In the Art Room: Art Conferencin' in Illinois!

Y'all, I'm just back from another incredible art conference this time in the great state of Illinois, a place I called home for many years. I had so much fun presenting (I was one of the keynotes, eep!), teaching and learning that I just had to share. The art educators of Illinois really know how to make a girl feel welcome and put together a FABULOUS conference to boot!

I kicked off their conference with a chat in a lovely renovated theatre in downtown Normal. I was thrilled that so many folks made it out to hear me chat, I thought for sure they'd be sleeping off their Cubs win. I really enjoy speaking with other art teachers, they truly are the best crowd!

Almost immediately after that, I lead a two hour needle felting session. I love teaching hands-on classes at conferences as it feels like hosting a craft night at my house. Just a bunch of soon-to-be friends, sitting and relaxing all while learning something fun and new. I was so inspired by what folks were creating!

My friend Heidi made this super cute Starry Night inspired hair clip to go with a dress of hers. If you aren't familiar with Heidi's blog, you need to check it out! 

 I love that folks were all set to needle felt on their clothing. Check out this sweet scarf that got a lovely flowery update!

 Amazing art teacher Jen Baker was my BFF at the conference as she made sure I was where I was supposed to be, doing what I was supposed to do at all times (and, with a flake like me, that's a pretty tall order). In all seriousness, Jen was BEYOND amazing as I was witness to her working her tail off the entire conference making sure that EVERYONE was happy and having a great time. She needle felted this sweet little palette on her sweater!

Sue at Back to Back Fiber provided the supplies for our workshop. She sent us beautiful sheets of prefelt that we also used to create wee masterpieces with. 

 Of course we had to make Palette Hair Clips! It's how you know you are officially Needle Felt Certified! 

We even had folks needle felting over holes in their sweaters or dreaming up the cutest of motifs. 

I mean, look how stunning!

For realz tho, my fave part of art teacher conferencin' is making new friends, hearing about their art rooms and learning from them. 

 And even if we aren't talkin' art, we are ALWAYS having a good time!

It was such a wonderful group to sit and stab stuff with. Thanks, ladies, y'all are the best!

Because I just can't get enough of all things fibers, I attended a class by the Fibers Queen herself, Natasha of Ester's Place. Not sure if Natasha knows it or not but she's kinda like my fibers BFF. I love hanging out with her. We had the best time at the conference!

We made these amazing wet felted flowers. I'm not a lover of wet felting...but Natasha is changing my mind! Full details on these projects soon. 

After a wee break, I joined several dozen art teachers for a relaxed and informal Q & A session. That was so fun! We shared ideas, stories and laughed a lot. The best part was we had a very wonderful group of college kids in our group who were fun to share our thoughts on art teacherin' with. 

 

 This here is one of them! Pleasure to meet you, Samantha!

 Buddies from way back. Always fun to see Kris and make new friends.

 I was super excited to finally meet Deyana in person. We've been internet buds for years...so it really was like chatting with an old friend. She's the owner of Socks and Souls which you should really check out. They have some GREAT art themed socks. I scooped up several. 

 Making friends from my old stomping grounds was so cool. My buddy Nora teaches in Joliet where I grew up!

Jen and I managed to stay out of trouble late into the evening with a group of other art teacherin' types. 

 The next day, I was back hanging out with Natasha again. We made the world's biggest felted collaborative piece. Can you believe this beauty?! I will DEFINITELY be sharing a complete blog post on this with video included. It was so much fun!

Illinois, I had a blast! I was so excited to speak and share with y'all as well as LEARN from some of the best art educators I've met. I was so thrilled to speak in this theatre that I had Jen snap my photo under the marquee...it wasn't until the photo was taken that I realized the movie they were showing. Idiocracy. How fitting!

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Art Teacherin' 101: Episode 22

Ah, yes. Preparing for a sub. Always a...pleasure. 

Oh, what was that? Not exactly the first word that came to your mind? Yeah, me neither. So I thought I'd share with y'all just how I go about preparing for a sub that will (hopefully) make their life as easy as possible which will make for a happy return for me. Much unlike my first year teaching when I found all of my brand spankin' new markers left decapped and strewn about. It looked like a freakin' war zone where the kids were the obvious victors (I half expected to find the sub laid out with markers sticking out of him like some kid created voodoo doll). 

So, sit back, cap those markers and let's talk subbie plans.

I learned that when I'm out for several days, I need to have a high quality lesson for the kids. I began creating recorded sub plans last year when I was out for a stretch with jury duty. I was thrilled to hear that my sub loved the idea of recorded lessons and that my kids enjoyed it as well. I've not looked back since. Here's my latest sub vid: 

 Not even gonna pull your leg: this kind of sub planning takes time. A lot of it. And planning ahead is not my bag, baby, so the struggle to create such extensive plans is real. That being said, if I can do it, you can do it. Or just use my plans cuz my mama taught me how to share. 

Here's a peak of what was left for my sub: a recorded plan and, if all else fails, a story board version. This also will serve as a reminder of the steps to follow for those early finishers or Forgetful Franks.

 I loved having a cart to load up over the course of several days. This allowed me to add to the cart in between classes. It was also nice to wheel out of the way.

