Classroom Management: A Simple Behavioral System that Kids Love!

Hey there! 

I tried a new classroom management system this past year and I LOVED it. I shared about it on my Instagram at the start of the school year but hesitated to do so here. I wanted to make sure it was a system I could stick with. If you've read my book, Art Teacherin' 101, then you know I ONLY do systems that are easy and ones I can keep up with. This one...is it. Here's a video of just how it works:

And if you need a refresher on my classroom management series (much more to come!) here is my last video (blog post here):

If you are looking for the supplies I share in these videos, then look no further than here. I've put them all in one place for you!

Having this board near my entrance really worked well to serve as a reminder at the start and end of class. 

You don't have to get too fancy like I did. You could always just write their teacher's names in sharpie!

Comments are turned off here because of spam but my comments are open on my YouTube channel. I check them frequently, so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I also am updating my YouTube with videos multiple times a week so...subscribe if you like! 

Some of the TOP HITS for party themes:

* No Shoes Art Class (they LOVE this!)

* Open Seating

* Dance Party

Those are the top three. As far as the 20 Questions and Mr. Predicto...stay tuned! More on that to come. 

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Classroom Management: The 3 Things I Do Before Every Art Lesson

Okay, so I'm gonna be honest: I'm not GREAT with consistency. BUT...I am consistent when I run my art class. Full disclosure: my art classes are (and yes, I still use the present tense; I've only been out of the art room for a month and I will always consider myself an art teacher so you'll have to forgive me) 30 minutes long with all grades, kindergarten through 4th. So even tho I don't consider myself a consistent person by nature, I've had to force myself to be for the sake of getting any true art teacherin' accomplished. 

In those 30 minutes, I have a lotta routines established. Today I thought I'd share the three I use to begin each and every lesson. Some folks hate these routines of mine...and they are always sure to let me know. BUT in the end, you gotta do what works best for you, your students, your situation and your set up. 

That said, here's the three things I do before every art lesson:

If you are interested, I wrote a whole dang book with my art teacherin' tips and tricks in it. You can grab a copy here, if you like. 

And if you are interested in what I'm using in this video, be sure and read the description. I added links to all of the supplies from the Open/Closed sign to the tabletop dry erase board to the happy face magnets! Tap this link to view those and...subscribe! I'm adding a ton of new content to my YouTube channel. 

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First Days of Art with Kindergarten!

I have found that nearly every art teacher has struggled with teaching kindergarten at some time. I think the reason is that they are like a magical bag of tricks: you never EVER know what to expect! That's why I dedicated an entire section of my book Art Teacherin' 101 just to them! I share all of my tips and tricks of working with that herd of cats. 

As an art teacher, I like to change things up. I don't repeat a lot of lessons (unless I know they are kid-faves) but with kindergarten, I have a routine that I use at the start of every year. In fact, if you've been following my YouTube channel then you may experience deja-vu when you watch these next couple of videos I'm going to share as this is my same song-n-dance routine for kindergarten. If you tap the link A Glimpse Inside on my playlist, you can find many more videos just like these! I've also been sharing snippets of these on my Instagram! 

Just a little backstory: my art classes are 30 minutes long. I see my students twice a week. I have no more than 20 students in each class (I know, I'm very lucky). We work on these paper sculptures for two art classes and then dive into painting the third week. At the bottom of this post, I'll add more links to kindergarten lessons and project ideas for you. Until then, here's a glimpse inside my first day of art with kindergarten:

My second day of art, I introduce some of my behavior routines. I use a happy/sad board to help manage behavior. I use an open/closed sign to help keep the chatting to a minimum because, hello!, 30 minute art classes here! Here's my second day:

Want to hear more about the happy/sad board? You can check out this video. I will say that I'm doing an extension to my board this year which I'll share in a blog post later this week. I'm really excited about it!

I'll be sharing more of a look inside other grade levels first days of art soon but, if you just can't wait, try these blog posts! This one is from 2019-2020 (I just shuddered at that one...we all know how that ended!) and this one from last year! 

Need more info on this line project by kindergarten? Check out this blog post! And if you want to know where we go from here, look at this blog post. Have a great week, friends! 

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