In the Art Room: A Glimpse Inside my First Day with 1st and 2nd

Ohhhh-whey! Don't mind me, it's just the second Monday of the new school year and I've already got my feet up and I'm surrounded by Getting to Know You Sculptures. Last week, I shared with you a video where I talked you thru what I do my first day with my 1st and 2nd graders for their first 30 minutes. Today I thought I'd share with you a video of myself with my kiddos to give you more of a visual. So, here you go! My very first art class with some of my very favorite people:

Now, if you need more explaining about my very first 30 minutes and why I do what I do, you can check out this lil clip:

I love seeing how other art teachers teach. I am loud, annoying and definitely not for everyone...but that's me. That's who I am and that's how I teach. I really think finding your voice in your classroom is the best way to be your best teacher. So while I like to share what works for me, it's by no means me saying that you should do it too. It's just an offering of ideas and a little peak inside. Y'all are always welcome to my art room! So pull up a chair, roll up your sleeves and...GO CLEAN SOMETHING for heaven's sake. This place is a PIT!

All kidding aside...stay tuned...I've got more videos coming your way this week and a follow up to our sculpture lesson. Love y'all!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #202

 First Day of Art, 2018! I had to wear this costume I scored from Amazon. Y'all, it's THE WORST COSTUME. If you follow me here, then you saw what a limp (ahem) paintbrush I had. I seriously had to clip a small hole in the brush and insert a thin dowel rod into it. As for the palette, it is too small (it IS a kid's costume so there's that) and I'm not even sure if I'm wearing it right. No matter tho, the kids LOVED it!

Happy first week of school with kiddos to me! To celebrate, I thought I'd share my school photo from third grade. This is pre-glasses and pre-(much needed)braces. I'm obviously channeling the sister-wife look with my Holly Hobby get up (you 80's kids know the reference) and my long hair. Can you believe that blonde? I'd love to have that cornsilk hair again!

My week back was filled these rules and routines and this Getting to Know You sculpture lesson. It was a super week back and I'm excited to start next week!

 For my older students, next week will be their second art class...for my littles, it will be their third and fourth. This coming week will be our last to work on our sculptures before each grade level dives into their start of the school year projects. Brace yourself, we are going to be doing some exciting things.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE THINGS ARE YET. 

But I'm pretty sure they'll be exciting. I hope. And pray. 

Wore my Coloring Book Dress this week. It's crazy to think that the kiddos who colored most of this dress, who were in kindergarten at the time, are now in 3rd grade! I love wearing this dress and hearing them remember laying on this fabric while it was on the floor and coloring all over it. The fabric is from IKEA and we used fabric markers. 

 I was super thrilled, humbled and excited to be featured in Scholastic Teacher's Cool Teachers feature. I'm far from cool but I was stoked that they think I am. Thank you so much, Scholastic!

 Each year, I try to make a Back to School Dress...and, sadly, this year, I totally dropped the ball. Why? What's wrong with me? Honestly, I think that summer went to fast and the school year started too soon. Can I get a do-over? When's fall break again? This one was made a couple years ago from a pattern I've not repeated. Those giant shoulder wing things were a one time deal. 

 With all the kiddos doing sculptures my art room is quickly becoming a land mine of sculptures. I'm all WATCH YOUR STEP, PEOPLE to anyone who dares walk around my room. 

 So I'm trying a couple new classroom management thingies this year and this is one of 'em. I plan to share my fave management techniques this week, right here, so stay tuned. For now, I'm just sharing a snapshot...any guesses how I plan to use this?

 I can't even explain the face other than I was born with it. This dress was created from my all time favorite IKEA fabric. A sweet art teacher sent me a remnant and I created a dress with every scrap! More details here. 

 Mid-way through the week, I switched the background paper to black and I'm LOVING it. I plan to display these in a checkerboard pattern and I'm beyond excited.

 I have an ever-growing list of things I wanna do/try/work on/expand upon this year. Growth mindsets is at the top of my list. I'm re-reading The Growth Mindset Coach and loving it. This month, we've got a mantra to kick things off. 

 I realized after wearing this dress that it's pretty much like Art Teacherin' Camo...I nearly blend right in with my art room. Also...if you know me at all, you know I don't love washing my hair. It takes time that I'd rather spend sleeping in! So on this particular morning, I decided to just do a half bun thing or...what I decided to dub...

 My Art Teacherin' Mullet: business in the front, party in the back. After getting to school, and seeing myself in the mirror, I realized I was channeling my inner Jonathan van Ness and okay with that!

After a week of school (and MAYBE dealing with this!), Mitch and I took a quick trip down to Disney for their Not-So-Scary Halloween event. Halloween is our FAVORITE time of the year so we hit the parks a lot. It was so much fun and nice to get away for a hot minute. Back to reality tomorrow. I've got lots coming your way next week so be sure and pop back by!

