Real talk for a minute here: the last days of school are INSANE. With schedule changes, field days, assemblies, field trips, art shows, awards days and all the rest, there is lil teachin'/learnin' taking place. The kids are hot, tired and ready to go and the teachers are right there, ready to hold the door open for them as they run off into the sunset of summer. So, instead of fighting that Last Days of School beast, why not embrace it? Ditch the tables and chairs, pull out the blocks, games, drawing books and more, crank up the Alvin and the Chipmunks album (it's what we've been rockin' out to) and HAVE FUN. Here's how I set it up in my art room:
I started by pulling out all of my Early Finish centers. I've accumulated a TON of items for my early finish centers over the years...but the big hits are always the following: blocks (with dinosaurs!), Fashion Plates, spirographs, stitching cards, origami and my how to draw books and drawing prompts. If you click on this link, I'll walk you thru those centers.
A couple years ago, I created a little video explaining this end of the year set up, which you can watch right here:
In the past, I relied on the kids to read the small labels on the bins to know how many young artists could work at a center. Those little labels are hard to read...and not all the bins are labeled. I used these plastic picture frames from the Dollar Tree for our Field Day activities that worked so well, I decided to use them again here:
I loved fashion plates as a kid and my students use the set that I once had! I also have a couple more sets that have been gifted or found at the thrift store. Amazon sells a great Super Hero rubbing set that has both boy and girl super hero characters for the kids to create.
When I picked up a set of Spirographs from the Dollar Tree last year, I wasn't sure how great they'd be...or how well my younger students like first grade would work with them. But check out that amazing design by a firstie! I usually have to give a hand over hand tutorial for the kids because there is a learning curve. I also allow them to use mechanical pencils as they are the only ones with lead that is long and lean enough to fit into the holes of the wheel.
In this blog post, I share with you how I set up my drawing books for early finishers. I got so tired of the kids just randomly placing the books where ever...so I spray painted the binding of each book to make it easier for them to clean up. Also...I limit them to one paper per artist.
If you are a new teacher with few centers, just know that I don't have a ton either. To be honest, with 30 minute art classes, it's a RARE occasion that my students are able to visit these centers. That's why I love having them available these last days of school. It's fun for me to see what they gravitate toward...and gives me ideas for the new school year. If you have limited resources, keep in mind that the following are free and/or cheap: * Origami printouts! * How to Draw printouts! * Blocks borrowed from a kindergarten classroom! * Random objects around the art room for observation drawing! * Pictionary! You don't even have to have the game. Just a dry erase board and a group of kids that can come up with an idea of what to draw on their own as the kids attempt to guess.
My favorite places to find early finisher/end of school year activities are Target Dollar Spot (where these stitching cards are from), the thrift store, yard sales, end-of-the-year email to teachers asking them to send old games/toys your way and the Dollar Tree.
When my older students came in, I busted out the dry erase boards and my Pictionary game. I found it at the thrift store and, really, all you need are the cards with the drawing prompts. We sat in a circle of kids (the ones who opted to play) and had a great time playing. One of my favorite things about these days is that I join the kids on the floor! I chat with them, play games and build.
I do tell the kids that after 10 minutes of exploring, they will be given the opportunity to change centers. They can either opt to stay or go, AFTER they've tidied their spot. During clean up, I simply ask that they tidy which ever spot they were working at and then stand silently beside their area. To encourage a quick, calm and quiet clean up, I silently walk around and just place a couple of stickers on the kiddos who rocked their clean up. I learned this trick from my P.E. teacher buddy. She doesn't announce that she's giving stickers, she just places them on the kids who are on task. She only gave out a few and if the kids asked for a sticker, they didn't get one. It worked SO WELL in her gym that I had to try it on the last day in art...it was MAGIC.
Do y'all do something similar on your last days of art? I'd love to know what you and your kiddos are up to!
If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that last Wednesday, I had the chance to attend an amazingly fun PD lead by an art teacherin' buddy in my district. Her name is Madison and she shared with us all about yarn bombing! We watched this TED talk about Magda Sayeg who is attributed to "inventing" yarn bombing. It was fun to learn a little about the history of this street art movement.
Yarn bombed things are usually knitted items...at least that's how Magda began the movement. What I loved about Magda's talk is how she never thought of herself as an "artist" per se...but found herself in the middle of an artist movement. Yarn bombed items since have been knitted, crocheted and wrapped...which is what we did. Madison asked that we bring something to wrap. It just so happened that I'd picked up this heart the day before at the Dollar Tree. I didn't even know that I needed it...but when she mentioned bringing something I realized the benefits of being a shopaholic. Here's a video of how I created this heart:
Of course I had to get a little bit tricky with the needle and all...but this heart would have looked just as cute without going that extra step.
