WHAT the Heck...

Found this is class today...

Not sure I am mad and frustrated that he wasted time doing this or a proud art teacher because he never gave up on his goal! 😎

I Love My Job....

I love my job...I really really do. I do not think anything in my life has ever made me happier. I would actually move into my art room if that were possible so I could be there more. As an artist and an art educator I know it's very different than other jobs. I can not imagine not doing art. I am a creative person and my brain is on all the time. I was born with it and I will die with it. It will continue long after I have retired from teaching in a classroom. I can not stop drawing, painting, doodling, felting, making books, stitching scrappy creatures, etc. 

Hubby and I went to his mother's home for Christmas one year. She is a quilter and her stuff is in hubby's old bedroom. By the time we left for home I had taught myself to quilt and created and finished the one and only blanket I have made to date. Of course hubby helped me with the math and mother-in-law taught me to sew. But I could not just sit there and not create. I am always taking classes or learning new things on-line. I learned to felt watching Cassie Stephens videos. Now I can not live without my felted creatures. My point is...well I really do not have a point I just wanted to to say how much I love teaching elementary art. Can you imagine a math teacher saying "hey I went home and did math all weekend"! Well maybe Sheldon Cooper. 

But just because I live and breath my job does not mean y'all have to. I know new teachers find it difficult to fit it all in. So don't, you do not have to, you will be fine and it will all work out. You just do you! There was a reason you became a teacher...remember that and keep moving forward. I became a teacher because I am a high school drop out. I never wanted that to happen to anyone else. I want creative type kids to know there is a future for them in the arts.

I do not sleep much, I never have and I am a nocturnal creature. I also have ADHD, which helps me get a lot done when I am focused....when I am not focused my house falls apart, my laundry piles up, my studio gets flooded with new art supplies I may never use and hubby talks about moving out to his man shed. Oh ya I remember my point now...never compare yourself to others. You are amazing just as you are. I wish someone would have told me that when I was young and told me about SCAD but I am telling you that now because you are amazing. Remember I only post the good stuff....there is an amazing amount of failures behind it all that you will never see. For every 1 idea that gets out there are 10 more in my brain struggling to make an appearance.  But without me trying and failing I would never learn and never be able to share with my kiddos and with you. There is no magic formula to getting it all done...sometimes I get it done and I get it posted on my blog and sometimes I don't and you never see it. Do what you can with what you have the best way you know how and you will be fine.

 This is who I am. 

Peace be the Journey!

Classroom Management in the Art Room....

Of all the things new teachers ask me "how do you manage your class room" is the #1 question.  My response is keep it simple. I am a huge believer in the Love & Logic method. If you have never read this book stop what ever you are doing and go over to Amazon and get a copy. There is a new version as of 2016 for $37 or the older one pictured below for only $5. I study out of the older version and it will absolutely change your life...it did mine. I was teaching in a low-income Title One school and it was just about to kill me. The whole school started Teaching With Love & Logic program. It not only changed my classroom, it changed how I was raising my son and dealing with my family as well. I just can't say enough good things about this book. It puts the responsibility back on the students. It is a must read.

I do not have a lot of rules, if I hung up 10,000 rules the kids would still find a way to break an unwritten rule. So I keep it simple. I have procedures and managers. 

I have a set of 10 simple classroom procedures and my table managers help me to make sure everyone is following them. I let the kids know that there will be consequences for bad behavior but that will depend on the student and the offense. Everyone is different so each consequence will be different. I usually ask the students to go think about their behavior for a while and come back to me and tell me what they think their consequences should be. And they always do. Them stewing in their own guilt to the best teacher ever! 

At the beginning of each class I have a One Minute Meditation Moment. This starts the kids off calm and hopefully with an open mind. I ask them to think about "nothing" for one minute. It is something your kids will have to get use to....just ask my kiddo's! They thought I was crazy at first but now if I forget they ask for the M&M (as they call it). After the M&M I remind the kids they are in art to learn and practice a new skill, be kind to yourself and to others. I also say "you know in your heart what is right and what is wrong, you choose your path". Sometimes it works, sometimes I have to find a different way to remind them to follow the procedures.

