Packing Up for the Summer

Oh my goodness!  Where has the time gone? I feel like I was somewhere back in April and had just come off a Spring Break.  Don't get wrong.  I am all for Summer.  I'm just feeling a bit dazed with how fast the time flies along with stressed out that I need to close up shop and get things packed away for the school year.

During the Summers our custodial staff strips the floors and polishes them up nice and shiny.  The polish they use is very sticky and stains whatever it touches, so I like to make sure I am thorough when putting things away.

This is also a great time to purge and reorganize for the coming year so that you're not overwhelmed in the Fall.  I call this "loving my future self".  And it is truly a gift to yourself when you've got the end-of-Summer blues!

So what to keep and what to get rid of is always on my mind. Here are some pointers I try to keep in mind when sifting through items:

1. Can I get this item again and can I get it easily?  If I have bags upon bags of unused paper towel rolls I might go ahead and share them with the local Summer camp.

2. Will this items survive in its current state over the Summer?  I have a lot of small paint cups filled with various colors of tempera paint.  Towards May, I stop filling these cups up and encourage students to get creative and mix colors if they can't find what they need.  I don't like to be stingy when it comes to creating art, but I know if we continue at the pace we are going in May in terms of filling up paint cups - I'll end up with a lot of "exposed paint" (paint that is no longer stored in its original jug, has been mixed with other colors, and has had exposure to hundreds of little fingers).  You may laugh when reading the "exposed paint" descriptor, but by the time the end of Summer rolls round, crazy wild things have grown in these cups that make you wonder if they're related to the items at the back of the refrigerator in the staff lounge.  When not becoming a petri dish of some new antibiotic, the paint sometimes goes pasty or dries like it vacationed in the Mojave Desert.

3. Have I used this item (teacher resource or art supply) in the past 3 years?  If the answer's no - just get rid of it.  If you have teacher-waste guilt, place the item in the teacher's lounge for someone else to pick up and use.

4. Will the school replenish the supply?  My school always provides a new set of crayons, color pencils, markers, and paint.  When crayons and markers are on their last leg, I make small sandwich baggies of take-home goodies for students to enjoy over the Summer.  Usually they come back with really creative ways they have used up the left overs.  It's a win-win for you: you have more space, you've encouraged creativity, and you did not throw away anything! Hooray!

Other questions I contemplate in terms of how I clean and store items is to separate the expensive and personal items that need to be locked up so that they don't grow feet and walk away.  Other items are placed inside of boxes with other similar materials and labeled with numbers.  I keep a spread sheet of what each numbered box is for my reference and it also deters hands from reaching in and taking items because they don't know what materials are in what boxes.  It's sad to have to think that way, but I'd rather have my supplies waiting for me when the kids and I get back - so better to be safe than sorry.

As for cleaning I'm a real stickler and believe students are responsible for their classroom environment and materials.  We spend one day out of each advisory cleaning up and putting away items so they know the routine will be similar at the end of the year.  They help me sort through dried up markers and glue sticks, sharpen pencils for next year, was stubborn paint spots off tables and stools, and wash out water cups.  It's a team effort and I appreciate their help.  Most of the students are happy to help with cleaning and many hands make like the work.

How do you close out your school year?  Share your ideas! I'm always looking for more to help smooth the transition into Summer!

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!