Videos for those First Days of Art

During those first days of art class, there is a whole lot we gotta cover: Rules, Routines, More Routines, Consequences and, again, Routines. It can be taxing on our voice (not to mention energy level) and, inevitably, we forget SOMETHING to SOME CLASS and can never remember just what it was we forgot or to whom. It's all very exhausting...and that's just how WE feel. The poor kids literally spend their first week hearing all the Do's and Don't's until it all just becomes a blur. Usually, by the time they reach our door, they are just dying to do something, ANYTHING, other than hear Rules and Routines. 

So, like, what to do?

I can tell you something that has worked well for me: videos!

Creating videos is something I've done for a very long time (subscribe to my YouTube channel and check out all of my teaching videos!). I started with creating lesson videos and noticed just how closely the kids pay attention. I always say they listen to TV Stephens far better than Real Life Stephens (and I don't know how I feel about that but whatever!). So several years ago, I decided to create some Welcome to the Art Room videos, as well as What is Art and Routine videos and I thought I would share them all here today. 

In this post, I'll share with you some tips on creating your own videos or...feel free to simply use mine! You can always pause the video and interject. Let's start with the most recent video I created for the first day of art. Here's the graphic I created for the video (on Canva, a free website for easily creating graphics just like this!)

This video is short and sweet where I quickly cover some things on the very first day. I do go back and cover the rules the following art classes but this is just a way to catch a glimpse on that first day. If you'd like to see what a first day looks like for me, check out these videos. This is how I run my art room for first through fourth grade:

Not shown: when I stop to play the video. I usually do this after we go through our introductions. 

For more behind the scenes of my art room routines, you can check out these videos. It may explain the method behind my madness:

These are routines I establish that first day and how I start each art class. 

Throwing this video in here since I reference the behavior system that I use. It's a hit with my students!

I thought I'd also share some older Welcome to the Art Room videos that I created in years past. This might give you some more ideas of what a video you create may need. 

This one was created during Covid...so you'll notice how different the routines were.

And this is my original video.

I promised some tips on creating your own video so...here we go:

* Keep It Short! Don't overwhelm the kids. Think of this video as the fun "Cliff's Notes" version of all that you plan to cover. A brief tour, a quick introduction and a general view of how you operate your art room is perfect. 

* Involve the Staff! Kids love to see their teachers ham it up! This video I created on Art Class Etiquette was always a hit:

I also created several "routines" videos and this one they loved because their favorite teachers were featured in it:

* Use Your Phone! I'm always asked "how do you make your videos? What software? Lighting? Microphone?" Guys. GUYS. Your phone is fine! Just prop it up someplace and hit record. And be YOURSELF. Now that is easier said than done. What works for me is to hit record and then make faces at yourself for a minute. Loosen up. Don't worry about messing up. Don't hit the stop button and record again and again. It will just make you frazzled! Just record and know you can edit later. Or not! A bloopers reel may be fun for the kids to see!

If you have an iPhone, iMovie is the easiest editing tool! Watch a 5 minute How-To video on YouTube and you'll have all the basics down. The kids aren't lookin' for perfection. They will love it regardless! Unless they are in 5th grade. Then they pretty much don't like anything ;)

No iPhone? There are PLENTY of free apps out there for editing. Or create the video in TikTok or Reels! That will REALLY get their attention. "YOU HAVE A TIKTOK?!" Yes. And please don't follow me.

So, there you have it! I added this last video in case you are interested in sharing it in your art room. All of the drawings were made on my iPad and I simply recorded myself while drawing! 

Need more art teacherin' tips and tricks? Did you know I wrote a whole book on it? And I can tell it's Back to School season as I'm backing up tons of orders each day. You can find it here. 

Have a great start to your school year, friends! And be sure to check out my last blog post for a ton of back to school art lesson ideas!

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First Days of Art Class 2020-21

Wowza, y'all. School began last week for me with days of professional development and just yesterday for my students and all I can say is that in my 22 years of teaching, I've never had a year like this! And...it's only Tuesday.