I know all this makes me sound like some new age hippy freak but it really works. I truly believe in it and my kids are so much calmer then before I used this approach.  

I also make sure the kids are engaged in an art project or working in their journal's the entire class. Keeping kids involved helps keep them from getting into trouble!

Having a consistent Classroom Management System is a good way to keep your art room under control. I have had the same system for 13 years now. The kids know it and could run the room even if I was not there. That of course does not stop that one kid from asking "where to I turn this in"? even though I have not moved the drying rack or turn-in-basket in 8 years! But it helps...

1.The Darter Supply Management System

I have one overall classroom manager in each class who acts a "mini-me". This person is the only one allowed to walk up to me without raising their hand. If you have a supply need you ask your table manager if you have an art question you can ask others at your table or raise your hand an I will come help you. Other wise everyone is expected to stay in their seat or in their area during class. Classroom managers keep their jobs all year and when ever possible they keep their jobs year after year. This cuts way down on the retraining process time. We hit the ground running each new school year. I do remind students each year that I do not have favorites we just need a quick way to get everything accomplished. I emphasize that the art room is based on team work...we are all on the same team. Try and develop a culture and attitude in your art room that the space is their own personal art studio, it will differently help with behavior management. I pick classroom managers who seem to be class leaders, who are very calm and seem to just know how to get things done. They also do not mind taking orders from me or working very hard while still being able to get all their own projects finished. It is the classroom managers job to do a final quality check at the end of class to make sure "their" art room is ready for the next class. At the end of they year I have a party for all the classroom managers... I owe them that much for how hard they all work.

Supply manager--The supply manager is the second in command under the classroom manager. This person is the overseer of all supplies and table caddies the room. It is their ultimate responsibility to make sure all the table managers put away the supplies correctly. They also help me pass out random things that I do not have a job manager for. 

In addition to the classroom manager and the supply managers I have one table manager at each table. The table managers keep their jobs all year long or as long as they choose to keep it.  It is a lot of work. I remind students our most important goal in the art room is to create art. The faster we get supplies the faster we are working on our art. The table managers are in charge of getting all the supplies for their table. They do this at the beginning of class and throughout the entire class period. The table manager is also responsible for making sure everything gets put away correctly for their table and the table is clean before everyone lines up. Everyone else at the table is in charge of keeping the table clean during class, the table supplies organized and the floor around their table swept. I have a small broom on a hook at the end of each table. I remind students it is important to stay out of the managers way at the end of class so they can get the room ready for the next class so please help them but getting your tables put together and in order. It's a team effort!

On top of the table managers and the classroom manager  jobs there are a few other very important jobs in my art room... these managers are--

Sink/Paint manager- The paint manager is in charge of all things paint and anything by the sink. The paint manager helps the table managers put out, pick-up and restock paint. They also help me with every thing that has anything to do with the sink area. Since it is such a big job the classroom manager also helps the paint manager. 

When my paint order comes in I just have the paint manager and a couple of helpers pop out all the pods into color coordinated bins. They love this job!

Paper Passer/picker-upper/drying rack manager--This student hands out all new project papers, old project papers and any special papers to everyone. They also pick up all the papers when the class works as a group. Otherwise I have a yellow turn-in basket were everyone puts their dry projects in on their own when they finish during class.  The paper passer is also in charge of the drying rack when we turn wet projects in as a group at the end of class. Otherwise as soon as a student is finished with a wet project they may put their work on the drying rack and get their journal.

Repetitive Question Manager--This is the greatest gift you can give yourself! If you have that one kid in your class that knows everything this is the perfect job for him or her. When someone asks you "what are we doing" or "were are the crayons" all you have to do is say "go ask Jimmy or Janie". It really cuts down on your useless question time. If you take nothing else away from this article please try this one suggestion. It will change your classroom!

Journal/library manager--The journal manager keeps all the journals at his or her table in a basket. When a student is finished with their projects they know to go to the journal manager and get their journal out of the basket.  The journal manager is also in charge of keeping the library and the journal station clean. I let the journal manager pick their own helper to assist them in organizing the journal station...it's a really big job sometimes. The journal manager is also in charge of helping me pass out random supplies I do not have job managers for.

