It's clay time!!!

Supplies

Demonstration using a document camera

Organization

Without a doubt, my favorite project to teach to my elementary students is clay.  Enthusiasm is contagious so it is a highlight for my kids as well.  It's a lot of work but I completely transform my teaching space for the time we work on clay.  Here are some of the ways I do that.  The white rolling shelf is a purchase from when KB Toys was liquidating years ago.  Because we live in the town of  the headquarters for KB, we were able to snatch up some really cool things that have proved to be a terrific asset to my classroom.  I will admit that I purchased them knowing that one day I would eventually retire and be able to utilize them in my own clay studio.   This shelf unit was purchased with further use in mind.  For now I use it to load up all of the supplies that we need to use to make it through the day.  Everything is readily available and it makes for an easy clean up at the end of each class as well.  With the purchase of the gray cart last school year, I was able to set up a demonstration area using my document camera as well.  It's great how everyone has a clear visual as I demonstrate and there are no questions about just what my hands are doing to roll a coil or pinch a pot.  The youngest kids think it's pretty magical that they can see my hands so well and further that they are so big!!!  I also distribute clay right from my demonstration table which gives me more control over waste.  This view is my classroom from the other angle.  The second cart holds all the boxes of clay so I don't have to run back and forth to the storage area for more clay.  I also been a plastic tub there for dry or excess clay scraps so I can recycle them later for reuse or to create slip.  I store the student work each week on the white rolling shelves.  These

are also courtesy of KB Toys.  They were donated several years ago to the school district.  I usually use them to hold student's work by class.  Each self is a class and I have an additional shelf just for Kindergarten work.   For clay, I Velcro plastic to seal up the shelves and keep moisture trapped in the work.  Student work is also individually wrapped on the shelves.  This helps me retain the dampness of the clay so students can continue to work for 3 - 4 weeks.   The best thing is that everything is on wheels and easy to move around the classroom if needed. Tables are covered with canvas that is years old and reused each year.  I have plastic table clothes under the canvas and they are all held into place using picnic table clips that I bought on clearance one year at the end of summer.  I have students sitting in tables of eight making it easy for me to move in and around and assist as needed. This final picture is the happy teacher that Loves, Loves, Loves workings with clay sporting her #ClayHands button from Art of Education.  

 I hope your are enjoying what ever you are doing with your students right now as well!

Happy Art Teacher

The Behaviors are Making me Crazy (and look old)!!!

I recently decided to try to draw a self portrait while looking into a make-up mirror and was alarmed at what my eyes were beholding.  In just a few short months, talking about since my yearly school picture, my face has added an exorbitant amount of new wrinkles.  How have I changed so much in just a few month, I thought with extreme alarm.   Immediately, the answer jumped into my conscientiousness - it's the behaviors!  This has been a very challenging school year.  The top tier students have kept everyone on tippy toes and some days teaching has been impossible.  After years of teaching I have found myself scrambling to find new methods and ideas to manage my classes.  A first year teacher shared with me a book she had borrowed and was reading and I thought it might just be able to supply me with some answers.  Luckily, I also knew of someone who owned the book and quickly sent out an email to see if I might borrow it. If you haven't read it yet, find a copy and give it some attention.  The book is Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE Teachers by Michael Linsin.  Linsin had me within the first couple of paragraphs as he explained the purpose of the book.  Seems Linsin was a classroom management authority of sorts; even offering professional development on the subject.  He had been a classroom teacher for 15 years when he decided to switch over to teaching Physical Education.  Within minutes of his first class, he knew classroom management as a specialist had an entire different look than it had for him as a classroom teacher.  This book outlines his suggested methods of taking control of your classes even if you only see them once a week.  It's a quick read with some insightful ideas and approaches.  I found myself reflecting, reevaluating and congratulating myself as I read through each section.  Some things I already did, some I definitely need to work on and in some areas I have a need to fine-tune.  With that said, I strongly recommend you get your hands on a copy and give it a read.  I think I'll be purchasing a copy for myself when I return my borrowed copy, to flip back through as a reference and a reminder.  Hopefully, with better classroom management techniques, some of these wrinkles will soften and I'll start looking a little bit more like my old self.  Oh, and this is not an advertisement, I received no compensation for this post You can also visit smartclassroommanagement.com for more information.

The Quietest Pencil Sharpener and mine is Pink!!!

My new pink sharpener ready for action

A few weeks ago, the teacher from across the hall came into my room with her newest purchase.  She was very pumped to show it to me. She taught abroad last year and had experience the "perfect" pencil sharpener.  The sharpener she was demonstrating, she had found online and immediately ordered.  I was extremely impressed by the quality, ease of use, and the most amazing tip I had ever seen on a pencil.  I went home that evening and began to research, looking for my own amazing pencil sharpener.  My research led me to Classroom Friendly Supplies where I discovered exactly what I had been searching for.  The best part was I did not have to wait for it to arrive by international mail during a busy shipping season.  It arrived in less than a week, right after Thanksgiving.  This is a small company run by a teacher and she was willing to send me a free sharpener to test if I agreed to share with all of you about my experiences.  Let me tell you, my beautiful pink sharpener arrived today.  I was busily sharpening pencils as soon as I took it out of the package and it's true, it is terrific.  It's easy to use, is quiet, and sharpens a drawing pencil to a fine point with only one or two cranks.  I LOVE THIS PENCIL SHARPENER.  Sorry for shouting but I wanted to make sure you truly experienced my enthusiasm.  The only thing I'm not thrilled about is the mount.  I don't think I will be using it but it is equally easy to use without the mount.  I just place the pencil in the sharpener, put my left hand across the top of the sharpener and turn the crank with my right.  I'm not sure if I will share with my students, yet, or keep this all to myself! : }  I had been having trouble with my electric pencil sharpener with my drawing pencils, they would sharpen, break, I'd try again and a break.  Sometimes I feel like I am just sharpening away the pencil.  I sharpened about a dozen with this machine and not one of the pencils broke.  Yes, the same pencils that my electric sharpener keeps eating up.

Pencil in place, ready for a few cranks

Check out these points!!! 

Here is a link to a few videos on the Classroom Friendly Supplies site.  I'll follow-up in a week or so and let you know how its going with my sharpener.    You can replace the blades when they dull so I think I've found a lifetime friend!!!