Thursday, September 4, 2014

In the Art Room: Those First Days of Art Class, 2


Oh dear Lawd. Please don't ask me what is happening here as I've no explanation. 

Well this here blog post is just a pinch delayed! I do believe we're heading into the second MONTH of the school year in my neck of the woodz. Howevers, since I did post a First Days of Art Class last year, I thought I'd share another this year. Some things have changed (with some influence from Teach like a Pirate by Dave Burgess, one of our Artsy Book Club choices) while some have remained the same. I thought I could best explain myself (complete with odd hand motions, apparently) in a coupla short vid clips. One thing I forgot to mention in the clip are the flashcards I used on that very first couple of days. You can see 'em here...
I like to use flashcards at the door as the kids enter. To get them into this routine, I flashed 'em these as they entered. Once everyone was in and on that red line, I told them that this group of words they read had two things in common: they were words that described them and words that described art class. 
Just a lil close-up of our Word of the Week. I actually see my kids on a 6 day rotation so this is more of a Word of the Every Six Day Rotation. Which wouldn't fit on my sign so I took some liberties. Since we are in our 3rd rotation of the year, we've thus far chatted about the words "artist", "unique" and "creative".  As far as artist inspirations go, we've looked at Kandinsky, Hundertwasser (boy, that was a fun name to teach the kids) and and Rizzi. We've yet to use the phone to Dial-an-Artist...I'll let you know when we do.
That Spring Drum was pretty rad, amiright? I know you want one. They are made by Remo and if you google "spring drum" for a hot minute, you'll find tons of retailers with 'em for cheap. Mine is a larger size but I'm willing to guess a smaller one would work just as well. Lookie here.
What?! Rules are SUPER FUN to go on and on and ON about, riiiiight? That Sound Machine can be found here.
My rules with some Haring illustrations. I'll eventually post these permanently somewheres in the art room. By the way, those questions I ask the kids can be just about anything. I just wanna get them talking and feeling comfortable. I also wanna keep it kinda short for those long winded friends of mine.
In all honesty, I've yet to use this routine. I can't seem to break myself of my normal habit of getting the kids attention which is either playing my Energy Chime (thanks, hubs!) or saying, "Point to the ceiling. Point to the floor. Point to your nose. Point to your toes." That usually does the trick. But I'm gonna keep trying.
Um-hmm, y'all better behave. Less you wanna look at this. 
Oh, I did mention The Smartest Artist in that clip. More deets here. AND Dot Day! We're closing in on the big day! I'd love to hear what you are up to. I just hope my genius artists can finish in time, agh!
Oh! And in case you missed my Virtual Room Tour posted a coupla weeks ago, here you go!

Chat with y'all soon.

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous9/05/2014

    Great! The accent :-D xx

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  2. Hey - don't change your point to the floor routine ! (well - you can if you want to - but.....) because it works ! If it "aint broke don't fix it" ! Seriously....it worked for me subbing also ! That's what I love about it - someone that works so well a substitute teacher can use it and the kids still listen. I did notice once that it didn't work quite so well for one of your interns (I risk mentioning it becuase you have had so many so nobody will know who I am talking about.) but she talked quite fast and it seemed to work better when done more slowly to give the kids enough time to actually look at the floor and point, etc....anyhoo.....miss you ! Haven't looked at the book Teach Like a Pirate yet. I've been doing more tutoring and focusing on that - hoping to get to the point I no longer need to sub. Is it a book that might help me while tutoring do you think ?

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  3. You are AMAZING, Miss Cassie! I love watching your videos. What a fun set-up you have. I'm so freakin' dry by comparison. Keep these fab posts coming.

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  4. Anonymous9/08/2014

    I just have to say...THANK YOU!!! I am a brand new art teacher this year and your blog has been incredibly helpful so far! Especially your posts about what supplies to order and your beginning of the year/weekly routines. I owe you big time! And your wardrobe inspires me to get my DIY on! You're a rockstar.

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    1. Thank you so much! Have fun on this first year of teaching!! I do believe my first year was one of my faves :) Enjoy, have fun and laugh a whole bunch!!

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  5. oh PLEASE tell! where did you find the image for the mona lisa in the gilt gold frame? we have a parent volunteer art docent program at my daughter's school (K-8) and we were JUST today discussing the be MONA-ificent method to quiet a class. thus would be PERFECT for us to create. {btw: just stumbled on your blog today and have found many helpful hints - kudos!}

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    1. Hi Selena!

      I made that Mona-frame. I found a frame at the thrift store with the backing still inside...gessoed over the image, painted my own and cut out an oval for the face. I KNOW that amazon has an American Gothic costume that is similar to this idea...so I'm willing to bet that if you googled "Mona Lisa Costume" you might find one as well. Good luck, have fun and thanks for dropping by!!

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  6. Where did you get the frames for word of the week and artist inspiration?

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  7. Anonymous7/28/2015

    Cassie, I love your style and exuberance! I just found you on an AOE conference preview video. All the zany stuff you do is exactly what I've been wanting to do for years in my classroom. I definitely plan on visiting your blog again! Thank you for sharing your first day strategies :)

    Have a blessed day!

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  8. Cassie, wow! Love your style! In your behavior management plan do you have consequences? If so what are they? If not how do you deal with students breaking a rule? Also I just finished a book on classroom mgmt for specialist teachers which explains the teaching, modeling, and role playing of rules and routines to be paramount. I GREATLY LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH THIS!!!

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  9. Hey Cassie! WOW! What an inspiration you are! I found an ipad/iphone soundboard app called "SoundEffects"...free...but no adds for .99. Total Score to use on my school district provided ipad! Also...Mona Lisa Faux framed picture oportunity/prop through amazon. there's a $7.99 option and a framed $19.99 option! Not NEARLY as cool as your original self made cool idea! But...with days before my first day in my 11th year...I'm loving the engagement you have with your kids! Thanks for all of the ideas!

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  10. Totally enjoying your blog and your clever management tips. This studio must be THE happy place for so many lucky kiddos. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. I can't write down all of your ideas fast enough! Can't wait to use your inspiration in my class!

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    1. Awesome!! I hope you find them useful in your art room :)

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  12. Hi Cassie,
    I really love what you are sharing. Thank you so much for taking time and energy to put this information out there for us. It is just so great. I really appreciate it!!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words! I enjoy sharing...glad y'all find it useful :) xo!

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  13. Anonymous1/25/2016

    I just incorporated your "Mona…LISA" classroom management strategy and it worked! Thank you for sharing all your resources :)

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