It’s the beginning of the school year, and you’re off to a
brand new start! Many educators have
been setting-up for years while others are starting in their first year of
teaching. The start of the school year means
a clean slate to begin fresh in designing your procedures, which is how you
want your art class to run smoothly for the entire school year.
Before you begin, know that not every procedure you develop
is going to work. As much as you think it
will be smooth sailing, you need to treat your rules and procedures like a
pilot program. Sometimes, you’re going
to need to tweak a rule or two here and there for success.
Here’s a checklist of procedures you should develop in the
beginning of the year. Organizing your
routines for students will help make classes run smoother.
1.
Pass
Out Procedures
After introducing a project (or even
continuing a project), figure out how the materials and projects will be passed
out! If you just say, “Come and get it!”
you’ll have a flock of students clamoring to you to see who gets their project
first, and there may be hair-pulling!
Consider having your materials ready, calling a table at a time (or desk
group), or choosing specific students to pass out each week.
2.
Clean-Up
Procedures
Just like passing out, cleaning up can be
just as hairy. I give about 5 minutes at
the end of my classes, explain where things go, and count from one to ten to
give the students a measured time to clean.
We use the “quick, quiet, clean” routine because I want students to be
responsible for their own messes and to not rely on anyone else. Sometimes, with messy paint or clay projects,
I even have specific students help collect larger materials (such as clay
clothes or paint trays) to make cleanup easier.
3.
Material
Management
If you’re in a classroom or a cart, it’s
always best to have your materials as organized as you can. In my classroom, I have 6 boxes total each of
crayons, markers, and colored pencils for projects. This saves on arguments in the room! Check the boxes periodically to make sure
materials are even and organized (or you can have a “teacher’s team” helpers do
this for you!). On a cart, consider
smaller supply boxes that can be passed out to student groups. The supply boxes are easy to open and close
and saves on spilled materials during clean up.
4.
The
“In Case of Emergency” Kits
Have you ever had those moments when you
run out of pencils, erasers, or even water?
I know I have, and it’s a pain to refill when you’re in the middle of
managing a class! In my drawers, I have
back-ups of sharpened pencils, erasers, dry-erase markers, and water bottles
for those emergencies that pop up randomly.
5.
Volume Control
In their classrooms, students know what is
expected of them with talking and working.
In your class, you make the call.
Some teachers like quiet classes with no talking, but I like collaboration. Managing noise levels can be very tricky and needs
to be manageable for you. Consider
giving a prompt when students start getting too noisy. My co-worker does the “Mona Lisa”
prompt. When students hear her say
“Mona,” they call back “Lisa,” then quiet down so they know the teacher has something
to say. In my class, I assign a “noise
manager” table to raise hands when their class gets too loud.
6.
Where
to Find the Water
If you have a sink in your room, you’re
golden. For many others, we must find
the water source. I’m in a classroom
without a sink, so to help with water management, I found the closest water
closet in the school, plus I have back-up water jugs for those emergencies that
pop up. Plan in time for water fill ups
during your schedule so refilling does not interfere with your class
procedures. I highly recommend getting 5
gallon water jugs if you have no close sink resource.
7.
Art
Jobs
Having art jobs in the room or classroom can
make your routines run so much smoother!
For example, my class has 6 tables.
Each table has a job that changes each week. I have pass-out projects, collect projects,
noise managers, material counters (check pencils and erasers at the end of each
class), floor checkers (for loose materials on the floor), and teacher’s team
(for the random extra helpers needed in for some projects). Each week, the students check to see what
their job is and they perform it well!
If you’re in a classrooms or teaching from a cart, find what
procedures work best for you, and have fun this school year!