Students creating the cover of their sketchbook/journals

Clay manager--This person's job is to assist me with all things clay, paper mâché and all 3D. 

Seating-

I have a seating chart and the students with jobs sit in the same place for that job in every class. This way I am not always looking for the job person I need. For example all the classroom managers sit at the head of the orange table. That is because it is right next to where I stand to take roll and end class. All the supply managers for each class sit in the first chair at the Yellow table...this is because it is closest to the supply rack. All the paper passers for all the classes sit at the second seat at the Red table because it is closest to the paper cabinet. All the journal managers in all the classes sit at the 3rd chair of the blue table because it is at the center of the room and all the kids come to this person to get their journals. It is centrally located. This system is great for subs as well, when everyone knows their job and the sub has to do very little it is great for keeping the room clean. The jobs are marked on the seating chart so the sub can find the person with the right job to help them fast. 

My tables are color coded with ribbons above them hanging from the celling: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet. If I have an overflow of students some years there is also and Indigo table I use. All the table managers sit at the head of their tables. I have a cool side manager and a warm side manger as well. This person is in charge when a warm or cool side table manager is absent. The classroom manager is also in charge of any other manager job if that person is absent. This cuts down on "can I be manager x today our manager is absent". There is already a plan in place for absent students.

Students put their names on the backs of all their  papers and also include their classroom teacher's name in case the paper is misplaced and their table color. Having the table color helps get the papers passed out much faster. We are not looking for a person but a table color, it's a real time saver.

I do not use the my management system in kindergarten. For these little ones I tell them the people who are paying attention and following directions get to be my helpers. I also make sure that my kinder kids get up and wiggle around every 15 mins. Some times we act like different kinds of lines, that is their favorite art exercise!

If you would like more details on my management system just e-mail me at artroomblog@yahoo.com

This is a flow chart I use when kids say "what do I do next". There is a laminated copy in each table caddy on each table in case they forget, which they always do even though it has not changed in 13 years. I just say go look at your flow chart.

2. Behavior Management-

As I said before I am a huge believer in Love and Logic by Jim Fay and David Funk. This management system totally changed the way I teach, manage my classroom, deal with other people and really...live my life. I swear by it. 

I use to give points and rewards in every form imaginable. I quit doing that a couple years ago and I have been so much happier ever since. I make sure the kids are busy from start to finish, I walk around the room a lot...I mean A LOT, I am everywhere. I sit with the kids and work on the same project they are doing or I work on my own art journal. I want them to see me working right along side them. I try to catch fires before they start and I take the Love and Logic approach to putting out fires once they do. I put the ownership of the problem back into the kids hands. For a better description of this process I beg you to read or take a workshop on Love and Logic. I know you are thinking...I do the same thing too and I am sure you do. It does take time though so keep pushing through. You must be very consistent and very firm at first. It is very important to develop a sense of team work, pride in their own art class room and a culture of mutual respect. It has taken me a few years and it is not perfect but it is so much better then the alternative of always being frustrated or upset with the kids. Being upset or frustrated can make you crazy and you leave work tired an burned out every day. But once they get a plan in place it really does free you up to have fun with your students because you will have a good system  they understand and can work within. Let the kids know all the time that you believe in them, that we act with respect in the art room and that you expect them to be on their best behavior with themselves,  their table mates and their class. 

 If things are going a little pear shaped turn the lights down and ask the kids to meditate for one minute. If things are getting really loud I call for a Silent Art. Silent Art last for 5 minutes. I set the chicken timer (it's a kitchen timer shaped like a chicken...dah! ). When the timer goes off I do not say anything  and let them figure it's over on their own. Usually they are still pretty quiet for a while. I allow my kids to talk in class but only to people at their own tables and at the journal station. As long as they are on task and keeping the noise to a minimum it's all good. I do sometimes play music and art videos for background ambience. They love Kids Hub and Bob Ross Videos on YouTube.

I hope this helps....Leave any comments or questions you think would be helpful. Also feel free to share your own classroom management procedures.

An Art Teacher's Thoughts on A Summer of Art...

