Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sub. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sub. Sort by date Show all posts

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

In the Art Room: A Colorful Village!

What's the worst thing about taking time off from school? Say it with me: SUB PLANS. Well, I thought I'd share a couple of sub plannin' tips with y'all today along with my most recent sub plan video! Let's kick it off with that, shall we?
My super fabulous sub will be hanging out with my artists for a couple of days. Most of my classes are just 30 minutes long...so, for that reason, I've left my sub this video and some instructions: just have the kiddos create the houses and begin the coloring portion. I learned my lesson the hard way my very first year teaching: don't leave a sub anything complicated. Granted, my first year teaching, all I left out were markers (brand new ones, mind you) only to find them scattered about with their caps off when I returned. Needless to say, I'll be handling the painting side of this project when I return.

Speaking of, here's why I like having ALL of my grade levels work on the same project AND have them continue to create when I return. It means that, come Monday, I'm not running around, scratching my head wondering what we are working on. Instead, I can take it easy, set out one supply: watercolor, and know that it will be a calm way to return. Not only that, but we'll have a beautiful masterpiece to show for our efforts even if the art teacher had the day off. 

Before we continue chatting about this project, I thought I'd share some of my other fave sub plans that resulted in beautiful creations. Feel free to use these sub plans in your art room!
I have to say, whenever I can, I call upon the same subs. My subs LOVE these videos...at least that's what they tell me. It makes their life so much easier and the kids are actually creating! Not just watching a video (well, they ARE but you know what I mean) or doing busy work. The kids are engaged and that makes the subbie's job so much easier. Complete version of this sub plan can be found here. 
This sub plan was a fun one...I could tell the kids had a blast based on the monsters they created! Find the complete details of this sub plan right here. 
While prepping for the sub, I created an Art Teacherin' 101 all about planning for a sub. This is what I can accomplish in an ideal situation: when I know I'm going to be away and I have plenty of time to prepare. Not all of us have this luxury. But, when I do, this is what I do. 
Holy Moly, this has been one of THEE most popular lessons I've shared on my blog: The Wings Mural! I've seen so many versions of this lesson and I LOVE it! This all started out as a sub plan and grew much bigger than I ever imagined. I'm so thrilled so many of y'all have found it useful. Here's the link to the original blog post
My very first sub videos were created when I had to be gone for...jury duty. Boy, that was a good time. Let me tell you, nothing makes you happier for your chosen profession than...JURY.DUTY. Anyway! My sweet artists created these happy hearts while I was away jurying. 
Alrightie, now let's return to the sub lesson at hand, shall we?
 As I was sayin', with my sweet sub, my artists will be learning how to draw a 3-D house. I'm encouraging them, via video, to create a variety of houses embellished with patterns. As inspo, I'll be leaving my sub the book The Big Orange Splot to read to the kids if time allows.
If this book is not in your library, it totally should be. AND, if it is, can we PLEASE talk about what Mr. Plumbean is serving over at his house during those late night talks with the neighbors? I'm thinkin' it's pretty good stuff to inspire those wild houses created!
AND now let's talk oil pastels. THESE ARE MY FAVORITE ON THE PLANET! I keep referring to them as Galaxy in my IG feed because I'm completely ignorant. Sorry, my bad. They are GALLERY (I get points for staring with the same letter, don't I?!) and they are by Sargent. They are also sent from Art Teacherin' Heaven and I cannot recommend them enough. 
 When I return, the kiddos will add a splash of liquid water color paints and return to their usually scheduled program. I'll be happy they continued to learn and create in my absence and they'll be thrilled not to have watched a mindless vid and drawn all over a worksheet. Winner-winner, Chicken Dinner!
LOVE to hear your fave sub plans! AND, if you give this project a-go, I'd love to see the results. Be sure and tag me on Instagram, Facebook or where ever you get your social media on. 
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Art Teacherin' 101: Episode 22

Ah, yes. Preparing for a sub. Always a...pleasure. 

Oh, what was that? Not exactly the first word that came to your mind? Yeah, me neither. So I thought I'd share with y'all just how I go about preparing for a sub that will (hopefully) make their life as easy as possible which will make for a happy return for me. Much unlike my first year teaching when I found all of my brand spankin' new markers left decapped and strewn about. It looked like a freakin' war zone where the kids were the obvious victors (I half expected to find the sub laid out with markers sticking out of him like some kid created voodoo doll). 

