Hey, friends! Today is the last day of July which means, for me, it's the last day of summer vacay (insert slow tear trickle down cheek here). I am excited tho because a new school year means new beginnings. It's like what the rest of the non-teaching world calls New Years Resolution except ours begins the first days of school, not the new year. As y'all know from my previous posts, I'm focusing with laser beam eyeballs on peace, love and kindness in my art room this year. I've shared with y'all my Calendar of Kindness that I chicken scratched onto a piece of notebook paper. To save your eyeballs, I recreated this one above for y'all to share on your preferred social media sites. I also made a pdf for you to printout, hang up, pass around, wallpaper your bath, you get the idea, here. REMEMBER: When you post on your preferred social media outlet, use the hashtags #calendarofkindness and peacefulheART. You can follow along with me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
I'll be kicking off the first days back with my students with my version of an Escape Game (where the kids will work in teams to solve riddles that will reveal our art room rules! I'll share the lesson with you soon, I'm so excited!). We'll also be doing a collaborative project that will promote peace, love and kindness. To inspire such, I wrote a poem to the tune of Queen's We are the Champions. I created a pdf for y'all here if you are interested. And THANK YOU so much for the positive feedback about this! I appreciate your enthusiasm and spreading the word...together, we can make our shape our students into caring individuals and make their future a bright one!
Hello, art teacherin' types! I'm here with you today because those Back-to-School nightmares have already started. All y'all know what I'm talking about: crowded art room full of kids going absolutely bananas while the classroom teacher waits looking at her watch, shaking her head and tapping her foot. You scream, "Hey! Hey, guys!" about a half dozen times to get their attention only to see Susie cut a hunk off Janie's hair with a pair of razor sharp scissors while Billie and Beau crumple up artwork and break crayons over each other's heads. I wake up with cold sweats in a panic: I MUST GET TO SCHOOL AND PREPARE!
I'm here today to tell you this: DON'T DO IT! Enjoy what's left of your summer. You've earned every drop of freedom. However, I know it's hard to enjoy this time off when the dark shadow of back-to-school supplies at Target is looming over you. Well, lemme set your mind at ease. To prepare for the first coupla days of school, you don't need the prettiest art room, the most prepared lessons or plotted out script. All you need to do is remember one simple word:
This word is the perfect acronym for a fool proof back-to-school formula. Check it out: W = Welcome Welcome those kids to your art room with a heartfelt greeting! It will kick your class off right. E = Entrance Make sure your students understand how to "make an entrance". Getting your artists into your room in a calm, quick and quiet manner means you have more time to create! L = Let Them Know Expectations I have one rule: Be Kind. However, that one rule holds a lotta weight. So this year, I'm creating a short video to share with my students to quickly walk them thru my expectations. This means, I won't leave anything out when I talk to my dozens of art classes! C = Create! Make sure there is time to create on that first day! They've sat and listened to rules and procedures all day long...make your room different. Allow them to get messy on that very first day. They will love you for it. O = Observe Be like a scientist on a safari. Observe these art makin' creatures to see who needs to be moved, who needs to have access to different supplies, who needs more peer tutoring. Take all of that information in so you can use it in the future. M = Make Them Feel Special Everyone responds to love. Show it in a way that both you and your students are comfortable with. For me that means a lot of side hugs. We also use sign language in my art room. Signing "I love you" is one way we show we care about each other. E = Exit Making an exit is just as important as an entrance. I have a habit of getting the kids juiced up, it's just my nature. So I'm working on some new procedures to have them leave calmly. Sign language has really been helping in that department!
So there you have it! Instead of worrying away your summer about those first days of school, just breathe and remember WELCOME. Shoot, even paint yourself a sign if you have to. That's what I did! In other news, as you do plan for the new school year, check out my buddy Laura Lohmann's ART TEACHER PLANNER! What the what?! Where has this been all my life! Now I have no excuse not to get my life together. At least that's what my life coach tells me. Ya'll best check it out.
Make no mistake: that big toothy grin is one part love-for-my-Time-Timer and one (BIG) part it's-the-last-day-of-school! That's right, y'all! I gave as many of the kids a big squeeze and a "love y'all!" before booting them out the door and lunching with some teacher buddies. I'll be right back at school next week do work on some projects but tomorrow we leave on a jet plane to sunny So Cal and I couldn't be happier! But, in the meantime, I thought I'd share with y'all one of my favorite tools in the art room, my Time Timer. This bad boy serves many purposes in my art room from classroom management to differentiated instruction to motivational tool. Lemme tell you the many ways I use that guy in my art room:
And to think I'm not even a paid endorser. Yo, Time Timer, call me!
Just to recap, I use it the following ways: * After giving instruction, I set the timer for 5 minutes. During that time, my students gather supplies and begin work SILENTLY until the timer goes off. Then they can chat calmly with their table buddies. This allows them to collect their supplies and get settled and started in a calm manner. * I use it for my longer classes when I have a lesson with many steps that needs to be broken down into bite sized pieces. For example, when we are weaving, I might give them the first steps of warping their loom. When the timer goes off, regardless as to whether or not they are finished, they are to hit the pause button and meet me on the floor for the next set of instructions. This breaks up the lesson so as not to overwhelm the kids with directions. * I often have students who are "stumped". For example, I gave my students a writing task that I noticed was taking them FOREVER. So I set my timer and gave them only five minutes to complete their writing task. This made it so they were motivated and focused to complete their writing. * Some students work best with a visual and with less instruction. For those, I use my Time Timer to differentiate. I'll give them fewer steps, set the timer and ask that they complete the steps before the timer.
My kids love the timer as much as I do! I have several that have made themselves my designated "timer" who are in charge of setting and maintaining the time. It's so simple to operate and durable. I don't know what I did without it! What tools do you use in your art room that are vital to your instruction? I'd love to hear!
