Fueled by an artist and former K-5 art teacher’s dream of empowering children through quality arts education, Doodles Academy is a locally based 501(c)(3) organization committed to providing children with a “holistic arts education”.
Instead of treating art as an “extra subject,” Doodles Academy values it as a “dynamic medium to enhance learning…”
Vision and mission
Doodles Academy’s mission is simple: to provide every child with a high quality visual arts education. They achieve this through a myriad of school-based programs and tools for students and educators to connect art to academic programming, offering a unique approach to arts education.
Beginnings and history
Founder Tempest NeuCollins created Doodles Academy nearly ten years ago. As an educator working with elementary school students in Brooklyn, New York, Tempest witnessed art classes being overlooked as “extra” subjects. This inspired her to partner with teachers to weave creativity into their classrooms.
Instead of making kids create “cookie cutter” art projects such as turkeys during thanksgiving or snowmen during winter holidays, Tempest’s art projects connected to the students’ learning curriculum.
This made art more engaging, relevant and unique. Gradually, her work grew into a library of art projects which related to literacy, science and social studies lessons. Tempest brought her idea from her roots in New York to Portland, Oregon, where she collaborated with teachers to bring Doodles Academy programs into classrooms. Today, Ann Arbor serves as the home and heart of this non-profit.
Programming
Two main programs are at the core of Doodles Academy: Art of Early Education, designed for preschoolers ages 2.5-6 years and Artistry of Literacy, geared toward Grades 1-5. Find the 2025 Curriculum Catalog here.
Art of Early Education
Designed for preschoolers, this program engages the youngest learners and inspires a love of art through hands-on art project, stories, rhymes and early literacy. Examples of student projects include collaborative murals, Moroccan lamps, puppets, family flags and self-portraits.
Artistry of Literacy
The signature program brings engaging art education to 1st-5th graders. At the heart of this curriculum, projects blend visual art with literacy. Some examples of student projects include illustrating characters, building story settings and using color to create a story’s mood.
Kid-friendly themes such as monsters, around the neighborhood or outer space may guide student projects. The curriculum utilizes the Science of Reading framework, which incorporates 5 big ideas: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
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Other programming
Doodles Academy hosts out-of-school programming for kids to learn about different art programs. The fall 2025 theme is Identity, Collaboration and Cultural Creativity.
Parents can purchase tickets for weekly 1.5 hour classes online. Current month-long offerings for kids include Showing Heart: A Story Quilt Project Afterschool Classes and Doodles Fall Art Club. Snacks and all art supplies are included in the class fee.
Camps
Doodles Academy offers training and materials for educators to host multi-day camps. Doodles will provide in-service sessions, comprehensive materials, lesson plans, handouts and resources for educators to implement camp programs for kids.
Examples of camp themes include Zine Camp, Magical Creature Camp, Puppet Camp, Fashion and Culture Camp and Creative Journaling Camp.
Workshops
Doodles offers condensed programs for libraries and large group workshops.
Examples of workshop themes include Magical Lands, Creative Conservationist, Musical Murals, Lantern Making and Shadow Puppets.
Professional development
Doodles Academy offers strong support for students, teachers and parents. The curriculum is available online for free to educators.
There are several professional development sessions for teachers, which offer hands-on workshops demonstrating how educators can implement programs into their own classrooms. There are also ways schools can partner with Doodles Academy to bring Doodles-trained teaching artists into classrooms.
Volunteer Opportunities can be found at doodles-academy.activehosted.com/f/43.
Doodles Academy. doodles-academy.org. info@doodles-academy.org.