So, sit back, cap those markers and let's talk subbie plans.
I learned that when I'm out for several days, I need to have a high quality lesson for the kids. I began creating recorded sub plans last year when I was out for a stretch with jury duty. I was thrilled to hear that my sub loved the idea of recorded lessons and that my kids enjoyed it as well. I've not looked back since. Here's my latest sub vid: 
 Not even gonna pull your leg: this kind of sub planning takes time. A lot of it. And planning ahead is not my bag, baby, so the struggle to create such extensive plans is real. That being said, if I can do it, you can do it. Or just use my plans cuz my mama taught me how to share. 
Here's a peak of what was left for my sub: a recorded plan and, if all else fails, a story board version. This also will serve as a reminder of the steps to follow for those early finishers or Forgetful Franks.
 I loved having a cart to load up over the course of several days. This allowed me to add to the cart in between classes. It was also nice to wheel out of the way.
Since I'm super visual, laid out everything in such a way that made some sort of sense (hopefully!). Having everything labeled with the same color sticky note was key. 
I tried to be as thorough as possible...but you always forget something. For that reason, I made sure to let my fellow teacher buddies know that I'd be out and to be sure and check on the sub. 
It's so nice to have the time to prepare to be this elaborate...but, let's face it, this is what sub planning looks like in an ideal world. 
 Often times, we only have time to prepare the bare minimum. For that reason, it's important to have a Sub Tub stocked with the basics: Emergency Procedures, Class Lists, Schedule and Basic Sub Notes. Also...simply sub plans that can be used for all grade levels. I have several books for my sub to read to my kids as well as "how to draw" sheets that he/she can bust out in a pinch. 
But this time around, I decided to go big...here's to hoping it works out! I'll be certain to share the Monsters of Creativity mural once complete. 
My sweet friend Julie also offered to cover my sewing club class...so I had a cart ready for her as well. 

What do y'all do to prepare for a sub? What are your Must Have's? Love to share ideas!
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Friday, March 28, 2014

In the Art Room: Where the Party Pandas At?

Hey, Kids! I interrupt this post to let you know I'm at the NAEA convention in San Diego! I'd love to see you and have some dates and times we can meet up. Follow this linky-loo and I'll see you there!

Wuz up, Party Pandas, er, People?

I recently had to take a coupla days off and needed some quick -n- easy sub plans. From past experience, I know not to leave out our current projects for a coupla reasons: 

1. It freaks out the "I'M NOT AN ART TEACHER!" sub who seems to think my plans are written in hieroglyphs (which they usually are because I like pictures). Upon my return, I either get the stink eye from 'em which translates to "what in the world did you put me through?! It was like reading the no-words instructions from Ikea!" or the furrowed eyebrow/twitchy-eye face which means "I tried to explain what a "landscape collage" was but we couldn't figure it out. So we resorted to glue eating and sharpie sniffing. And it was AWESOME!" 

2. Because the kids, fully aware that their sub is NOT AN ART TEACHER! and, therefore, easy prey, pretend that they have no idea what the sub is talking about. From there, they use their kid-manipulation tactics to convince el subbo that it's perfectly normal to color our hands in marker and stamp it on their face. Like a Kid-Manipulatin'-the-Sub Boss.


Knowing this, and knowing I needed some sub plans for all grades in a pinch, I decided to leave some  step-by-step panda drawing instructions for the NOT AN ART TEACHER! sub. And, I'm excited to say, everyone loved it. 
I have no idea. Bob? Who are you and why are my 4th graders obsessed with you and mustaches? I can only imagine you are some curly-mustached hipster. In skinny jeans. Which should be banned form the dudes' clothing department. But I digress.

Why a panda, you ask? (okay, so you didn't ask but Ima gonna tell you anyway). Well, my students are currently learning about Asia and our panda friends reside in China. We're gearing up for a clay project/fundraiser (we want to help those pandas!) and I thought this would be a super fun way to get the kids in the mood. 
In my sub notes, I asked the sub to follow my routine of having the children gather on the floor. From there, I asked the sub to talk through and demonstrate drawing a panda with the children. These directions were big enough for the children to see once at their seats. However, just in case they needed a closer view, I did make photos copies of the same directions and had them ready on the tables.

