My 2019 Summer Reading Book List

Summer is the perfect time to catch up on some reading and dig into those books that have been sitting on our shelves, right? You can hole up on your couch or head out to the beach and just spend the entire day reading—completely guilt free! So, in celebration of our chance to flip through hundreds and hundreds of pages in the next couple months, here’s my 2019 summer reading list to kick things off!

If any of these books intrigue you (or if you’ve already read one), or if you have another book that you absolutely love, let me know in the comments or on Facebook! I’ll be posting what you share on social next week!

Now, let’s all get to reading! 🙂

My 2019 Summer Reading List

1. Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

This is a follow up to the NYT bestseller Girl, Wash Your Face. I love it because it’s a fun, witty, empowering motivational book that urges us women to stop apologizing for our desires, goals, and aspirations. More than that, she presents strategies for pursuing our visions and building our confidence.


2019 Summer Reading

2. The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St Clair

The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of 75 fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. There’s a brown shade that changed the way battles were fought, a very particular hue that defined Picasso’s blue period, and ideas like “scarlet women” and “imperial purple”—you’ll be surprised by what a prominent role color plays into human culture and history. It’s so fascinating!

My 2019 Summer Reading Book List


My 2019 Summer Reading List books

3. Let’s Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan 

My latest food obsession has been with ramen. I’m super lucky to be living in San Diego and surrounded by a ton of amazing places! As much as I appreciate eating ramen, I also appreciate this super creative and fun cookbook idea! Not only is it beautifully illustrated, it also includes actual recipes you can try at home.


My 2019 Summer Reading List

4. It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke

This fictional piece creatively alternates chapters between Veronica “Ronni” Johnson, licensed practical nurse and aspiring writer, and Violet, a woman living in an assisted living home. When Violet passes, she leaves Ronni a generous gift, as long as she writes a book about her life within one year. It’s warm, sad, funny, uplifting, and playful enough for a great summer read.

My 2019 Summer Reading Book List


My 2019 Summer Reading List for teachers

5. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

This is an unforgettable memoir about a young girl who goes on a quest for an education. Born to survivalist family in the mountains of Idaho, Tara was never given a proper education. When she sees that her brother was able to get into college, she leaves her family, steps into a real classroom for the first time at age 17, and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. Oprah Magazine calls it a “coming-of-age memoir” and I think it really shows the beauty and importance of education. 


My 2019 Summer Reading List

6. Rules for Visiting: A Novel by Jessica Francis Kane

Rules for Visiting is all about a woman’s journey to reconnect with friends. May Attaway realizes she’s become more and more secluded—surrounded by plants and oblivious to the outside world—but once she’s granted a long leave from work, she decides to reconnect with four of her once-close friends, going beyond the digital, seemingly-perfect smokescreen of social media and into their very real, sometimes messy, lives.


My 2019 Summer Reading List modern decor

7. Bohemian Modern by Emily Henson

I’m a bit of a bohemian at heart and I love pulling together beautiful inspirational home decor ideas. This book brings those two joys together perfectly, exploring all the elements that make a home eclectic and colorful. 

Designer Spramani Elaun loves the hohemian modern look
Bohemian Modern Look

Get Artsy With a Cute Summer Tote Bag!

My 2019 Summer Reading List

Yolanda Fe Designs

By the way, if you need a tote to carry all your books around with you this summer, check out these gorgeous ones by Yolanda Fe Designs! Yolanda is a good friend of mine—we go way back!—and I’m so excited that she’s now painting and sharing her artworks in such a cute, fashionable way. It’s a stylish way to help support an artist, and perfect for toting your summer reads to the beach, park, or BBQ.

My 2019 Summer Reading List
My 2019 Summer Reading List

I share this reading list (updated each year, of course) on my blog and in my newsletter just once a year, and load it with the books I’m reading or fell in love with over the past few months. The rest of the year, I’m sharing valuable lessons on how to teach art and prepare art lessons in the Montessori classroom. So, if you haven’t already, make sure you sign-up for my Newsletter! That way you won’t miss a post and you’ll be able to teach art without any stress.

3 to 6 Art – Early Childhood Montessori Teaching Resources

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The Phases of Art Development is a quick digital course that explains how art making can help students develop their creativity, fine-motor skills, and focus. More importantly, I share what types of projects students at every age are capable of completing safely, and without making a mess.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

10 Common Shelf Art Supplies

Best Supplies To Start With

10 Common Shelf Art Supplies

There’s something about fall and the back-to-school season that makes you reevaluate and take inventory of your work, study areas and processes. Don’t you just love it? So let me share my favorite materials so you can start off fresh. I think your classroom or teaching space should get the same treatment—starting with an Art Shelf! In this blog, I’m going to share 10 common shelf art supplies to stage that I think every classroom should have around.

If you’ve never had an art shelf in your classroom, I’d like to encourage you to designate a space specifically for art supplies and projects. This can go a long way in supporting art literacy and creating a good foundation of basic art skills. The basic idea is to keep everything your students need to get creative in one easy-to-reach place.

Easy Set Up Ideas

Setting up an art shelf really isn’t all that difficult. Fill it up with a few basic art supplies and keep it stocked and refreshed throughout the year. Here are the 10 items I’d recommend for you to include as you set it up for the new school year. If you want to learn more about organizing and understanding how art can be engaging, head over to my How To Stage An Art Shelf training.

