Art Room Infomercial! ShamWOW

I made my own infomercial as I tested out SHAMWOW on a real world art teacher spill!! 

Do you use a shammy in your classroom?  

Getting Ready for....THE RETURN!!!!!

Fall Break is here...but I was at school today getting ready for when the kids return next week!!

Check out what I'm doing!!!

 

Dealing With Dipping Hands

After dipping my hands into a bath of black tempera/acrylic paint water all week with the clay mask project....you might imagine my hands looking pretty nasty.  THEY DID!!  However, I found a great product at Home Depot!  Unfortunately..I had already taken the label off of the container...so I don't remember the brand name.  SORRY!!  It smells like oranges..and feels like LAVA soap but in liquid form.  Do you remember LAVA soap?  It was green..smelled terrible..and took a layer of skin off...BUT GOT YA CLEAN!! ha ha  My dad used it all the time(he was a coal minor & worked on cars..so his hands were black a lot from the coal & oil).  Anyways..if you are looking for a good cleaning product for your hands....this one is pretty awesome.  The container is huge...and only cost about $5.  

End of the Year Art Room Prep

The last week of school is here! I've been taking my time

at prepping for summer & the next school year.

• The kids art work is the first thing that needs to go! I still have a few things left, but for the most part all of that was handed back last week or the week before.

• I also started a few purging activities. I know that most art teachers are natural pack rats, but that can get you in a whole lot of trouble. I tend to purge things throughout the year, but at the end of each year I evaluate what I've been using, and what just doesn't seem to serve a purpose anymore. GET RID OF STUFF PEOPLE!! YOU CAN DO IT!! I'm a bit OCD, and have issue with clutter...so it is a bit easier for me, but I think it is important that we all do this.

• Take an inventory of what supplies you have, and what you will need for the next school year. I usually have an order ready to go for the next school year(even though I'm not able to place it till Sept/Oct). Be ahead of the game so you know what projects you have supplies for to start the year!

• CLEAN! CLEAN! CLEAN!!!! I usually have my last class or two go through all of my supply boxes(I've got a total of 14 boxes per supply) and check for broken, dried up, over sharpened..etc supplies! I give a table or two all my marker boxes and a piece of paper. I have them make a circle about the size of a quarter and color it in to see if the markers are dried out or not. Then we see what colors we are lacking from the box and replace them with new markers I give a couple other tables all my crayon boxes, and have them pull out little nubs and paper. I like to get rid of anything smaller than half, and put some new crayons in their place. With colored pencils, we check for split, too small, and shavings in the box. I also have those students sharpen the remaining pencils and then add new to the box. That way they are clean & prepped for the next school year.

• I go through my classroom and see if anything isn't working ergonomically. What supplies can I put away on the top shelf of my supply closet and what do I need easier access too! Getting these things taken care of now at the end of the year will make a smoother beginning to the next.

• Art for the hall ways! WHAT?? Yep, I have students create some art that I'll hang at the start of the school year. I use a different color theme in my room each year(on a 5 yr rotation). I also love turtles. So the last week of school I have my students make turtles in that color them that will be hung outside my room for the first day of school! It helps set the mood for the year, I feel.

• I'll also start working on my bulletin boards for the following year. I hand make my letters, boarders...pretty much everything. So, anything I can get done now helps me out a ton!!! Plus, this is a great time to laminate things. Usually at the start of the school year, the classroom teachers are so busy laminating EVERYTHING....it is either always busy or empty by the time I reach it! I find that at the end of the school year, there is less demand.

• If time allows, I'll also go through all my example boxes(I have 5 boxes: paintings, weavings, collage, drawings, and odds & ends.) and make sure everything is where it belongs and that I don't have 20 examples of the same project. I try to get my duplicate examples to my student teachers, but there are times that they build up. I have 5 of some grade level...so when I start the project fresh with each class....the examples pile up!

I hope this helps some of you! If you have any tips, please share!!

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

I have found a name brand product that is worth every penny!!! Mr. Clean Magic Eraser(Extra Power) lives up to any/all expectations. My art room tables are probably 20 yrs old(I've used them for 8 yrs..but a teacher told me they had been here since the school opened!). I'm not sure if my students are extra messy this year...or the tables are just beginning to show their age......BUT I HAD TO DO SOMETHING!! I like my room to be nice & clean...and my terrible looking tables were starting to throw off my groove! I picked up a 4 pack of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers at CVS & thought they would be worth a try(they were on sale!). The first thing I did when I got to school this morning was try them out! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was such a drastic difference from my normal cleaning supplies. I am totally sold!!!! I might not use them every day.....but a once a week cleaning will keep my tables looking half their age(if not better!). TRY IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!!! You won't be disappointed!