During the summer I go to the beach. I will keep going to the beach each summer until the one day when I do not have to leave the beach ever again! 

So going to the beach means I have to travel. I do not fly...I am not afraid to fly, I am afraid of falling and being out of control. But that is a different blog post! So I drive everywhere I go, which makes it easy to pack all my art supplies. 




There are a few things I plan for during my summer break so I feel refreshed and ready for the next school year...


1. Reading-I always seem to be reading the latest classroom management, PBL, STEAM or what ever is the next big thing in teaching. Last year I read Wonder for our school book review. All the teachers went to see the movie together when it came out. I had to take a pass. I cry way to easy. 

I also read Classroom Management for Art, Music and PE Teachers by Michael Linsin. I highly recommend this book. I also did a book study with Cassie Stephens on her Wed. night Facebook live show where we read The Growth Mindset Coach by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley. Cassie never really finished the book study but I loved the book and I used a lot of the exercised from the book in my classroom. I highly recommend this book as well as Cassie's Wed night blog. The last book I read was Launch by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani. This was a book study with Samantha Melvin from the Texas Art Educators Association. I had to join the TAEA be part of this book study but it was all worth it. Samantha is an awesome host for this club and I am happy to say a friend as well. 

This summer I am reading The Creative Habit Learn it and Use it for Life by Twyla Tharp with the TAEA. My mother actually danced with Twyla Tharp in the 70's. I am only in chapter 2 and it has already changed my life. I differently recommend this book. Take special note of the "ritual" section. I am trying very hard to from rituals in my life so I can operate at a much more proficient level.  

So that is my summer thing during the day...I lay out on the beach and read. I go into the water with my water socks on and lay on my tube until I start thinking about sharks then I go back to the beach and read some more. Why do they always have shark week when I am at the beach house?

2. At night I work on my own art...It's hard to pack every art supply I may want to take with me but I try. I want to make books, felt little creatures, art journal, Zentangle, sew...it is a lot. I usually end up taking every art supply I own and then only working in my art journal.



I usually create all my covers before I leave for my trip and just add the pages to my 

books while on my trip. 





For art journaling I take my smaller journals and a set of travel watercolors, scissors and glue. I use to pack every single art journaling supply I though I would need but then they opened a Hobby Lobby near the beach house so that solved that problem. I actually 

always have scissors and a stick glue in my purse just in case. Don't all art teachers?



Here I am teaching a felting class in Norfolk, Virginia.

A couple of years ago I picked up felting at Art Scouts. I love, love, love needle sculpting.

Yes I stab myself all the time but I still love it. Felting is very easy to travel with because 2 oz of felt will take you a long way and 2oz is very light weight to carry and it's very 

 manageable.

3. I update my blog. There will be a lot to updates this summer since my 1 year old MacBook crashed and took everything I have with it! I just did not feel like posting for months...I was sad. I have now gotten over myself, mainly because it was my fault I did not back anything up and I have moved on. So I will have a lot of catching up to blog about this summer. 



4. I update old art projects, lesson plans and PowerPoints. Not really much to tell you about this since I am guessing all art teachers do this during the summer. 

Here are a few of the lessons I am updating for next year...



Color Wheel Pigs






Stacking Birds





Skeleton Torso

5. Every summer I try and attend workshops that are just for artists or art teachers. I love being around other art teachers and just jammin' to their crazy vibes. For the last 2 years I have attended Cassie Stephens' Art Scouts. I am a huge fangirl of Cassie's and Art Scouts is just an amazing time. This year I am going to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) for their Summer Workshops for Educators. So very, very excited. I have always wanted to go to SCAD but for horse riding, well art too but mostly for riding. I grew up showing horses and I miss it now that I can't afford it because my dad is not paying my stable bills any more!!! Darn being an adult is expensive!

I am also going to the National Art Educators Association Leadership conference in Charleston, South Carolina in July. I think it is very important to keep in touch with what is happening in our industry and to keep in touch with each other as artists and educators. Workshops and conferences are my favorite way to do just that.