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First Day of Art Class!

Well, all this week I've been experiencing my first day of art over and over and over. All y'all know what I'm talking about...with 20 classes, you have the joy of hearing yourself say the same things on loop. Most of my classes, kindergarten through 2nd, are 30 minutes in length. I thought I'd share today what I do in that very first 30 minute art class...and stay tuned. I'll be sharing my second day of art (and what I do with my hour long classes) later on this week. For now, here you go!

The video I play on that very first day of art is one I created last year. My art room looks SO DIFFERENT NOW! It's kinda crazy to see how much I changed and redid last year. My students LOVE this video and it's such a great reminder of what is expected of them. Here it is:

Creating videos is a great way to share with kids important information without putting yourself on repeat. My students love to see the adults in the building cutting up and misbehaving in this video!

 I've been using a variation of this "cheat sheet" for years...and it really helps. I call it my security blanket. I'm sharing it with you in case you need a lil bit of security!

Here are the random and sometimes off the wall questions I ask the students. These questions are all over the place...which really holds their attention and keeps them on their toes. 

Much more to come on how I do my first days...but I did want to share with you what I cover on that very first day when I have 30 minutes or less. Happy New School Year! 

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Printing with Gelli Plates!

Hey, y'all! Last year I shared this super fun printmaking and collage project over at the AOE Art Ed Now conference. I'm excited to be able to share the video I created for that conference with you now. Here you go:

I teamed up with Gelli Arts to create the video because I love using their printing plates in my art room. They are a wonderful plate to use with kids of all ages and allow for so much exploration. In this video, I take you through a TON of different printmaking methods. Check it out!

 What I love most about printmaking is being left with SO MANY FUN PAPERS once complete. But what to do with them all? In the video, I share a favorite lesson of mine: making them into collage sushi. But, really, the possibilities are endless.

Thanks so much for letting me share. If you have any questions about the processes shared in the video, just ask. AND if you have any suggestions on printing, please drop a line in the comments. I know everyone loves to explore this medium with their kiddos and it's always fun to try out new techniques.

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22 Fun Projects to Rainbow-ize Your Art Room!

If you have been joining our book club weekly LIVE chats where we have been reading The Wild Card then you can relate to what I'm about to say. If you've not been joining us here and here, YOU TOTALLY SHOULD! We are a fun group and do not exclude folks who've not read the book. In the chapter I was reading just last night (because y'all know I'm all about catching up on my reading the night before the book club chat!), the authors Hope and Wade King were talking about classrooms that had lost their magic. Rooms with faded posters just barely hanging on the walls, rooms with non-sensical stuff just everywhere, rooms that LOOK EXACTLY LIKE HOW MINE DID THIS TIME LAST YEAR. Seriously! They were describing my art room perfectly. I'd gotten into the habit of just adding more and more clutter to an already clutter-tastic space. When I went in last summer, I was seriously struck by just how junky my art room felt. It really bothered me. I noticed a poster coming down at the front of my room where I gave instruction and I took that as a sign to just TEAR IT ALL DOWN. And I did. I promised myself from that moment on that I was going to Decorate to Educate. And that's what I took a year to do.

My art room is still a work in progress. I still have Early Finisher areas to set up, job charts to figure out and create and just little fussy things that I know would make my art room happier. But the bulk of the work is done...and I'm thrilled with the result. 

I hear from a lot of y'all that you are feeling overwhelmed...especially with the new school year starting. I knew that would happen to me as well. So I made a promise to myself to think of my art room as a big ole elephant that I had to decorate one lil bit at a time. I couldn't do it overnight...and stressing that I should was not going to allow me to enjoy the experience and really decide what was needed. I wanted everything in my art room to serve a purpose: to educate and, of course, decorate. I promised myself to take my time. 

Today I thought I'd share with you my favorite fun projects to rainbow-ize (and energize!) your art room. When you click on the links attached, be sure and check out the timestamp on each of them. You'll see that this was not done overnight but over the course of the year! So...if you feel inspired, just know...you got this!

First, if you've not taken a tour of my art room yet, here you go:

More room tours to come! This will allow me to explain certain areas and aspects in greater detail. This here is an overview. Feel free to drop me any questions in the comments if you have them!

Paint Brush Color Wheel

One of the first things I made for my art room were these paint brushes from wooden oars I found at Michael's. You can check out a complete blog post with how-to video right here. 

I decided to use these to create a huge color wheel in my art room. The blobs of paint were created from cardboard. Everything was hung with 3M Velcro hangers that you can find just about everywhere. I always use the ones that hold 12 lbs. or more.

Here's a view from the area I call Command Central where I do all of my instruction. Another thing I decided to create last year were my ART room rules. 

Art Room Rules

I've been doing a lot of reading on growth mindsets and really wanted to put them into play with my art room rules. These were so much fun to paint...I think that is what I enjoyed the most about redoing my art room, having the chance to create so much!

