Keeping Track of it All

When I started out as a general ed teacher - I felt like balancing my schedule was quite the circus act. In one ring I have my students and their needs.  The general round of items included time blocks for language arts, cursive, math, spelling and word study, science, social studies, and a resource class.  Then in the next ring there was the before school, during lunch, and after school schedule that entailed duty, meeting with parents, emailing coworkers, field trip destinations, in class visitors, students just emailing to say hello, after school clubs, committees, sports... You get the idea.

The most comical thing about it was the fact that none of this included my home life.

Now as a resource teacher, balancing a schedule is equally challenging but in a very different way.  You're schedule is never quite the same, some classes won't be attending due to field trips (hooray for extra planning and prep time, boo for getting behind on our art project), testing schedules, prep work, meeting with grade levels to plan and align my curriculum with theirs, emailing visiting artists, administration, parents... I'm sure you get this idea too.

To keep a plan book that is already pre-set is madness for a resource teacher - especially since each day can look very different from the prior one.  Not only that, but I never have enough pages and who wants to re-write repetitive information over and over again?  Do you ever have that problem?

My answer to this challenge was to create an artsy-fartsy planner-template.  I admit, it has a contemporary meets vintage vibe.  There are our templates to rotate through.    I did this so that I could enjoy some of my favorite quotes (admittedly I am a Macklemore fan and yes I have attended concerts of his amidst hundreds of college kids) on a rotating basis with variance in clip art I chose.  You'll notice that the name of the teacher is blank so that you can fill it in according to who you see when on which day (does that even make sense?).  There's also a space for extra notes and a side bar for supplies I need to remember to pull out or prep.

This is my gift to you.  I hope you find it useful and an enjoyable tool to help you start each day out on the right food... Or left?

The Classroom Blog

Howdy folks!  Are we ready for Spring yet?  If you're on the East Coast like I am, I'll bet you have been ready since January.  This time of year is always a time when I feel energized enough to do a little spring cleaning around my classroom as well as on my classroom blog: https://murchartroom.wordpress.com.

The blog was created a few years ago as a tool to communicate with the school community about the happenings in "The Art Room" and so far - I think it's been pretty successful.

After having looked about many other fantastic blogs created by art teachers and elementary school teachers alike, I decided to take various qualities I enjoyed and consolidated into one blog.

You've got your home page - where I usually make quick announcements and direct viewers where to go.  It also is where I like to post my philosophy on arts education. A picture here and a picture there and it's done.  Pretty simple I know, but I'm saving the good stuff for the pages that are organized by grade level.  

On grade level pages I give a quick run down of what students are learning about and exploring and provide pictures of students in action.  By organizing pages by grade level, my hope is that it provides parents easy access to finding what their kiddo is up to rather than having to scroll on one endless blog page.  There's a resource page with a list of great books, exploration and activity workbooks, and websites that have been a hit with my students.  And lastly, there's an "About the Teacher" page.  I'm not big on shining my own light on me, but I do think it's important that parents can put a face with a name and know what my background in art is.

So with that, I invite you to check out my page and leave a comment or suggestion.  I am always looking for new ways to improve.  If you have a blog you think is worthwhile - please send that my way too!

All the best!

Feeling Springy

I'm feeling the Spring vibe and thought I'd share some amazing market flowers... oh the sunshine is ready to come out!  

What's on the Art Supply List?

Maybe it's a bit early to be thinking about next year's supply list?  It's true, it is early, but I'm always working on lists of supplies - keeping inventories of what I have and am low on so that I order wisely for the year to come.  Because supply lists need to be submitted by late Spring to admin so that notices can be sent home with parents to work on over the summer, I NEED to start thinking about it now.

So let's face it, cash flow in education is a thing of the past now days and school is so much different than it was when we (I) went to school.  I remember the school paid for things like pencils, paper, folders to keep our homework in, art supplies, and more.

Now days the money we get to fund the art program (if there is one) needs to be squeezed and stretched to the limits just to make ends meet.

This means relying on the families of the students you teach to help pitch in where they can.  I thank my lucky stars that I work for a school whose community strives to fill in the financial gaps so that we can have what we, the teachers, need in our classrooms to be successful.

At the start of each academic year I put out a list of basic needs that are "must haves" for each student to bring to class.  For other more specialized items such as tin foil, hand soap, paper towels, & Q-tips, I post those on a monthly wish list and hope that a family is willing to donate an item or two off the list.

Here is a list that I have tweaked over the past few years and have found to be very helpful in starting the year out right.  Feel free to use it and make it your own to fit your needs!  Also - if you have anything you put on your list - let me know! I need new ideas too!

