Last day, "Your Art Room's a Mess!" $6 .pdf download on TeachersPayTeachers!

Today is the final day to get your own digital copy of "Your Art Room's a Mess!" for a mere $6.  If you are on the fence, peruse these free chapters and see if you find it useful.

Management Plan
Behavior Plan
Student Area
Teacher Storage Area
Pencils
Erasers
Scissors
Glue
Crayons

There are 24 more sections after this. 

If you like what you've read, this is your last day to get the complete book as a .pdf download from TeachersPayTeachers for only $6.00!  Whippee!  (or go ahead and download the iBooks version for 11.99)  The sale will ends today.  Thank you so much!

Your Art Room's A Mess! New reduced price for a limited time!

I hope you have been enjoying the free samples of my book, "Your Art Room's A Mess!"  

Here are the links to all the free chapters:

Management Plan
Behavior Plan
Student Area
Teacher Storage Area
Pencils
Erasers
Scissors
Glue
Crayons

Can you believe there are 24 more sections after this!? There are, and they are all beautifully illustrated.  

If you like what you've read, you can now get the complete book as a .pdf download from TeachersPayTeachers for only $6.00!  Whippee!  (or go ahead and download the iBooks version for 11.99)  The sale will end on 2/11/14.  Thank you so much!

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

Another free chapter of my ebook, Your Art Room's a Mess: Glue

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

White Glue

What is this used for?

• Putting objects together.

How should this supply be stored?

• In the Student Area in color-coded cans, bins, or caddies.

How should this supply be distributed?

• Table helpers can retrieve or the teacher can pass it out after directions are given.

What is the student going to do with this supply?

• Not know how to open it.
• Not know how to unclog it.
• Put it on their palm to peel off after it dries.
• Use too much on their project (because it is fun to watch it pour out.)
• Use the correct amount, but then go back and add more.
• Thinking a bottle is empty when it is still half full.

Are there any special concerns with this supply?

• Teaching the students how to open and close their own glue bottle as well as how to unclog it is a great time saver.
• Students need to be taught how to use this supply appropriately in the art room.

Glue is what keeps projects together!  White glue works fantastic.  I have never found a glue stick I have been happy with.  They never seem to hold projects and the children’s fingers get too sticky.

Instead of keeping all the glue bottles together in one big bin or carryall, I divide it up in color-coded cans per table.  So, if there were six chairs at the “green” table, I would keep six bottles of glue in the green glue can.  I keep all of the cans in the student area.  This keeps students from digging around for the fullest bottle or one that is unclogged.

If the glue is not used very often or you travel to several schools it will undoubted have to be unclogged for every class, and for almost every kid.  Teaching the student how to open, close, and unclog his or her own bottle is important.  If a student has a bottle that isn’t working tell them to close the glue, pick off the little dry part on top, then open it back up.  This will unclog about ½ the bottles in the room.  Be mindful of the student who unscrews the whole white part off the bottle!  Also, be certain to remind students at clean up time to close their bottles and this will help with clogs.

For the other half that are still having trouble you can pull off the orange nib and poke out the dried glue with a bent paper clip or a blunt tapestry needle. I usually wipe the mess on my apron and keep the tapestry needle tied to my keys where it is always handy.

The other fun that white glue presents; like using too much, or using it in inappropriate places, are just behaviors that need to be taught to your students.  If you do not tell them what the expectations are like, “a dot is a lot!”  They are not going to know.

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





Or download the whole book on iTunes or TeachersPayTeachers

Your Art Room's A Mess: Scissors

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

Scissors

What is this used for?

• Cutting paper, cardboard, yarn, felt…anything and everything in the art room!

How should this supply be stored?

• In color-coded cups, cans, or bins in the Student Area.  Only enough scissors should be in each cup for each child that sits at a table.

How should this supply be distributed?

• Table helpers can retrieve the cups, cans, or bins for their table or the teacher can pass them out after instructions are given.

What is the student going to do with this supply?

• If there is one pair that is different from the rest, every child will want that pair.  The color of the handle and the blades should match if possible.
• Teach the student how to use scissors appropriately.  Do not assume that a student knows better than to cut their shirt, their hair, or their classmates hair.  They need to be taught that this is not acceptable.

Are there any special concerns with this supply?

• It is worth it to buy more expensive student scissors and hold on to them longer.
• Old scissors can be used for specific media like plaster gauze, or metalworking.