6. I always myself to teach a summer camp the week before school starts. I think it is the only thing that forces me to come home! I teach at the Center for the Arts in Manassas, Virginia. I have taught art journaling, Zentangle, paper mâché, bookbinding and this summer I will be teaching a fiber arts class at Windy Knolls Farm in Nokesville, Virginia. 

7. Just relax...I have a studio in my back yard and when I am in there it is as if the rest of the world just floats away. We all have to have some "me time" to just decompress. My happy place is my art studio....and my art room...and the beach.... My dream is to combine all those things someday.  

 

This is why I go to the beach!





This is why I come home!



This post is a part of The Art Ed Blogger's Network: Monthly Tips and Inspiration from Art Teacher Blogs. On the second Tuesday each month, each of these art teacher blogs will post their best ideas on the same topic.

Participating Art Teacher Blogs:

Art Class Curator
Art Ed Guru
Art is Basic
Art Room Blog
Art Teacher Tales
Art with Mr. E
Arte a Scuola
Brava Art Press
Artful Artsy Amy
Capitol of Creativity
Create Art with ME
MiniMatisse
Mona Lisa Lives Here
Mr. Calvert's Art Room Happenings
Mrs. Boudreaux's Amazing Art Room
Mrs. T's Art Room
Ms. Nasser’s Art Studio
Party in the Art Room
shine brite zamorano
Tales from the Traveling Art Teacher
There's a Dragon in my Art Room
2 Art Rooms

My Classroom Management System...

I think the number one question I get from teachers is "how do you handle classroom management"? I do have a system and I have had it for 13 years. It really works for me and I get a whole lot of work out of the kids because we have more time to focus on art and less time figuring out who is getting what or who is putting it all away. This is the system I use, you should find ways that will make your classroom run smooth as well. One system does not work for everyone but you are welcome to use mine if it works for you.

Classroom Management System-

1. Supply management-

I have one overall classroom manager in each class who acts a "mini-me". This person is the only one allowed to walk up to me without raising their hand. If you have a supply need you ask your table manager if you have an art question you can ask others at your table or raise your hand an I will come help you. Other wise everyone is expected to stay in their seat or in their area during class. Classroom managers keep their jobs all year and when ever possible they keep their jobs year after year. Cuts way down on the retraining process time. We hit the ground running each new school year. I do remind students each year that I do not have favorites we just need a quick way to get everything accomplished. I emphasize that the art room is based on team work...we are all on the same team. The manager system you set up and start right away...the team building thing takes some time. Try and develop a culture and attitude in your art room, it will differently help with behavior management. I pick classroom managers who seem to be class leaders, are very calm and seem to just know how to get things done. They also do not mind taking orders from me or working very hard while still being able to get all their own projects finished. It is the classroom managers job to do a final quality check at the end of class to make sure "their" art room is ready. At the end of they year I do have a party for all the classroom managers... I owe them that much for how hard they all work.

Supply manager--The supply manager is the second in command under the classroom manager. This person is the overseer of all supplies and table caddies the room. It is their ultimate responsibility to make sure all the table managers put away the supplies correctly. They also help me pass out random things that I do not have a job manager for. 

In addition to the classroom manager and the supply managers I have one table manager at each table. The table managers keep their jobs all year long or as long as they choose to keep it.  It is a lot of work. I remind students our most important goal in the art room is to create art. The faster we get supplies the faster we are working on our art. The table managers are in charge of getting all the supplies for their table. They do this at the beginning of class and through out the entire class. The table manager is also responsible for making sure everything gets put away correctly for their table and the table is clean before everyone lines up. Everyone else at the table is in charge of keeping the table clean during class, the table supplies organized and the floor around their table swept. I have a small broom on a hook at the end of each table. I remind students it is important to stay out of the managers way at the end of class so they can get the room ready for the next class so please help them but getting your tables put together and in order. It's a team thing!

On top of the table managers and the classroom manager  jobs there are a few other very important jobs in my art room these managers are--

Sink/Paint manager- The paint manager is in charge of all things paint and anything by the sink. The paint manager helps the table managers put out, pick-up and restock paint. They also help me with every thing that has anything to do with the sink area. The classroom manager also helps the paint manager. 

