Free chapter: Your Art Room's a Mess: Crayons

Here is an excerpt from  "Your Art Room's a Mess" available on ITunes.

Crayons

What is this used for?

• Drawing and coloring pictures.

How should this supply be stored?

• In their original boxes in a storage cabinet.
• And in bins, bags, caddies, or boxes in the Student Area.

How should this supply be distributed?

• Crayons from the teacher’s storage area should be distributed by the teacher after instructions.
• Crayons in the Student Area can be retrieved and distributed by table helpers or the teacher after instructions.

What is the student going to do with this supply?

• Break them.
• Peel off the label.
• Lose them.
• Carve into them with their scissors.
• Bite them.

Are there any special concerns with this supply?

• Kids like to use new special crayons better than old broken crayons.

• The sharpeners in the back of large crayon boxes should be removed or students will shove crayons into them and break them.

I love when my students color a picture with crayons.  I think they are beautiful and rich.  The colors are vibrant and I love the look so much more then markers.  But, students are not crayon fans.  They love paints and markers way more.  They get to use crayons all the time at home or in the regular classroom, so I do tend to limit their use in the art room. Even so, I do purchase a new box of 64 count crayons for each table every year.  

Kids like new boxes of crayons, and they like using them.  I keep the new boxes separate and only take them out for the projects we do together as a class.  I take the sharpeners out of the back before I give them to the students.  Most of the kids do not know how to use the sharpeners, or what they are for, and at a K-5 level a lot of your crayons will end up broken if they try to sharpen them.  

I have “old” crayons available at all times in my Student Area.  The “old” crayons are the previous years boxes of 64 count crayons dumped into bins (like old baby wipes containers.)  They are housed in the Student Area at all times for the kids to use for free draw time or during free art studio time.

Just like with any other supply, the student has to be taught how to treat the crayon respectfully and use it appropriately.  It may seem like something they should know since they have been using them since preschool, but little reminders go a long way.

If you like what you've read here, check out other free chapters:
Management Plan
Behavior Plan
Student Area
Teacher Storage Area
Pencils
Erasers
Scissors
Glue






Or download the whole book on iTunes or TeachersPayTeachers