Last day: Getting organised
The last day of school is usually a breeze. The classes tend to be a bit smaller as not all students make the effort to go to school on the last day of the term. I try to use a bit of class time to organise the room to make it easier for myself when I return to work.
The start to my morning was horrible. I was stuck in a traffic jam that lasted for 1 hr and 10 mins. Usually it takes me 20-30 mins to get to work but today there was a major car accident just before the highway exit. I was a bit worried about getting to work late.
The recent rain has made half the car park an unpleasant place to park. I had to drive my car through a pit of wet dirt to get through to the other side. For a minute, my car refused to move and I had to hit my accelerate hard. My demountable is adjacent to the car park so I could see my students as I was struggling to park.
Classes today were quite pleasant. All classes continued on with their practical artworks. While students were working, I would ask them questions about their artwork and about their life in general. Talking to students is the fun part about our job.
For the whole year I have been trying to keep my classroom organised. Previous years, I did not consider the importance of the learning environment and whether it engaged the students. This year I gave the room a dramatic face lift and as a result my students show a lot more respect to the space and to the resources. My students love the responsibility of keeping the room clean. Some students have volunteered their own time to cleaning my store room (I know this sounds crazy!). The shelves at the front of my classroom has been wiped with disinfectant wipes. My paintbrushes and paints have been neatly organised. The storeroom is still work in progress but with the support of the different classes, it will be ready soon.
I recently found an awesome quote on an art teacher's blog (https://artteachershelpal.blogspot.com.au/). I fell in love with the quote as it is by Chuck Close. He is an artist which students reference all the time when using the grid system and when learning about portraits. I have laminated the quote onto the desks. The quote reads 'every idea occurs while you are working. If you are sitting around waiting for inspiration, you could sit there forever'. This is a kind reminder for students who tend to give me excuses when I find them sitting there like another chair in the classroom.
Remember to check out the awesome blog as Anna Nichols is also another educator who has a passion for finding ways to effectively manage the art classroom. I love exploring different strategies to increase my classroom management skills. At the end of the year I have volunteered to do another workshop on classroom management and as a result I am trying to brush up my own skills and be open to new ones. I believe I will be referencing a lot of the ideas from Anna.
Above: Chuck Close quote.
Sometimes if I am feeling lazy and do not want to pull out my entire tray OR if I am away, I let students borrow items from my pastel drawers. Every drawer is labelled so its easy for students and casual teachers to locate resources. Previously, I did not label my stationary but since I purchased a label maker, I have been a tiny bit obsessed.
Above: Pastel drawers with resources.
Above: Labelling.
Above: Labelling to minimise theft, misplacement of resources and to bring the responsibility back to the students.
Above: A few things have changed since this photo. I have included a nano block Eiffel tower, my plant in a mug and I have removed the laminated posters in the background.
Above: I am trying to work out a way to neatly store paper. One of the Year 9 boys did a terrific job in cleaning out the shelves.
Above: My painting supplies system is actually neater than this. I try to keep similar colours together.
Above: The two small filing cabinets is used to store my Year Adviser folders and the taller one is for spray paints and Stanley knives.
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