Scissors are kept in the Student Area in color-coded cups.  If a table has six seats, they get six pairs of scissors.  One thing that makes things just a little bit easier is to make sure all six of those pairs have the same color handle.  Not necessarily the table color… just all the same color.  In fact, if you have 25 pairs of scissors with the same color handle, that is golden.  It may never happen, I am still working on it!  When you buy a class pack of scissors they come in an assortment of colors and even though you can finagle them as you pass them out to each table, or have them in each cup, it is still a point of contention!  I once had one old-fashioned metal pair of lefty scissors kicking around my Student Area.    Every child who came up to get scissors would try to get the rusty old metal pair with green handles.  The student was not left-handed and had no reason for needing that pair other than it being different.  It would cause arguments, which ultimately would end in a student finding out the scissors did not work for them anyway.  Modern children’s scissors work for lefties and righties. 

Scissors are worth the investment.  If you buy 25-30 pairs of cheap scissors, you will probably be buying 25-30 pairs of new ones the next year.  As I have replenished scissors over the years I keep my “old” scissors for use with other specific media.  For instance, I have a full set (about 25 pairs) to use only with plaster of Paris gauze.  A few pairs are used solely to cut aluminum.

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




Or download the whole book on iTunes or TeachersPayTeachers

Your Art Room's a Mess: Erasers

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

Erasers

What is this used for?

• To erase pencil marks.

How should this supply be stored?

• In a bowl, bin, or pencil case near the pencils and pencil sharpeners.

How should this supply be distributed?

• Students come and retrieve or they are passed out with pencils.

What is the student going to do with this supply?

• Use their pencil tip to poke holes in it, write their name on it, crack and break it into pieces.

Are there any special concerns with this supply?

• Erasers have the tendency to disappear.  Keep track of how many you have and teach your students how to properly use and care for the erasers so they last longer.

For younger students who are just learning the rules of sharing, I give each child their own eraser.  For the upper levels, I only give one eraser per table.  I only leave out the 6 erasers thus eliminating sticky fingers and the keeping track of too many.  If we only have 6 to look after, everyone takes pretty good care of them.  I mark which table they belong too with a permanent marker.

Students generally like to destroy erasers and this accounts for many disappearances.  It is important that they understand how to use them correctly.  It is also important to explain to students that if the erasers get ruined, the classroom just won’t have any left to use.  I implemented a system with my older students where they would have to buy a new eraser if their tables got ruined.  They used positive behavior tickets they received throughout school.  The system worked great!

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



Or download the whole book on iTunes or TeachersPayTeachers

Your Art Room's a Mess: Pencils.

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

Pencils

What is this used for?

• Used almost every class period for writing names on papers or drawing.

How should this supply be stored?

• In a centrally accessible area, sharpened and ready for students at the beginning of class.

How should this supply be distributed?

• Students come and retrieve, or they are passed out after directions.

What is the student going to do with this supply?

• Tap on the table like a drumstick, roll across the table, blow it across the table or break the tip.

Are there any special concerns with this supply?

• Keep several sharpened pencils on hand so that if a pencil breaks, the student can just exchange it for a sharp one.
• Do not let students sharpen their pencils and keep sharpeners out of sight.

One supply your students will probably use every single week will be a pencil. Having students bringing them sounds like the most ideal.  Even having pencils on the tables as students enter, or passed out at the very top of class seems to make the most sense.  But, some students play with their pencils constantly at their table while you are giving directions.  Rolling it to the kid across from them, blowing it back and forth, tapping it like a drumstick, tossing it, biting it, this is why it is not a good idea to have students bring a pencil with them, or pass them out while you are trying to teach.  If it is one child being disruptive with the pencil, a hand on the shoulder or a look, or taking the pencil away for 5 minutes is a quick fix….when it got to be all 23 first graders tapping and rolling…I thought, “I need new strategy!”

I have a really good electric pencil sharpener that only I use.  I can usually sharpen about 40 pencils in 2 minutes.  I am in the habit of sharpening a whole pencil case full of pencils once per day.  If  I know I will not have time, I ask a student to sharpen them at the end of their class.  When it is time to write our names on our papers, I give each student a sharp pencil and their own pink eraser.  None of the pencils have erasers on them anymore, they’ve been quickly used up or broken off!  If in the course of the hour the student’s pencil breaks they bring it up to the pencil 

case and trade it for a sharp one.  I have tried cute things like a red cup for dull pencils, and a green cup for sharp ones which sometimes works.  No one is allowed to sharpen pencils.  My nice sharpeners are hidden from view.  They are covered with a decorative box.  There is already so much action and activity in the art room the pencil sharpener often became another distraction.  Even if a child didn’t need to sharpen their pencil a line would form and much time would be wasted.  I even tried telling the kids I would sharpen their pencils for them but then I was simply walking around sharpening pencils for an hour or exhaustedly telling them they didn’t need sharpening.  When we are using colored pencils for a project I open the pencil sharpeners and allow students to use them during studio time.  I lay down the guidelines and only have them open for short amounts of time.