I'm happy to say that each of my subs drew a panda...and was actually thrilled by their own artistic skills! Several left their drawings out for me to admire and hang on my fridge.
Just a couple of reminders from who the students and I have dubbed "SeƱor Roy G. Biv". The children were given only ONE SHEET of paper (make it work, kids! Tim Gunn's watching!) and a black oil pastel. This can be a bit dangerous as those oil pastels can get everywhere (I had one kindergartener unknowingly rubbed his chin and a buddy said, "you look like a hobo!") but I left out oodles of baby wipes and a warning of the danger of smears.
Since the kids were only given one sheet of paper (anyone else cringe at the sound of a paper being crumbled?! "Why you wanna be a tree killer, kids?!"), you can see this student practiced a couple of different ideas before giving it a-go on the front.

Now, one of the reasons I had a sub is because I'd taken my fourth grade on a field trip! When we returned from our trip, I had, like, 10 minutes before my classes started pouring. Since they had drawn the pandas the previous day, I simply had a coupla kids get watercolor paints on the tables and we were good to paint our pandas!

We chatted about a couple different methods for painting our panda backgrounds. My art teacher BFF's (hiya, Mallory!) has recently been doing this patchy wet-on-wet painting process with her students. You can see this in several of the pandas above. To do this, you paint a very small patch of color on your paper. I explain to the kids that a wash is a color light in value. From there, I show them  the wet-on-wet technique of adding those dots of color and watching the dots grow.

These paintings were completed by my fourth grade students. We've actually been doing a lot of watercolor painting lately so they are kind of experts. Many opted out of the wet-on-wet and did their own thing. Which is awesome. For more details on the kind of watercolor paint I use...and the specifics of how I teach those kids not to grind their brushes into their paper, go here.
And there you have it! I hope you'll give these Party Pandas a go...and if you do, please email me some photos, I'd love to see them!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

In the Art Room: Sub Plans that aren't subpar

Despite the fact that it was nearly 20 years ago, my first year of art teacherin' is burned into my brain. I can see the inside of the trailer that was my first art room when I close my eyes (they referred to it as a "portable" but, y'all. I lived in a trailer. I know what the look like, okay?). Back in those days, when you needed a sub, you just scrawled some chicken scratch lesson plans onto a sheet of paper (uh...still do that, not even gonna lie), called somebody mid-run to the toilet and accessed the damage the following day. Oh, would you look at that, all my markers have been de-capped and left to dry out on the floor. Another day in post-subday paradise.

Thankfully, times have changed (uh, except for those chicken scratch notes). These days, I leave pre-recorded notes for my sub. The idea behind this is two-fold: MRS. STEPHENS IS WATCHING...ALWAYS WATCHING. And the kids keep on creating! Imagine that, no more "read a book, draw a picture" but fur realz, bonafide lesson plans. That educate! And allow the kids to create! All while you are either praying to the porcelain princess or on that dream cruise, I'm not gonna judge. 

So, in this here post, I thought I'd share with y'all my favorite pre-recorded sub plans that have worked swimmingly in my art room. Feel free to use, y'all! And enjoy that "sick" day...wink-wink, nudge-nudge.
Are y'all familiar with Kelsey Montague? In an effort to introduce my students to contemporary artists as well as the street art movement, I wanted them to "meet" Kelsey. Her murals tie in so nicely with our kindness theme this year as they are titled "What Lifts You". I have this dream of my students creating several street murals throughout our school and this one they will start without me. I'll be sure to share the end result soon...but in the meantime, it makes for a super simple and fun sub plan!
This fun lesson was a quickie as I was only out for a pinch. But it kept the kids creating, using those elements of art and making adorable Love Monsters!
Just because you aren't there doesn't mean the masterpiece making can't go on! Last winter I had to miss several days of school due to jury duty. Thankfully, the show went on and the kids created the pieces to this beauty
By the way, you might be wondering just exactly how I get these videos to my sub. I've gone about it a couple of ways. I've used ClipGrab to save videos from my YouTube to my computer and left my computer for the sub. I've also sent my videos to myself via GoogleDrive or Dropbox. This works if you know you are going to be absent. However, if it is unexpected then having videos saved onto your computer, with supplies prepared, is your best bet.
Jury duty is no foolin, y'all. And just like most grown up stuff, it can take lot of time away from what you enjoy. Creating these sub plans for the kids made the whole experience less painful.
Everybody is a Star was such a fun sub plan! Going to the NAEA convention was a thrill for me...and knowing that the kids were still creating marvelous masterpieces for our art show really gave me peace of mind. 
I even think this lesson that I kicked off the school year with would make a fabulous sub lesson! You can find the blog post here and the finished mural here

