art lessons to do in adapted class. Ok, let's do this!! The Ultimate Adapted Art Supply List * The first three sections of this list are made up mostly of items that can be found at your local dollar store. However, to make things easy, I went ahead and linked what I could to Amazon for convenience. I have also linked my favorite brands for the more traditional art supplies. Containers for Holding Supplies or Used for Printing * Muffin tins Sheet pans Salad Spinner Aluminum Casserole Pans Foil Plastic cups w/ lids Ice cube trays with lids Plastic Spray bottles Materials Great for Sensory Play * Cornstarch (for Oobleck) Food coloring (safer alternative to liquid watercolor) Shaving cream (or whipped cream for sensory play) Flour Dish soap ( Salt (salf resist for watercolor) Baking Soda (for fun experiments with vinegar) Colored Rice (sensory bin filler) Mini plastic animals or cars (perfect for sensory bins!) Kitchen storage rack (for Oobleck play) Chips & dip dishes (for sorting paper, materials or sensory supplies) Recycled Supplies* Bubble wrap (all sizes- for all the printing!) Cardboard (all the cardboard!) Cardboard egg cartons Styrofoam egg cartons Plastic containers (for sensory bottles) Cardboard tubes Materials to Add Texture * Dish brush with handle Loofahs Rolling pins Tooth brushes (use to splatter paint) Cotton Swabs Clothes pins (to hold small pieces of sponge) Plastic silverware Plastic combs Marbles Potato masher Kitchen utensils Garlic press Eye droppers Plastic Wrap Craft Sponges Squeegee Supplies From Art Distributors Kinetic Sand or Play Foam Sand Fun Foam Cloud Clay Model Magic Clay palm printers Texture Rollers Easy grip texture rollers Texture Scrapers Fluorescent Tempera Cakes Fluorescent Tempera Paint (tip: add white to each color to make them more opaque on black paper!) Squeezable paint brushes Kwik Stix Bingo Daubers Chalk Markers (great for drawing on transparencies or windows ) Contact paper Transparency Film Plexiglass sheets (for printmaking & painting) Standing Plexiglass (reuse those old sneeze guards from covid times) Adapted Scissors Large Pencils Clear Glue Empty Daubers (to add glue to) Pom Poms Craft Foam Googely Eyes Adapted Paint Brushes Textured Art Tools Whew! I know that seems like a HUGE list but honestly, I bet you already have many of these materials in your storage room. Stay tuned to learn more about how I use many of these materials for specific activities and lessons in my adapted art class. Embrace the mess and have fun! Cheers!
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How to Feel More Confident Teaching Adapted Art
Are you looking to gain more confidence in teaching adapted art? I'm here to help! Check out this blog to learn how to create a valuable, enriching and powerful adapted art program!
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10 Must-Have Books that Inspire Creativity!
If you've been following me for a while on Instagram, you know that I am a crazy Children's lit lover! How many pictures books do I have in my classroom AND in my own kids' rooms? The limit DOES NOT exist! Since recently celebrating Read Across America Week, I thought I would go ahead and share some of my favorite books to have in the art room- or in any space hoping to inspire children. Here we go! 1. The Art Lesson | Tommie DiPaola. Call it nostalgia, but this book has been one of my absolute favorites since my childhood. In fact, my aunt bought me this book when I was in kindergarten and addressed it to me, "The Real Artist" just like Tommie in the book. Cue the tears! This was the book that made me want to be an artist and ultimately an art teacher. Everyone needs a bit of Tomie dePaola magic in their classroom. You can buy it here. 2. Bridget's Beret | Tom Lichtenfeld This is such a sweet story about overcoming your obstacles and creative blocks and finding your creative spirit again! It also always helps when you read it WITH a beret to your students :) Grab it here! 3. Mixed: A Colorful Story | Arree Chung Such a cute book when teaching about color mixing, and a great moral to the story as well. An art room must have! Grab Mixed here! 4. Aaron Slater, Illustrator | Andrea Beaty Did this book make me cry the first time I read it? Yes. Do I see a bit of myself in the main character Aaron? Also Yes. Do I think our children need to read about a character who isneurodivergent? 100x yes. You can buy Aaron Slater here! 5. What do You Do with an Idea? | Kobi Yamada A beautiful story about staying true to yourself and your ideas no matter who supports you from the start. The illustrations are just breathtaking as well. Buy it here! 6. The Day the Crayon's Quit | Drew Daywalt A now "classic" in the classroom. A hilarious tale about crayons who have a real bone to pick with their owner and write him many letters to air their grievances. You can find it here! 7. Be a Maker | Katey Howes I absolutely LOVE the message of this book. Not only does the author encourage the readers to be a maker and explore their creativity- but she shows us how important it is to put your talents to use for the good of other! You can find Be a Maker here! 8. The Creatrilogy Series (The Dot, Ish, and Sky Color) | Peter H. Reynolds It wouldn't be an art room book list without The Dot and the rest of the Creatilogy trilogy would it? Peter Reyonlds' main character, Vashti, takes us along on her journey to find her creative spark to "just make a mark". Grab The Dot here! 9. Swatch, the Girl Who Loved Color | Julia Denos I feel as though Swatch, the main character in this book is an illustrated version of me. Swatch, the color tamer shares her love of color a little bit of chaos. The perfect book for a busy, colorful art room! Grab Swatch here! 10. Boxitects | Kim Smith This book is so inspiring, especially coming out of a 2 year pandemic where my kid and I heavily relied on creating things out of cardboard to save our sanity in quarantine! Not only is the story really sweet but there is also several "how-to's" in using cardboard to create all kinds of amazing creations! This one is my son's favorite on the list! You can grab Boxitects here. Whether you are just beginning to build your art room library or are looking for new books to add to your classics, I hope you were able to find this list helpful! Keep creating and keep reading!