The best part about this project is using up random yarn. I always get a TON of yarn donated to the art room. Oftentimes, it's not enough for a project...so it just sits unused. Now I can add it to an Early Finishers center of objects to be yarn bombed! But more on that in a moment.
Lemme just say that yarn bombing, while easy, is a pinch time consuming. Especially if you go the fancy route with sewing in the yarn like I did. The crazy thing is, I bought SEVEN more of these hearts on my last run to the Dollar Tree...I wanna create a whole wall of these lovely hearts!
Cuz I have just a pinch more wall space left in the art room for that sort of thing. Ahem
So, let's talk Early Finishers. Ya'll know that's been my thing this school year...trying to conquer the Early Finisher Beast. I'm trying to add more and more to my early finishers rooster...to allow more open-ended choice in my art room. I'm currently trying to wrap my head around my fibers area...I think yarn bombing would be just thing thing. Add a basket of yarn, some mundane objects that need a little yarn-love and viola! Yarn Bombing!
I know it worked beautifully for me when I was avoiding lesson planning on a recent PD day. A few minutes between lessons and my class broom went from Blah to OHHH-LAAA-LAAA.
I had so much fun yarn bombing my broom that I realized the kids would surely enjoy it just as much. And I could use up those small amounts of yarn that seem to be multiplying in my storage closet (is that why I keep hearing Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On coming from my closet?!).
Have you kids yarn bombed before? So, what gives? Do you love it as much as me?!
Ah, early finishers. Y'all know what I'm talkin' about: those kids who are "DONE!" like they are some sort of turkey dinner. And isn't it funny how "DONE!" is contagious? It's like popcorn kernels in a bag of microwave popcorn; once one starts poppin', they all do. So...what do you do with those early finishers? Check out this video for my tips, tricks and tour of my art room!
I don't know if you know this but just about every Wednesday night at 8pm CST at this spot, me and a buncha art teacherin' types have a Facebook LIVE chat. We've talked about Classroom Management, Art Shows, What We Wish We'd Known our First Year Teaching, and...Early Finishers. All of these convos are archived here. They have been so much fun. And I'm excited to share that this week, we are doing our first ever MAKE AND TAKE! Here's what we'll be up to... We are creating Art Teacherin' Assistant Badges! The idea is this: create fun and cute badges that a select number of students in your art room can wear. These kiddos are your assistants which can mean anything you imagine from helping pass out and collect supplies to peer tutoring, reminding other kids of directions and much more. It's really up to you how you use your badges. In my art room, I plan to create one per table (for me, that's four). Students with questions will ask these Art Teacher Assistants questions (such as "where do I put my artwork?"; "where can I find this supply?"). The Assistant's job is to know the answer (which means listening extra carefully as your buddies are counting on you!) and if they do not, they are to seek out another Assistant. My goal is to do the following: empower my students! And, let's be honest, make it so I don't have to repeat myself bunches of times. I have a select number of friends that LOVE to ask me questions which I am quite certain they already know the answers to...just to (drive me bonkers) talk to me. I'm removing this constant exchange so that I am free to roam the room and have more meaningful conversations with my students...and not have to say, "WET PAINTINGS GO ON THE DRYING RACK. DO NOT BRING THEM TO ME. I AM NOT A DRYING RACK." Ahem. If you'd like to join the Make and Take badge making fun this Wednesday at 8pm CST, here is the list of supplies I'll be using and recommend. OF COURSE, you can bring and use any ole thing you want. Just so you know...badges will be featured in an upcoming blog post so you know you'll want yours to be the most glittery, sparkly, blingerly (yes, that's a word) in the universe. * Index cards, card stock, tag board, poster board, etc. Cut into 3" X 4-5" rectangles. These will serve as our badges that students can wear around their necks. Think of a good size for your kiddos. I'm going with index cards. * Packing tape. This is how I will seal my cards...or you could laminate them. * Sharpies, markers, gel pens. Whatever you might like to decorate your badges. * Hole punch. * String or yarn. So these can be worn. * Puffy paint, glitter, sparkle, bedazzler, etc. Any ole thing you can think of to make your badge one of honor that your students will love to wear! I'm so excited to create on Wednesday with y'all! I do hope you'll join the fun. AND, in case you want more views of my art room, here's a video I created for my students of my art room. See ya real soon!
