Your Art Room's a Mess: Management Plan

In July of 2013, "Your Art Room's a Mess" was published on iTunes.  It was written to help the new or disorganized art teacher get a handle on their room and supplies.  "Your Art Room's A Mess" teaches you:
•What an art supply is used for
•How it should be stored
•How it should be distributed
AND
•What your elementary student is going to do with it.
All this in a quick reference style accompanied by real experiences from the art room.  

I have decided to share some sections from "Your Art Room's A Mess" right here on my blog.  Enjoy!

Management Plan

Before you even start to think about the projects your students are going to make and the curriculum that is going to fill an entire school year, think about how they are going to get to their seats and start class each week.

Without a plan for management many projects will be incomplete.  A management plan and behavior plan are very similar.  Think of the management plan as the routine you set up week after week to manage your student behaviors.  There are many different philosophies and routines that teachers like to follow.  Picture what you want your elementary art classroom to look like.

Will students enter and sit in their seats silently ready for instructions or discussion?

Will students get supplies first and work independently?

Will students begin in circle time sitting on the rug away from tables and supplies?

Whichever routine you choose—make sure your students learn it and adhere to it.  Teach it to them, and practice it each week.

When projects are ready to begin, supplies will always have to be distributed and students may need to be called up in small groups or by table.  Having the groups or tables distinguishable by a different color is an easy way to group students.  This is also an easy way to divide up supplies that are necessary for that group.  It is a time saver if the supplies are all divided and ready to go.  This is part of your management plan because it will keep only a few students out of their seats at a time retrieving or returning supplies.  It is never a good idea for an entire class to be out of their seats at once! 

Keeping supplies available for student use ready and accessible will save time and help manage behaviors.  Supplies that are not necessary for a particular project, expensive, or limited should be kept out of the students’ sight.  Streamline the classroom for what is happening that day.

What do you want your elementary art classroom to look like when the classroom teacher comes to pick up his or her students after art?

Everyone standing silently in line ready to go back to class?

Everyone running around with wet sponges, crawling on the floor picking up scraps, knocking over chairs, and chasing each other?

Your management plan along with your behavior plan will help paint a picture of the perfect classroom.