Student Art Supply List

Pre K & K:

        1.    1 packet of disinfectant wipes (any brand)

        2.    1 packet of baby wipes (any brand)

Grades 1-5:

1. A hardcover artist’s journal OR composition notebook with 50 or more bound pages. (Any type/brand of journal or notebook purchased is fine so long as it is no larger than 9 by 12 inches so that it can be properly stored. Returning students should bring their old art journal from last year and do not need to purchase a new journal.)
2. Large t-shirt to serve as art smock clearly labeled on front and back with student’s first and last name.
3. 1 pack of disinfectant wipes (any brand)
4. 1 pack of baby wipes (any brand)

Plans for the Substitute...

Sometimes it can be hard to let go of lessons and place them into the hands of the substitute.  Not that there is anything wrong with the substitute... It's just that I never know who is coming in and with a varied range of familiarity with the kids and my classroom, who knows what you can expect upon return? Crazy room that has been hit by a tornado or nice neat room where everything is where it should be?

Who wants to risk the outcome of a project on the one day you're out for a doctor's appointment anyway?  Better to come up with a fun activity that allows students to stretch their creative wings and let you have peace of mind.

I came across this book, Magic Trash; The Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art, written by J.H. Shapiro.

It's the perfect mix of life lesson, inspiration, and inventive creativity.  It's also a great read whether the class is in kindergarten or fifth grade.  There's just something to relate to at any age level.

The short of it is that Guyton finds himself in his troubled neighborhood and is faced with the choice to walk away from it or to do something about it.  What does he do?  He turns to art OF COURSE!  He gathers up the trash in the neighborhood to create wondrous sculptures, splashes paint here and there, and beautifies his community.

After the reading, students are given the task to turn "trash" (aka - left over art materials) and to turn it into something beautiful, useful, unique... and fun!

Here is a quick run down of the lesson:

Sub Plan

Date: 

Schedule:

Grade/Class:

Materials: "Garbage" (basically all the leftovers from the year's projects - scraps of paper, beads, old egg crate shells, cardboard, string pieces, glitter, confetti, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, streamer, ribbon, felt.. the sky is the limit!), glue sticks, scissors, color pencils, crayons, markers, etc.

Goals for Lesson:

Know: By the end of the lesson, you will KNOW who the artist, Tyree Guyton, is and how he turned trash in his neighborhood into "Magic Trash".

Understand: How art can take many forms and with a little imagination, anything (including trash) can be transformed into marvelous works of art.

Do: For our activity today, you will be given the challenge of turning trash given to you into "Magic Trash" - works of art of your own invention.

Outline of Lesson:

1. Read "Goals for Lesson"

2. Introduce and read Magic Trash.

3. During reading questions: What do you predict Tyree will do?  How did Tyree make this (refer to one of the book examples)?  What would you make if you had these materials?  Why does Tyree choose to use trash to make art?  How did Tyree's art change his neighborhood?

4. Activity: Place a back of "trash" at each table.  Invite students to work individually, in pairs, or as teams to create a "Magic Trash" art project to be presented at the end of class.  Make available: scissors, glue, tape, crayons, markers, blank paper, etc.

5. Closing: Invite students to do a gallery walk around the art projects.  Once students have had a chance to study each work of art, travel as a group from piece to piece and invite students to present their work, how they went about making it, what it symbolizes/means, if they could change or do something differently what would it be, likes and dislikes, etc.

6. Clean up: Send student work home with them or for pick up after school.  Have students place any leftover materials back into bags in preparation for the next class.

I've had students make crazy hats, princess tiaras, necklaces from ancient civilizations, a cloak, and parachute with man to name of few.   The sky is the limit with this activity and clean up is a breeze because you just throw all the leftover "garbage" back into a zip lock bag.

So breath deeply my friend, put together this simple lesson for the sub, and relax - you can now enjoy your day off.  *SIGH*

Nasty Concrete Walls! (How to Display Student Work)

You know what I'm talking about right?  Those gross, make-me-gag concrete walls every school has that you just happen to be in charge of decorating.  Yeah those ones.  I spent the first two years of my art teacher career battling it out with those walls and it wasn't until this year that I finally found a solution that is cost effective and a time saver (compared to other attempts).

What you'll need:

-heavy duty duct tape
-hot glue & hot glue gun
-extension cord (if needed)
-butcher paper


What to do:

1. Heat up the good old glue gun that takes a good while to heat up.

2. Cut the butcher paper to the size you need to cover your desired area.  I know lots of people say black or grey are good colors for displaying artwork, but come on people - this is elementary school, not a haunted house - so I choose blue or deep purple.