When my paint order comes in I just have the paint manager and a couple of helpers pop out all the pods into color coordinated bins. They love this job!

Paper Passer/picker-upper/drying rack manager--This student hands out all new project papers, old project papers and any special papers to everyone. They also pick up all the papers when the class works as a group. Otherwise I have a yellow turn-in basket were everyone puts their dry projects on their own when they finish a project during class.  The paper passer is also in charge of the drying rack when we turn wet projects in as a group at the end of class. Otherwise as soon as a student is finished with a wet project they may put their work on the drying rack and get their journal.

Journal/library manager--The journal manager keeps all the journals at his or her table in a basket. When a student is finished with their projects they know to go to the journal manager and get their journal out of the basket. The journal manager helps me help all the kids bind their journals together at the start of school, which is really helpful. The journal manager is also in charge of keeping the library and the journal station clean. I let the journal manager pick their own helper to assist them in organizing the journal station...it's a really big job sometimes. The journal manager is also in charge of helping me pass out random supplies I do not have job managers for.

Clay manager--This person's job is to assist me with all things clay, paper mâché and 3D. 

I have a seating chart and the students with jobs sit in the same place for that job in every class. This way I am not always looking for the job person I need. For example all the classroom managers sit at the head of the orange table. That is because it is right next to where I stand to take roll and end class. All the supply managers for each class sit in the first chair at the Yellow table...this is because it is closest to the supply rack. All the paper passers for all the classes sit at the second seat at the Red table because it is closest to the paper cabinet. All the journal managers in all the classes sit at the 3rd chair of the blue table because it is at the center of the room and all the kids come to this person to get their journals. It is centrally located. This system is great for subs as well, when everyone knows their job and the sub has to do very little it is great for keeping the room clean. The jobs are marked on the seating chart so the sub can find the person with the right job to help them fast. 

My tables are color coded with ribbons above them hanging from the celling: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet. If I have an overflow of students some years there is also and Indigo table I use. All the table managers sit at the head of their tables. I have a cool side manager and a warm side manger as well. This person is in charge when a warm or cool side table manager is absent. The classroom manager is also in charge of any other manager job if that person is absent. This cuts down on "can I be manager x today our manager is absent". There is a plan in place for absent students.

Students put their names on the backs of all their  papers and also include their classroom teacher's name in case the paper is misplaced and their table color. Having the table color helps get the papers passed out much faster. 

I do not use the my management system in kindergarten. For these little ones I tell them the people who are paying attention and following directions get to be my helpers. 

If you would like more details on my management system just e-mail me at artroomblog@yahoo.com

This is a flow chart I use when kids say "what do I do next". There is a laminated copy in each table caddy on each table in case they forget, which they always do even though it has not changed in 13 years. I just say go look at your flow chart.

2. Behavior Management-

I am a huge believer in Love and Logic by Jim Fay and David Funk. This management system totally changed the way I teach, manage my classroom, deal with other people and really...live my life. I swear by it. It helps to teach with less distractions. I started my teaching career at a title one school in Houston, Texas with lots of behavior issues. I wanted to quit after the first month. This was the year hurricane Katrina hit and we got so many new kids from New Orleans we had to add a teacher to each grade level. Some of these sweet kids could not even write their names correctly in the 3rd grade. In my 3rd year of teaching my school implemented the Love and Logic system and it really chanced the culture and environment of our school.  If you ever need a good book to read...this is the one.

