I used my Art Break ABCs Alligators to Zebras with a class of 2nd graders who had a Rain Day and needed to stay inside all day and out of the rain. If you've never taught or been a Substitute Teacher it's a little difficult to explain what a Rain Day, all day inside, could look like. For us, it was a lot of fun because we had plenty of animals and insects to color, cut and paste, and turn into puppets, ornaments, and jewelry throughout the day and after assigned work was comp

I love these little poison beauties! They're so beautiful in all their blue hues. Kids really like them too and I was surprised to learn how much elementary age kids know about them while on an assignment as a Substitute Teacher for CCSD in Las Vegas, November 2025. I have some pics of a student who was coloring one of my Art Brain Break Activity pages and using it as a creative writing prompt in the Resource Room I was covering that day. Search my website for "Blue Dragon"

I created a simple framed canvas print for each of the letters of the alphabet as I add new animals and insects to my illustration library. I can see this in kids rooms, maybe educators or scientist homes, ocean enthusiasts and people with homes near the ocean. The lionfish as also part of my Predator or Prey Art Series because it's a serious threat in the oceans but can also fall prey to larger animals in it's environment. The quality of the print on canvas and frame is real

This is a quick Art Brain Break project by a 4th grader in the Resource Room where I was a Substitute Teacher at CCSD in November 2025. She didn't say a word to me during our timed session where there were 3 other kids at the same octagon table. She had finished her math and all of her other assigned work so I asked her if she was interested in coloring any of the animal and insect art break pages I had with me. The other girl at the table who hadn't said a word to me eithe

Kids really loved coloring my B for Bat illustrations in preparation for decorating their desks and their homes for Halloween this year in Las Vegas. I had a Kindergarten class assignment on a day where I was lucky enough to be a Substitute Teacher on dress in your Halloween costume day, along with a parade for about 500 Elementary school kids in their amazing costumes. It was amazing and the kids were so proud of their characters, most of them staying in character with their

This is a CCSD High School student taking an Art Break while preparing for end of year testing. I was surprised how interested the older kids have become in coloring as a way to take a mental break during school. It makes sense because it relieves stress no matter what age. I've noticed kids really like chatting about their creative process and how they decide which colors to use as they plan out what they want their final image to look like. It's a part of our minds that sit

This is one of the students in a Primary Autism class where I was a Substitute Teacher in Las Vegas this year. He was a joyful and pretty easy going student and he worked to focus on his lessons throughout the day though he wasn't as interested in coloring butterflies like a lot of the students were throughout most of the days I was there. What I noticed is that when I was on Bus Duty, the exciting journey at the end of the day (if you're new or don't know about Substitute Te

Here's the thing, you can play with these ABCs animal and insect cut outs and make all sort of little fun projects. I recently decided to sit in bed ALL DAY, with fuzzy socks, coffee, one of those bed working lap tables with a stack of my ABCs Art Brain Breaks. I put on my Likes playlist, set up the phone to record some of it just in case it looked fun, but really, I was so tired and just wanted a day where I wasn't accomplishing anything and not just binging Netflix. It was

This Swallowtail Butterfly is part of my ABCs Art Brain Breaks Activity Book which is a Digital Download and available for immediate access for you to pull down, print out, and get to making fun little art projects. This is the B is for Butterfly page in the 26- animal and insect book that includes print out you can use to color then hole punch, string up, and turn your art into an ornament or all sort of other fun little projects. This is the beginning of one of the butterfl

This artist was in a Primary Autism class where I was a Substitute Teacher in Las Vegas, NV and I had asked the teacher aids if they thought a little coloring could be fun for the students during a 15-minute window. I was there for a few days so we tried it and it was a nice window where they could take a little creative Art Brain Break between their pretty busy daily schedules. This student was maybe 5-6 years old and so focused. He started on the one on the bottom right an

One of the students in this 2nd grade class asked if they could have an extra 5 minutes to cut out their butterflies so they could make them fly like paper airplanes. Once she did she realized the paper wings weren't strong enough or aerodynamic and so butterflies wouldn't fly like planes. She decided she need to put a bridge of paper between it's wings so they would stay up and it could sit with its wings up and would be better suited sitting still, eating nectar from a flow

This is how the coloring usually starts, all organized and purposeful then it grows from there. I suggest working in 5-10 minute increments so students can keep track of time and start to understand what they can accomplish in small bursts throughout the day vs. only doing one large block of art. This was a class in Henderson, NV and these students really made a lot of traction within each 10-15 minute window of time we spent throughout the day. It was really interesting to

This is by a student in a Primary Autism class from October 2025. She had a lot of energy and was pretty active throughout the day so it was cool to see her find the Rice Paper Butterfly interesting enough to sit with them for a while and color them with classmates all working on other butterflies and caterpillars they had chosen as well. Las Vegas, 2025

This is axolotl coloring project was a group effort by about 7-8 3rd graders who worked toward earning an art lesson by me on how to use my drawing program, on my iPad, using my ABCs animal character, "A is for Axolotl", where each student had the same set of instructions I gave all of them at the same time. They knew we only had enough time for each student to spend 5 minutes drawing on their own on the iPad, so they decided to pick one of my images to color and let each per

This one is by a 3rd grader in 2025 who absolutely loved the ostriches out of all the birds I had with me in my Sub Pack that day as a Substitute Teacher with CCSD. This student was one of the folks who was quite distracted earlier in the day. Once he learned we were doing art projects later in the day for kids who were focusing, doing their assignments, and being thoughtful about their neighbors he was totally on task and entirely well behaved for the remainder of the day, i

This is from one of the 3rd grade students who was pretty quiet throughout the day and sort of kept to herself. She colored a few pages in my Resilient Oakland Coloring Book I usually bring with me for kids who like to color in storylines. She moved to the individual animal pages and focused a lot on the birds in the series, a Barn Owl, particularly. I love the painterly brush strokes in yellow, you can see how much power she sees them having. September 2025 Las Vegas, NV

This image shows a 2nd grader's hand as he holds a stylus and applies coloring techniques to an axolotl on an iPad after a quick lesson in Autocad's Sketchbook Pro App.

This assignment was at an Elementary School at CCSD where the kids were engaging and interested in a lot of different topics with a few who really did not want to focus or follow class rules, particularly with a Sub in for a couple of days. I followed the lesson plans, as I always do when they are available, and it seemed they would rather be doing other things. I stuck to the plans and we worked to stay on schedule each day and ensure we had completed work assignments so th