In this blog, I want to focus on 10 Common Shelf Art Supplies you should have around that support independence and art literacy. If you want to learn more about the area of art I recommend, be sure to get my early childhood or elementary Art Guides. Check out these guides to learn the best ways to stage an art shelf with art supplies.

Just by staging these art supplies on a shelf, you can jump-start your students exploring and give them autonomy in creating. Plus you can also find all these art mediums at my online store.

1. Baskets of Paper On the Shelf

10 Common Shelf Art Supplies, Montessori

This will be the foundation for the majority of your students’ artwork. Stock up on plenty of uncoated paper. Include white, uncoated, smooth drawing paper, and thick, absorbent watercolor paper for painting. Also, include colored craft paper for cutting, folding, and collaging. A large roll of butcher paper for younger students is great. For special painting activities, have some type of canvas fabric. Cardboard types of paper are also great for crafting and gluing. Have plenty of scrap paper for inventive ideas. Children love coming up with paper art ideas. Watch my tip video on the sizes I recommend for children here.

2. Painting – Paints + Brushes


Art programming should include some painting activities. You can teach both early childhood and elementary students basic painting skills. Stage different types of paints: watercolor, tempera paint, or student-grade acrylic. You should include a variety of different-sized paintbrushes. Plus, include painting tools to experiment with, such as sponges, paint droppers, and items to make textures (download my painting checklist HERE). If you want to learn more about different children’s paints, check out my book called Kids Painting HERE, Kids Painting Curriculum, or Painting Work Art Album.

10 Common Shelf Art Supplies for painting in the Montessori classroom

3. Drawing & Doodling Supplies

  • Crayons
  • Colored pencils
  • Oil pastels
  • Soft pastels
  • Tempera sticks
  • Sketching pencils

And all these tools are not as messy as paint!

Best Children’s Drawing Supplies to Buy

Children’s Drawing Tools For Elementary Grades


4. Common Crafting Supplies


Crafting offers many areas for children to explore. There are numerous art supplies that can be used in this area. I would try different projects from time to time. Whether a student wants to use buttons for eyes on their clay figurine, or glue a bunch of seeds to accent their collage, small accessories can give them freedom to add some oomph to their projects. I recommend children explore. Bring these things in once and awhile. Here are some of the basics:

  • Glue, glue dots, low-temp glue gun
  • Tape, masking tape, or washi tape
  • Scissors
  • String, yarn, thread
  • Sewing needles
  • Small embellishments like buttons, googly eyes, beads, gems
  • Small fabric, felt, recycled fabric scraps
  • Small wood scraps
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Styrofoam pieces
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Pom poms
  • Seeds, beans
  • Twigs, seashells, seed pods

5. Modeling Clay

Clay is very common for teaching many essential fine-motor movements. I recommend that all art programming for children include some type of clay modeling. Clays come in many forms, from quick-drying to non-hardening. While students will enjoy molding the clay with their hands, providing items like shape cutters (or cookie cutters!), rolling pins, textured plates, and modeling wood tools will allow them to create even more. Clay can be easily placed on an art shelf in containers, or on trays. If you would like to learn more about why clay is important, read Clay Play Theory or check out my Clay Modeling Curriculum HERE.

  • Clay tools
  • Cookie cutters
  • Earth clay
  • Air-dry clay
  • Sculpey clay
  • Plastilina clay – non-hardening
  • Beeswax
clay modeling in the Montessori classroom, 
Spramani Elaun

6. Stamps + Stencils

Stencils are so much fun to use and great to include in your art shelf. Children love tracing them and coloring inside them. Stencils come in many shapes and sizes. Great for tracing and building hand dexterity.  Stamps also are fun to press in clay and use on ink pads. Surprise your students and put some on the shelf!

10 Common Shelf Art Supplies, drawing lessons, Montessori, Spramani Elaun

7. Seasonal Inspiration

While you want most of these supplies to remain on your art shelf year-round, you’ll find that students will respond creatively to new tools or inspiration. Rotate out your stencils or offer a still life props (like bright flowers in the spring, or gourds in the fall) to reflect the season. Professional Development – How To Stage An Art Shelf Training

8. Art & Clip Boards

Drawing boards can help stabilize paper in place while moving around the classroom. They’re also good for laying down on the carpet. If you can’t get custom drawing boards, you can use a clipboard. A drawing board can even be used outside when there is no table to sit and draw on.

9. Art Story Books

Having fun storybooks that inspire art-making can be something you change from week to week. You can put them on the top of a shelf or in a basket. Some of my favorite books are The Dot, Lines That Wiggle, and Mouse Paint. Learn more about how I love to use storybooks to support art lessons by reading this blog or watching this free training.

10 . Recycled Scraps

I always include a box or basket of scraps of collaging or building. This is a great way to get children excited about the possibilities of thinking outside of the box. I’m always amazed by the ideas children come up with.

I hope these 10 Common Shelf Art Supplies give you some ideas for staging an art shelf! What do you have on your art shelf? Share your go-to supplies in the comments below and send me photos of your new art shelf by tagging me on Instagram (@nature.of.art.for.kids)!

3 to 6 Art – Early Childhood Montessori Teaching Resources

Sign-up to receive video

The Phases of Art Development is a quick digital course that explains how art making can help students develop their creativity, fine-motor skills, and focus. More importantly, I share what types of projects students at every age are capable of completing safely, and without making a mess.

Best of all—it’s free! To sign up for the course, click here.

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.