From time to time I receive comments on blog posts or emails from readers that might be interesting to other art teachers. These new Reader Mailbag posts will highlight questions and comments that I think are intriguing and you will too! Elizabeth asked, “Do you think it’s crucial to be an extremely talented artist yourself if you’d like to teach it?” Wow, that is a great question! First, I think it depends on what level you are planning to … Read more…
At the end of the year last school year, I passed out Summer Art Challenge sheets. Each of the students who participated received a certificate and a prize or two or three depending on how much of the challenge they completed. Visit this past blog post to read about the challenge activities. Here is the certificate I passed out. I blocked off my name and the school name/year, so you can use this award sheet and just add your name … Read more…
I have a bookshelf in my classroom that students can go to when they are done with their class assignments. I also have free choice days where students can select from a wide range of activities. Since students finish at all different times it is a good idea to have art enrichment activities for them to do. I like to have low mess activities with little extra guidance needed for those students that finish early. Here are some of the … Read more…
I love organizing things, especially art materials. It makes it easier to find things you need when your room is organized! I am always revamping my organizational systems and I feel like my room now is arranged pretty well for my needs. I am sure I will find some things that need tweaking over the next few years. On each table I have a plastic drawer set labeled with pencils & eraser, glue sticks & scissors, and markers. On the … Read more…
Are you nervous about starting the school year? Or are you excited to get things going? Even though this is my lucky 13th year teaching, I still get anxious to go back. It’s a combo of nerves, excitement and anxiety about getting back into a different routine. I still have dreams that the class is out of control, I forget that I am scheduled to teach or I oversleep. Recently, I asked readers to share their top tips for starting … Read more…
Hello! I love giveaways and thought it would be fun to have a summer art teacher giveaway in honor of reaching 400 likes on Facebook. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this blog or on the Facebook post about it answering this question: “What is one tip you would give to art teachers (or other classroom teachers) to make the beginning of the year go smoothly?” or “What do you do with your students in the first weeks … Read more…
I now have “Good News Notes” in my shop. Save time with parent communication by filling out these easy positive notes. It’s always better to start with positive communication so that when you have something less positive to say you already have a relationship with the parents. I used to send out Good News notes and decided I wanted to revamp and update them for next year. Here is what one of them looks like: Send individual notes to parents … Read more…