I use to give points and rewards in every form imaginable. I quit doing that a couple years ago and I have been so much happier ever since. I make sure the kids are busy from start to finish, walk around the room a lot...I mean A LOT, I am everywhere. I sit with the kids and work on the same project they are doing or I work on my art journal. I want them to see me working right along side them. I try to catch fires before they start and I take the Love and Logic approach to putting out fires once they do. I put the ownership of the problem back into the kids hands. For a better description of this process I beg you to read or take a workshop on Love and Logic. I know you are thinking...I do the same thing too and I am sure you do. It does take time though so keep pushing through. You must be very consistent and very firm at first. It is very important to develop a sense of team work, pride in their own art class room and a culture of mutual respect. It has taken me a few years and it is not perfect but it is so much better then the alternative of always yelling or being frustrated with the kids. Being upset or frustrated can make you crazy and you leave work tired an burned out every day. But once they get the plan it really does free you up to have fun with your students because you will have a good system in place they understand and can work within. Let the kids know all the time that you believe in them, that we act with respect in the art room and that you expect them to be on their best behavior with themselves,  their table mates and their class. I also teach them how to do a quick one minute meditation. If things are going a little pear shaped turn the lights down and ask the kids to meditate for one minute. If things are getting really loud I call for a Silent Art. Silent Art last for 5 minutes. I set the chicken timer (it's a kitchen timer shaped like a chicken). When the timer goes off I do not say anything  and let them figure it's over on their own. Usually they are still pretty quiet for a while. I allow my kids to talk in class but only to people at their own tables and at the journal station. As long as they are on task and keeping the noise to a minimum it's all good. I do sometimes play music and art videos for background ambience. They love Kids Hub and Bob Ross Videos on YouTube.

           

Most importantly I think the way we talk to our students is the key to changing their attitudes and behaviors. This is why I believe in Love and Logic so much. 

I hope this helps....Leave any comments or questions you think would be helpful. Also feel free to share your own classroom management procedures.

Watercolor Station...

I recently got really....really....really tired of replacing watercolor pods. It seemed like I was fixing watercolor trays every single day! I thought there had to be a better way....so I invited my "watercolor maintenance system". 

Above is a photo of how I store my watercolor paint trays by the sink. 

Warm color trays on the bottom. Cool color trays in the middle and "special" colors on the top.

I was going to clean all the trays up for the photo but honestly this is about as good as they usually look and I did not want y'all to think I was super clean all the time...because I am not! 

I have a table manager at every table and a classroom paint manager who is in charge paint, brushes and anything on the sink counter. These students are the only ones allowed to put out or pick up paint. I specially train them on the care of all things paint. The paint manager and the table managers keep their jobs all year long. This saves a lot of time during class giving us more time to create.

I have 12 trays of warm colors each with

3 reds, 2 oranges, 1 brown and 2 yellows.

I have 12 trays of cool colors each with

3 greens, 3 blues and 2 purples. 

I have found by breaking up the trays into warm/cool/special I can control the colors students use better and also by doubling and tripling up on the colors in the trays I do not have to replace them as often. I have 2 sets of each color scheme for each table. 

If I was in charge of watercolors at Prang and Crayola I would make bigger pans for elementary art teachers...hint...hint...hint...Crayola and Prang!!!

This is how I store my speciality watercolors.

The round tubs hold all the speciality colors: Prang Magenta, Crayola Red-Voilet, Prang Yellow-Green, Prang Turquoise, Crayola Turquoise, Prang Blue-Green, Crayola Blue-Voilet, Prang Yellow-Orange, Prang Red-Orange, Crayola Red-Orange and Prang White.

This is my specialty tray. I include brown and yellow in this tray along with all the specialty colors so when I only want to put out one tray instead of the warm/cool trays the kids will still 

have a full color wheel set of colors. 

I store the primary colors and brown in rectangle tubs. All the tubs stack neatly together and are stored under the sink cabinet.

When my paint order comes in I just have the paint manager and a couple of helpers pop out all the pods into color coordinated bins. They love this job.

All my primary colors and brown are from Crayola. It's not so much that I like Crayola better than Prang but my district has a warehouse were we can order supplies much cheeper than from any catalog. The warehouse only carries Crayola primary colors...and brown.

You may notice I order some of the same colors from both Prang and Crayola. This is because even though they call the colors by the same name they are actually different and I want the kids to have as many colors as I can possible get for them.

I order the "specialty" colors from Dick Blick, they have very fast delivery.

You may also notice there is no black. I pull out all the black pans and put them in their own cups. Students have to ask their managers for black and they can only use black when they are finished with everything else in their painting. I know this may seem strange but if you leave the black paint in the trays....EVERY SINGLE THING turns black this is elementary school people! Their paintings, the trays, the tables, their hands I mean everything. I am guessing this is just an elementary school thing but OMG it is a thing.