Pencil Picket Fence

As y'all might know, I got super in to finding things at the craft store and making them into something else last fall. This small picket fence was no exception. Video tutorial included in the link!

Color Mixing Cans

When I spotted these small rectangular canvases as the craft store, I knew immediately that they would make the perfect shape for a spray can. I created a video tutorial to show you how to make your own right here. 

 Crayon Color Families
EVERYONE loves these crayons...especially the kiddos who get to create their own! These are a crowd favorite and are displayed prominently to help my students remember the color families. Tutorial here! 

 The crayon boxes are what I get the most questions about...they are made from cereal boxes! Even my kids created their own box when we displayed them at our school-wide art show! 

Each of the crayons is held in place with a little Velcro dot on the back. This makes the crayons look like they are about to jump right out of the box!

Pencil-tastic Paint Stick Cabinet

I needed just a little cabinet to keep at the front of my art room to hold the art tubs for the classes I would see that day. I popped by the thrift store and scooped up this rather boring black cabinet. With a bunch of pencil-painted paint sticks and hot glue, I made this guy! Video tutorial and details right here. 

Color Wheel Gong

I've had a Clean Up Gong in my art room for years now...and it used to make such an incredible sound. But it was not cute, says me! So I decided to create a color wheel out of it! It is actually my favorite teaching tool as it is so stinkin' big! It also...sadly...no longer makes a fantastical sound as the paint deadened the sound quite a big. You can see more of my gong here. 

Color Coded Trash Cans

Y'all, these were so fun and easy to make! All you need are some trashcans, some painters tape and some spray paint. Easy to follow tutorial right here. 

Crayon Bins

So there are crayon bins like this...but they are not cheap. Turns out making your very one is much cheaper! Now if I could only find that elusive ORANGE bin...seriously, I've looked everywhere! You can learn how to make your own version of these right here.

 Rainbow Ornaments

Did you know you can make an art room ornament outta ANYTHING? Turns out you can! And then use them to decorate your...

Rainbow Tree

Y'all, this rainbow tree from Treetopia was just about the best thing my art room has ever seen. It totally inspired me to go ALL RAINBOWS, ALL THE TIME and it is alway there when I need a smile or a slightly prickly hug. All the details on my rainbow tree and how to get your very own right here.

Rainbow Wreath

No rainbow art room would be complete without the addition of a wreath on the front door. This wreath is also from Treetopia...and decorated by me. The tubes are created from toilet paper tubes and the brushes were just recycled. More details including a video tutorial right here. 

Small World Mural

I did paint my share of murals in my art room this past year and this Small World themed one is one of my faves. My kids love how happy and colorful it is...and I love being able to refer to it for shapes! More details here. 

Rainbow Trippy Mural

Of course, the other mural I painted this year was this beast. I had so much fun creating this backdrop...and balancing it out with a "calm" curtain and a wild rainbow flooring. All the details here. 

 ROY G. BIV Paintbrushes
If my kiddos leave my art room and STILL don't know the order of the colors in the rainbow then, y'all, I just don't know what. This one was SO EASY! Just paint brushes, some letters and Duct tape. Video tutorial right here!

I mean...c'mon!

Tints and Shade Sign

This one falls into the category of NO WOODEN ITEMS AT THE CRAFT STORE ARE SAFE FROM CASSIE category. In case you didn't know there was one. 

Gradation Sign

As does this one! Oh my goodness...it's a good thing I'm outta wall space.

Color and Line Rainbow Wall

LOVE this resource for referring to line names! Another easy one to accomplish with just Duct tape.

 Alphabet Cabinets
I love having tons of cabinets...but I've always hated the way the look. I don't want to paint them tho...I mean this won't be my art room forever...and I'd hate to ruin the beautiful faux wood (ahem) that are my cabinets. So this seemed liked a fun way to fix that drab brown wood. 

I've since decluttered that hot mess at the top of my cabinets!

 Early Finishers Rainbow Stuff
Seriously, y'all, nothing was safe. I spray painted these pots AND flowers in rainbow colors. They are used both in still life drawings and when my kids finish early and want to draw from observation. 

Even my wooden models and dollar store dinos got a make-over! These are also in my early finisher drawing area.

 Happy Little Signs -n- Stuff
These random bits were created just to further decorate, educate and promote kindness with color. You can spot all of them with details here. 

 Who doesn't love a good chalkboard?!

 The things I find at the flea market! This mermaid had to get a makeover before coming to my art room. The canvas was a new one painted by me as a message to my students as they come and go.

More thrift and flea market finds! I even rainbow-ized my class tubs!

Rainbow Seat Sacks!

While Dollar Tree had some seat sacks...they didn't one one in each color of the rainbow. So I had to make my own. Here's how!

WHEW!! I just went back and counted 22 rainbow-ish things?! I hope you find some that inspire you!  

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