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


Or download the whole book on iTunes or TeachersPayTeachers

Your Art Room's a Mess: Teacher Storage Area

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!

Teacher Storage Area

Keeping students away from things they should not have their hands on, or rather—keeping these things out of their way during work time—is another way to successfully manage your classroom.  Supplies in the art room are everywhere and in a great abundance.  Most supplies should be kept away from students and be placed in the teacher’s storage area.  This would preferably be in drawers, cabinets, and closets.  However, many classrooms are not equipped with the type of storage necessary for an art room. The teacher’s storage areas may be a bookshelf with a curtain or a counter covered in a box.  They should be covered, draped, and kept separate as much as possible from the student area.  If students see supplies, their tendency is to want to use it.  Students should know which areas are off limits to them.  It is important to draw boundaries so that students do not take advantage of using extra supplies or taking supplies they were not supposed to.  It may not bother you if one student takes an extra sheet of 12” x 18” 80lb. drawing paper without asking, or even if 10 students do, but before you know it the ream will be gone and you will not have it when you need it. 

If you like what you've read here, check out other free chapters:
Management Plan
Behavior Plan
Student Area


Or download the whole book on iTunes or TeachersPayTeachers

Your Art Room's A Mess: Student Area

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!

Student Area

One successful strategy to use in a classroom management plan is the creation of a student area.  Each classroom should have a place where the students can be responsible for the supplies.  The student area is home to glue cans, scissor cups, and crayon bins.  During lessons, a table helper can be assigned to go retrieve these 

My Student Area is a repurposed bookshelf.

items from the student area.  My student areas have often been brightly colored bookshelves or a labeled place where the students know distinctly where to go.   The student area is also home to a couple of other student supplies.  A box of free draw paper, drawing books, coloring books, a box of scrap paper and a marker bin.  The students are in charge of keeping these boxes and supplies neat and tidy.  They are out all the time.  If a child finishes a project early or earns free art studio time they are allowed to use any of these supplies but they must make sure they get put away properly, or that privilege may be revoked.

If you like what you've read here, check out other free chapters:
Management Plan
Behavior Plan

Or download the whole book on iTunes or TeachersPayTeachers

Your Art Room's a Mess: Behavior 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!

Behavior Plan: 

Art class gets a bad rap.  The non-traditional classroom set-up and unstructured work time is often perceived by others as crazy non-productive free time.  We know this not to be true, but the key is convincing others that you truly are the most important part of your students’ week and vital to their education.  As the art educator in your building you also have to be the art advocate.  Having a behavior plan and keeping the behaviors in check is essential.  Because of the non-traditional set-up and unstructured work time, elementary students can easily get carried away and it could easily turn into crazy non-productive free time!

Have a behavior plan.  Make sure you follow it.  Philosophies and school districts differ, but start the year with a behavior plan and stick with it.  Are you keeping points for clean and well-behaved tables?  Do you follow the school’s established rules?  Does the classroom teacher’s plan carry into your room?  It doesn’t matter what the plan is.  Have one and stick with it.  

Putting a poster on the bulletin board with a list of rules to follow is not a behavior plan.  Clearly and concisely put forth the consequences and rewards for behaviors in the art room.  If you can have the classroom teacher and administrators full support, the better.  Be sure the plan is visible and refer to it often.  

Some suggestions on behavior plans:

Have the students list the POSITIVE qualities of an art student and of an art teacher.  Make these the basis for the positive behaviors that should be happening at all times in the art room.  Make yourself accountable too.

Have students work together in small groups or together with their team to earn rewards for positive behaviors.  Use clipboards with seating charts or color-coded graphs to keep tallies.  If you start a system like this, keep it up.  Students will hold you accountable for rewards.

Intermediate students earn “Art Stars” and compete against the other classes.

Use tickets, bucks, or points to pit class against class in the race to good behavior.  Make a chart or poster showing which class is in the lead.  Make the winning class earn something small but valuable.

Possible art class rewards could be:

• A treasure box of toys, pencils, erasers, stickers, or sketchbooks.
• Free art studio time is a favorite, but only dole out limited minutes at a time.  Too much time with free draw paper, markers, and coloring can make students restless.
• Art games like Pictionary, Win-Lose-or Draw, or Art Memory are favorites too.  Students can earn time to play these games.
• An unplanned project with a fun media.  Fifth graders finger painting?  Fifteen minutes with modeling clay? 
• Art movies are also a great motivator.  Short cartoons about an artists life, a how to draw video with a fun host, or a video the class makes all together!

Working towards something fun will make it worth working towards.

If you like what you've read here, check out other free chapters:
Management Plan

Or download the whole book on iTunes or TeachersPayTeachers