3. Using heavy duty duct tape, place a rolled piece at each corner of the paper.  Now you are ready to put up the butcher paper and adjust how it is hanging.  The tape in each corner allows you to make the adjustments with ease without being overly committed.

4. Once you have your butcher paper in place.  Slide the glue gun just under the lip of the butcher paper and go to glue town around the edges of the paper.  Keep extra glue sticks handy in your pocket for easy reloading.

5. Once the butcher paper is up, you can tape the artwork on and it will hold until the cows come home.  Sometimes, I will have already glued the students artwork to the butcher paper before taping and gluing it up.  The choice is yours- both take equal amounts of time.

6. To take down art, simply grab hold of an edge of the paper with the hot glue (or is it cool glue now that it's no longer hot?) and slowly pull away the paper from the wall.  Some tearing may happen, but honestly, it's not happened to me yet.  Then I grab a pair of scissors and cut out each work of art and have them delivered to the classrooms.

Voila!  Sounds like a lot, but believe me, when you spend hours taping up artwork only to come in the next day and find them on the floor, you'll find this method to be much more time effective.

Good luck! I hope this helps!

No Sink? No Problem!

When I first became an art teacher, my room was in a small portable located next to some basketball courts (Three cheers for basketballs hitting my classroom walls all afternoon! Yippee!)  The upside was that it had tiled floors, which of course, was great for clean up of spills and the like.  The downside is that it had no sinks.  Throughout the year I tried a variety of different things and finally came to a routine that worked:

1. Disinfectant Wipes & Baby Wipes:  Don't be afraid to make a supply list that is sent out to parents with a list of things you need to get the year started right.  When you make a list of "must-haves" make sure wipes are on there.  I make every single student bring in one container of disinfectant wipes and one container of baby wipes.  It's a lot to store, but they go quickly if you're wiping up after each session and makes it a breeze to have students help clean up.  The bonus for you is that your room gets sanitized at the end of each class keeping you and the kiddos happy and healthy AND cleaning dirty hands is a breeze - just send each kid out the door with a baby wipe for their hands and have them deposit it in the next trash can they see.

2. Heavy Duty Construction Buckets:  Create a water station! These are pretty cheap and can be found at your local hardware store. Purchase five or more buckets if you can. Locate your closest water tap that can fit a bucket and recruit 4 big kids (usually fifth graders) to dump and refill the water buckets for you at the end of each day so that it's ready to go in the morning.  Two buckets should be filled with clean water and plastic pitcher for pouring into cups, one with clean water and soap for a quick rinse, and one or two buckets for the "slop" buckets, where you dump old water from the day's lessons.  Training the kiddos is the most important aspect of this process.  Make sure you are explicit in expectations and model to them how and what should be done.  Have them practice supervised a few times and you are ready to go.  If you can find a heavy-duty door mat (another cheap find at the hardware store) place it under the buckets to capture the water drips.  Placing the "water station" close to the exit is a good idea too - that way splashing is at a minimum when taking away and bringing back the buckets.

3. Portable Sinks: I know these guys are expensive, but if you can get your principal on board or the PTA to sponsor you - they are another great way to go.  Portable sinks can be purchased on line and delivered already put together.  They just need to be emptied and filled with water each day.  If you shop around for one or two - make sure you get the largest gallon size you can.  Some sinks only hold 5 gallons of water which can go in a snap.  Try to find 10 gallon tanks or more if you can afford it.  When I had portable sinks, I made sure students knew that it was for project water supply only.  Hand washing was still done using baby wipes.  To empty and refill the tanks, our janitor (aka - my best bud) would come by each afternoon to help.  Can't get the janitor?  Ask a parent or two if they could take a few days a week to help.  Can't get money to purchase the sinks?  Think about Donors Choose at donorschoose.org or about contacting a portable sink maker to see if they can donate one.  I've also found them on Craigslist so you do have options so long as you're willing to be creative about pick up.

Here's The Truth...

I have been a teacher for ten years now.  For the first seven, I taught second, third, and fourth grades.  After that, I was ready for a change.  After some soul searching, I packed my general ed bags and moved to a new school right into the resource classroom to teach art where I have been for the past three years.  Despite my art background in grad and undergrad school as well as teaching summer school art, nothing could have prepared me for the big surprise I was in for and there have definitely been many ups and downs.  All of it worth while, all of it helped me to grow as an educator, all of it makes my heart smile.  In this blog, I want to share all of the tips, tricks, and lessons in art that I have learned and to share what 650 kids (all under the age of ten) have taught me in return.  So sit back and relax, I went to the rodeo for the both of us, all you have to do is coast right along and enjoy the view from where you are - at a safe distance and free of paint, boogers, and glue. 

-Yours truly, 

Nichole :)