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!

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)