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My Favorite Self Portrait Art Lesson for Kids: The Real Me Art Project
In 2008, I developed a self-portrait art lesson to help students express both their inner and outer selves, combining drawing, collage, and typography. I recently updated the project to include techniques like mixing skin tones, understanding facial proportions, and depicting diverse hair textures. This refreshed lesson not only enhances students' artistic skills but also encourages self-expression and identity exploration; find the full lesson plan on my website or TpT store.
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Collaborative “I am Human” Display
With Dot Day coming soon (September 15), I thought I would share another collaborative display that my students and I created a few years ago. For this display I decided to take Dot Day in a different direction and combine it with the amazing new book “I Am Human” by Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds. If you haven’t read it yet, this is a book all about what it means to show empathy, how we all have the ability as humans to make choices, learn from our mistakes and show kindness and compassion. Each student in our school “made their mark” by painting their self-portrait in the style of Peter Reynolds. This mural was inspired by the cover of the book with all of the small faces behind the main character. Peter Reynolds’ illustration from the book I Am Human, the inspiration for our school mural. I facilitated this mural with the help of my amazing specials team in the gym. I had a large piece of black bulletin paper laid out that was the length of the bulletin board I planned on displaying it on. I then used Crayola Premier tempera (regular & fluorescent) paint mixed with a bit of white paint to make the paint more opaque so that it would stand out on the black paper. I mixed each color of the rainbow, as well as the intermediate colors (red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, Yellow, etc..) in several container cups so that multiple students could paint at the same time (probably 3-4 cups of each color) and had them laid out along the side of the black paper in ROYGBIV order. In small groups, I had students come up to the black paper (starting at the top of the paper so they wouldn’t step in wet paint) and carefully paint a simple self portrait illustration similar to the style of Peter Reynolds, but also painted uniquely to represent each child. Once every student in the school had a chance to paint their portrait, I hung our rainbow portrait mural in our hallway with a line from the book that said: “I am Human. One of billions but unique”. My students loved finding their self-portraits and the impact this collaborative piece had in our hallway. If you decide to try a mural like this in your school, be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see your amazing work!
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Dot Day Rainbow Display
Looking for the perfect collaborative art project for Dot Day? Celebrate creativity, courage, and school-wide connection with this Rainbow Dot Day Display inspired by The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Ideal for elementary art teachers, this vibrant monochromatic display uses simple materials like oil pastels, watercolor, and tempera to help students explore color theory and radial design. It's one of my most recreated Dot Day art lessons—sure to wow your school community and get everyone talking!
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Simple Portrait Back-to-School Bulletin Board
Need an Easy Back-to-School Bulletin Board Idea?Looking for a fun and meaningful way to fill your empty bulletin boards at the start of the school year? This creative self-portrait display was inspired by my own students—and made using my Simple Self-Portrait Drawing Guide! With just bulletin board paper, India ink, and a little imagination, I created life-sized illustrations to frame student artwork and build community right from day one. This project is low-prep, high-impact, and guaranteed to spark smiles!
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10 Must Have Teaching Visuals for the Art Room!
If you’re an elementary art teacher getting ready to set up your classroom, this is your ultimate guide to functional and fun art room visuals! From a modern Color Wheel poster to diverse Famous Artist displays, classroom expectation visuals, and supply labels designed with student needs in mind, these ready-to-use resources will help you transform your art space into a colorful, engaging, and educational environment. Whether you're a new art teacher or a seasoned pro, these art decor ideas will save you time and bring inspiration to your classroom. Explore the full Art Room Decor Bundle in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop!
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40 Engaging Drawing Prompts for Kids
Stuck on what to draw?Whether you're an art teacher looking to spark creativity in your classroom or a parent trying to inspire your child at home, this list of 40 fun and imaginative drawing prompts is sure to get those creative juices flowing! From “Design your dream treehouse” to “Draw a dinosaur ice cream shop,” these prompts are perfect for early finishers, sketchbook warmups, or brain breaks. Bonus idea: Write them on craft sticks for a fun, randomized drawing challenge!
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5 Reasons Sketchbooks are Important in the Art Room
Sketchbooks are more than just blank pages—they're a space for students to experiment, reflect, and grow as artists. In this blog, discover five key reasons why sketchbooks are an essential tool in the art room and how they can inspire creativity, build confidence, and support artistic development all year long.
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8 Tips For Setting Up Your Art Room
Just landed your first art teaching job? Whether you're setting up your first classroom, teaching from a cart, or somewhere in between, this guide is packed with practical tips from a veteran art teacher. From classroom management and organizing student artwork to creating an inspiring space and building relationships, these 8 simple strategies will help you feel confident and ready for back to school!
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