Since I'm super visual, laid out everything in such a way that made some sort of sense (hopefully!). Having everything labeled with the same color sticky note was key. 

I tried to be as thorough as possible...but you always forget something. For that reason, I made sure to let my fellow teacher buddies know that I'd be out and to be sure and check on the sub. 

It's so nice to have the time to prepare to be this elaborate...but, let's face it, this is what sub planning looks like in an ideal world. 

 Often times, we only have time to prepare the bare minimum. For that reason, it's important to have a Sub Tub stocked with the basics: Emergency Procedures, Class Lists, Schedule and Basic Sub Notes. Also...simply sub plans that can be used for all grade levels. I have several books for my sub to read to my kids as well as "how to draw" sheets that he/she can bust out in a pinch. 

But this time around, I decided to go big...here's to hoping it works out! I'll be certain to share the Monsters of Creativity mural once complete. 

My sweet friend Julie also offered to cover my sewing club class...so I had a cart ready for her as well. 

What do y'all do to prepare for a sub? What are your Must Have's? Love to share ideas!

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In the Art Room: Monsters of Creativity

Fall means art teacherin' conference time which I so totally love. What I don't love is prepping and planning for taking those days off. I mean, I gotta create content that's educational and engaging both for the sub and the kids all while using materials that aren't too difficult for someone who just might not have an art background. I recently shared with y'all a bunch of my sub videos. Because I'll be out for the next couple of days attending an art conference in Wisconsin (can't wait, y'all!), I created this lesson and thought I'd share it as well.

 It's been my goal this year to introduce my students to contemporary artists with a focus on street artists. I recently did that with our wings mural project. This go-round I wanted my kids to meet the street artist who goes by the name Phetus.  

I think my students will love his colorful and humorous monsters...and hopefully be inspired to create their own!

 My hope is to display their monsters in a grid-like manner such as this. We're calling our display Monsters of Creativity. This will be showcased right outside the art room. Kinda fitting, no?

 I had so much fun creating my own examples for this project. I just love these!

Tomorrow, in Art Teacherin' 101, I'll be sharing with y'all just how I prepare for being absent and what I believe to be the essentials for a sub. 

Fingers crossed my subbo has a great time and that the kids create monsters...and not behave like them. 

 I'll be certain to share a follow up to this blog post and let y'all know how it all goes. Until then, put that tongue back in your mouth and...

Make something monstrous!

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In the Art Room: You Be You Mural Complete!

So, like, at the end of August, I shared with you my You Be You lesson inspired by the wonderful book of the same title by Linda Kranz. I did this project as apart of our kindness and growth mindsets theme with my first through third grade kids. It was fun, easy and a great way to reintroduce the elements of art as well as drive home some super positive warm fuzzies. 

Unfortunately, I suffer from a serious case of Squirrel-itis and got sidetracked from assembling this mural. However, right before Fall Break Eve, I conned my special area buddies into "helping me" with the mural (two hours later, my friend Ali was still glueing and outlining the fish in blue...thanks, buddy!) and getting it up on the wall. Yay! Another Mammoth Mural in the books.  

In case you wanna give this fun lesson a go, feel free to use the video. You are always more than welcome to use any of my videos in your art room. I try to update weekly (with an Art Teacherin' 101 going up every Wednesday-ish). If you subscribe, you can stay tuned. 

So...true fax: this mural was only supposed to be a You Be You tribute...but with so many fish created, I had to create a second mural. This one with the title of Linda's first book in the series. By the way, when the murals went up, the edges just felt a little meh. I picked up that cute border at Joann's and added it today. I think it makes a big difference. 

Right after the mural was hung...I discovered another bin of third grade fish sitting there all, "hey there, forget something, Stephens?" Looks like I have more fish to add to the mural!

When I have my students create large murals, we usually create huge sheets of pattern papers. We call this our Painting Party. I throw papers down on the tables and either I'll start a pattern motif of the kids will. They are to repeat that pattern until their paper is full. Once complete, I remove the paper and replace it with another large sheet. This gives me a nice big stack of fun papers to use when assembling the kid's murals. 

First grade fishes just swimmin' and swimmin'. 

After the murals were hung, I realized just how much our school walls (and ceiling!) are devoted to the artistry of our awesome kids. I think it's vital to showcase ALL student artwork (not just a hand selected few) for several reasons: 1. It tells your students that "Hey! You are awesome! Your artwork is amazing! You deserve to be seen by all!"; 2. It showcases your art program and the importance of the arts to your parents, faculty and staff. This is just one small nook that is full of their work from this year! You can see more of their monochromatic selfie mural and the fourth graders' radial prints. 

I think my favorite part of this mural is the message. I'm a big believer in you doing you. It took me entirely too long to really listen to my inner voice. I have spent a good portion of my life doing what I thought I was "supposed" to be doing and being the person who I thought I was "supposed" to be. Letting go of that notion and really being comfortable with who I am, what my interests are and where that takes me is now the place I find myself. I want my kids to get there faster than I did. I want them to know it's awesome to be who they are cuz There Is Only One You so You Be You! 

Thank you, Linda Kranz, for the powerful message!

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