Just to give you a little info on what my school district is doing for our elementary students: kindergarten thru second grade have the choice of going virtually or returning in the classroom. If they are returning, they are to be wearing masked, spaced 6' apart and washing or sanitizing hands frequently. My older students in third and fourth grade have the option of being remote or virtual. Remote means that, when allowed, they will be back in the building. My district plans to reassess in two weeks. However, we do have some of our third and fourth graders at school as they may be the children of teachers or learners who need to be with teachers. So, what that means is that every 3rd and 4th grade teacher has about 3-4 children in her classroom and is asked to teach them and her remote learners simultaneously via Zoom. Which is...a lot. 

As for me, I've been asked to prep lessons for all the virtual and remote learners as well as teach my in house students. Because of some schedule overlap, I have not been going live with my remote learners. Instead, I've been providing them with prerecorded videos for them to listen and create at their own pace. 

All that to say...it's been a rollercoaster so far and that was BEFORE the kids even got here. I had to much prep to do for those remote and virtual learners that I nearly neglected my in person kiddos. However, on Sunday, I came in, finished setting up my art room (new room tour to come) and recreated my Rules and Routines video. I was able to salvage the first have of the video (originally recorded in 2017) but had to completely redo the second half as we have new routines to follow. 

Here you go!

On our first day, here is what we do:

* I meet them in the hallway. If you know me, you know that I use the acronym WELCOME on the first day. 

Normally, my students would go straight to the floor and be seated...you can see my USUAL first day routine here. However, this year, we had to do two new things: get our hands immediately sanitized as I demonstrate in the video and go stand on a spot that is 6' apart. In future art classes, we'll go straight to our seats but on that first day, we wait a pinch while we all sanitize and enter the art room.

* I got everyone quickly to a seat. The tables are color coded by messy mats (not sure if they will stay but they are working for now). I also have color coded circle stickers on the back of each chair that has the table color and number on it. My friend Andrew @elementaryarts recommended them to me and I found them on Amazon. 

* Once seated, I do my greeting.
* We learn our Art Class Catchphrase.
* I introduce the Word of the Day.
* We talk about the Open/Closed sign.
* We talk about the Happy/Sad board. 

I did it just like you see in this video...except students were at their tables:

* From there, we watch the video I shared at the top of this blog post. 

* We stretch!
* We greet each other and I ask a list of silly questions (more on that in an upcoming blog post!). This you can also see in the video from last year. 
* We review the clean up routine with drums, gong and a table caller.
* We learn the lining up routine...and that's it!

And that...was our first day. I LOVE the idea of doing art in art class on the first day but with 30 minutes and so many new things...this was all I could pack in. I'll share with you what we do on the second day...and I'll continue to share with you as I learn new things about this new art teacherin' world we find ourselves in. Sending y'all hugs. We've got this!

 

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In the Art Room: Getting to Know You Paper Sculptures

Hey, friends! Today I'm sharing what my students, all of 'em, kindergarten through fourth grade, are working on to kick off the school year. I am calling them our Getting to Know You Sculptures!

If you follow me on Instagram, than you know I've been sharing a lot of info about this. I've gotten a TON of requests for the sheet...so I thought I'd share it with you.

I know this sheet has been unavailable for some time...the link has been fixed! You can get two sheets now! 

Here's one!

Here's the other! 

I wanted to create a lesson that the kids would love, would be easy for all to be successful at and help me out...I have to be absent for the next couple of days. So I knew I'd want something that would be easy and fun for my sub. I created a video for my sub (I always do...it just makes for much smoother sailing) and I thought I'd share it with you...just so you could see how I explain this lesson to my students. 

Note: I WILL NOT be using the sheet with my kindergarteners. Here is the lesson that I do with them...very similar but without the sheet of paper as their guide:

So far the kids have been LOVING this project and I am enjoying getting to know them! They've also been chatting to each other about why they picked what and it's so fun to hear them talk about it. I cannot wait to share with you how this lesson will progress...so stay tuned.

You might have noticed that I DO NOT use glue bottles. You can find out why here. 

Not gonna lie, storage is gonna be an issue until we get these hung up! I'm having some classes do theirs on a white background 12" square paper and others on black. For open house night, I plan to hang them in a checkerboard patter. The strips of paper are cut frmo copy paper.

In an attempt to stay organized, I'm keeping them clipped according to table colors. 

PLEASE NOTE...I love sharing lessons with you all and I do so for free. All I ask in return is that, if you use ANY of my lessons, please give credit where it's due. If you share on social media, please let folks know where you go the lesson from...this way they can benefit from the free resources as well. THANK YOU!

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