Pasta alla Norma is a delicious Sicilian pasta dish with eggplant, marinara and basil. This amazing recipe features roasted eggplant, not fried! Recipe yields 4 entrée servings.

Explore color combinations with these adorable ghosts in this Watercolor Ghost Art Project perfect for all ages.

This silky-smooth and creamy Panera Autumn Squash Soup is made with roasted honey-cinnamon butternut squash, pumpkin, carrots, warming spices and a bit of cream. It's Fall in a bowl and you won't believe how much it tastes like the real deal from Panera!

Combine Art with Anatomy in this X-Ray Skeleton Hand Lesson! This project is perfect for elementary art, but could be a fun Skeletal System Activity for Middle and Highschool as well! A perfect Fall Art Activity, it's spooky enough for Halloween art while also teaching important shading skills and s...

Ease your hip pain with these best hip bursitis exercises. Try the safest moves for hip bursitis pain, and see which exercises to avoid!

It's pumpkin season, and you're going to love this easy and delicious cream cheese filled pumpkin bread recipe. It's one of my favorite fall recipes!

FREE printable All About Me Pack for preschool and kindergarten featuring the child's name, handprint, favorite things, eye and hair color, self-portrait and family portrait.

Perfect for autumn, fall and Halloween crafts for kids or coloring, grab this free pumpkin template PDF.

My easy, Cheesy Keto Meatloaf Recipe is a dream come true among low carb meatloaf recipes! It's packed with flavor and easy to prepare using a mouthwatering homemade meatloaf glaze and seasoning blend. It's even gluten-free!

First Week Watercolor Portraits 7 comments Back to School, Bulletin Boards, Self Portraits, Tutorials Every year, my second graders paint a watercolor self-portrait. It is truly my most favorite first week activity of all time. After sharing this picture of this year's portraits on Facebook, a sweet reader asked if I had a blog post about them. Well, it dawned on me that while I have shared my annual self-portraits many times, I've never really shared them exclusively in a post. So, here goes! Every year, I have my students paint a self-portrait during the first week of school (an idea I learned while student teaching many moons ago). I hang these portraits in the room, for the entire year. They really brighten up our space and they are such a joy to look at (this is a picture of my students' portraits from last year). I am not an art teacher and I believe that kids should be encouraged to take risks, so when I task my students with painting their portraits, I pretty much let them "have at it." Don't worry, it isn't a total free for all. I do model the process and I also share examples from years past, like the ones shown below. I just make it very clear that I don't expect their paintings to look like an actual photograph. ;) I always begin by pointing out how much of their body/self they will be painting. I tell them to think about the pictures they see in their yearbooks and how those pictures only show people's heads and shoulders. I explain that they will include only their head and shoulders in their paintings. I then show them examples from previous years (sometimes students move and they get left behind, so I have a few on hand). Once the students understand what it is that they will be including in their portrait, I model the drawing process on the board. I discuss how large the head should be in relation to the paper and show them what this looks like. From there, I show them how I draw a neck and shoulders, hair, and facial features. I apologize that I don't have a photo of this, but essentially, I model and narrate the process, one step at a time. And, then...it's the students' turn. I give each student a piece of white card stock (8x10 inches) to work with. Card stock is brighter and thicker than construction paper, and it just seems to hold the paint better, in my opinion. Then, they start their drawing. Sometimes, I have them draw the outline of their pictures with a black crayon (see below). When I do this, there is NO pencil involved. This helps them to really slow down and visualize before they draw because they know that they can't erase. However, this year, I let them draw with pencil first and then they traced over their pencil lines with a Sharpie. Why did I do that? I have no idea, it was just what I decided to do when I was prepping the materials, but the end result was still fab! Once the students draw the outline of their portrait, they get to paint! Using watercolor is a tricky thing for many second graders. They have a hard time always gauging how much water to use, so a discussion about this (and a little modeling) ahead of time is a good idea. Tip: No matter how much explaining and modeling you do, you'll still have a student or two that uses too much water. Let them use a tissue to blot their paper if you notice this happening. I lay the portraits to dry on the floor, in an out of the way spot. They dry within minutes here in the desert. Once they are dry, I flatten them by stacking heavy teacher manuals on them overnight. I could iron them, but my iron and I do not get along. At all. The next morning, I hang them up and admire the sight before me...all year long. :) At the end of the year, it's always fun to repeat this process. You will be amazed at how much growth your students show. Here are a few examples from last year. Amazing, right? We always get lots of compliments on our portrait display, and the kids are always very proud of them. They love seeing if their parents can guess which one is theirs, and it's fun to see how many parents get it right! At the end of the school year, I send the portraits home as a keepsake. Many parents have commented how much they love them, and they are the perfect size for framing! First week self-portraits are a great way to encourage students to take risks, have fun, and learn to use materials. Beyond that, the students take great pride in their creations and enjoy them just as much as I do, and we have something truly magnificent (that they created!) to look at all year long. :) Share It:

Looking for a pumpkin template for your next fall craft project or activity? We've got you covered! Below you'll find 4 different pumpkin designs in all different sizes - Both detailed pumpkin templates and simple pumpkin outlines that you can use as a stencil or pattern. There's 25 different printable pages and they’re all free for you to download and print! These pumpkin shapes are great for fall crafts, Halloween crafts and Thanksgiving crafts. See the end of this post for some fun ways to use these templates. RELATED: Pumpkin Coloring Pages These printables are for personal and school use only.

If you need to beat the stress this year, then simplify your spooky holiday with a super simple minimalist Halloween costumes!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Seattle's Best Coffee. All opinions are 100% mine.

Indulge in the rich and hearty flavors of authentic Ukrainian Borscht. Allow those delicious red beets come to life! And learn the secrets to creating a bowl of soup that will transport you directly to the heart of Ukraine.

Looking for apple crafts for kids? I have 15 EASY and adorable apple crafts that your kids will love at home or in the classroom.

Easy beef stew recipe made on the stovetop! Tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef chucks simmered in a red wine based herb sauce, combined with tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and celery. It's the ultimate comfort food for the Fall and winter!

The ultimate roundup of free back to school coloring pages for preschoolers and older kids - Free coloring sheet downloads!

This Pumpkin French Toast is extra fluffy, filled with pumpkin spice & tastes amazing drizzled in maple syrup. The perfect easy, fall breakfast recipe.

This Easy Crockpot Apple Butter is so simple and cooks overnight in your crockpot! It’s creamy and sweet and a healthier alternative to jams and jellies.