So! Take that day of rest and be rest assured that your kiddos are still creating. Feel free to use these videos and lessons in your art room. Would love to hear your fabulous sub plans, friends! Tell me all about 'em in the comments.
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Monday, October 2, 2017

In the Art Room: Colorful Village, An Update!

It's gotten pretty spooky here on the blog...what can I say, I love me some Halloween. And, by the way, you ain't seen nuthin' yet as I have so many Halloweenie DIY's to share! I'm beyond excited...but, for now, I'll take a wee break to share this super fun, art-ucational and easy SUB PLAN that my kiddos have been working on. 
That's right, a couple of weeks ago, I was out of town for a few days and needed to leave my sub and my students some fun plans. I created the following video for her to share with the students:

I try my hardest to request the same subs when possible so that they know my students and they know the drill: show my video up to the portion that the kids will be creating that day and get them rolling. If I'm gone a number of days, then I have them continue with the video on the following art classes. 
 Often times, when I prepare sub plans, I'll have the sub do the same project with nearly all of my classes (in this case, my friends in kindergarten worked on something else). I do this for a couple of reasons: less prep for me as far as materials and supplies goes and less prep for the sub. My subs are usually not art teachers so I like to keep their life simple. A happy sub is an art teacher's BFF...and in this case, mine was so happy, she left me an email saying she cleaned my tables for me. THANK YOU, MS. SHORT! 
 When I returned to school the following week, I was created by these beauties! The kids worked on 9" X 12" paper. You can read about the supplies used here
 By the way, looking for sub plans? I've got a ton and I'm happy to share. You can find them here. Also here you'll see how I set up for a sub...when I have the time to do so.
And if you'd rather just listen to this ding-dong talk sub plannin', well, here you go! But now, let's get back to the sub plan at hand, shall we?
  My students have felt so much pride in their work since I taught them how to draw in the third dimension. They are now pros! I love their fun and funky villages. 
 Reason #3 I LOOOOOOVE having every grade level do the same project when I am away: because when I return, we just drop in to finishing it off! That means I don't have to scramble to see what it was we were previously doing  and I don't have to prep new plans for the upcoming week. I can simply return to school, drop in to the pre-planned lesson and relax knowing that the art educatin' still goes on...with little stress from me. 
 This also gives me time to see where we left off on previous projects and where the next couple of art classes will take us. It's like a moment to breathe. And who doesn't need that?
 While I'm breathing (usually into a paper bag), my students are wrapping up their drawing and coloring. Once complete, they use liquid watercolors to add patches of cool colors. A light sprinkle of table salt adds the fun effect you see. 
 I'm so excited to display these along with the other landscape projects we are currently elbows deep in. 
 By the way, I'm a huge fan of Sax brand liquid watercolors. Last year, I liked them so much, I also purchased their fluorescent watercolors. Meh. I'll explain my feelings on those in uno momento. 
But first let's ooh and ahh over this salt-sprinkly goodness, shall we?
 So the Sax brand fluorescent paints were just weird, I don't know how else to describe them. I most def would not recommend them. They were more like a weird watery-soapy tempera than they were a watercolor. The kids liked them. I was not a fan.
 I tested the waters with a few classes and then promptly switched back to the ole tried and true. 
 The paintings still looked fabo so no complaints here. I work with some seriously awesome artists, what can I say? 
 One of our words of the week was VARIETY...I requested variety of houses, sizes, patterns, colors, you name it. And they delivered. 
 It was pointed out to me by several of the kids which house was mine...needless to say, it was always the craziest. Aw, shucks. They get me...every.single.art.class. Poor kids! 
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