Watercolor/Tempera Cake Table Set-up

Painting with students was always a bit of a headache for me last year, when I didn't have a more precise method for students to work and no real routine other than "water, sponge, color, paint". I showed them how to use each material, but it was a mess when it came to the water. I had a tray in the back of the classroom, next to the sink, with cups full of water for them to pick up. I found myself spending the whole time refilling these cups, mixed in with cleaning the frequent spill when they had to walk to their tables or go dump the dirty water in the sink.

 I knew this didn't work, so I did some research and came across a picture of a teacher who used water pitchers on each table to distribute water and I thought "that is genius". I modified this idea and came up with the system bellow. I enlisted the help of my school team to help with gathering enough containers. I emailed the whole school and asked for various container sizes, from big to small, along with the lids (to use on other art projects). After the first couple of weeks of school I had all the containers I needed and more!

 

Watercolor set up from CaramelBun

During the first couple of painting lessons I would always start class with the presentation, then as time passed I would just show them the picture bellow and reminded them what each container was for. Big one for dirty water, medium one for clean water, small one for your water. Then I would have them repeat our painting mantra of  "water, sponge, color".

After I remind them the painting procedures I give them their jobs for the day. Each chair, on each table, is labeled with numbers from 1-6. Depending on the materials it might be something like this:

1. Water person ( in charge of the tray in the middle, fills up clean water cup and student cups)
2. Sponge person (picks up sponge tray, takes it to the sink when class is over)
3. Tempera Cake Tray Person /  Watercolor Tray Person (picks up the trays, takes them back at the end of class)
4. Brush person (picks up brushes, places them in the sink for cleaning)
5. Paper Person (takes papers to the students on the tables, picks them up at the end of class to place on the drying rack)
6.  Cleaning person (dries tables at the end of class)

I try to have the tables ready before the first class comes in, if I just don't have time I call on the student helpers to take the materials to their tables. The last class to paint will put materials away.

By having a student on each table in charge of the water, I don't have to worry (too much) about spills related to students walking around with cups of water. I gave students responsibility for their use of materials, and they all want to be water person. I let students dump their own dirty water inside the big container, but they must ask Water Person for some clean water, that is after all, their job.

What happens if a table runs out of water? Cue in the "Water Soda Can". I got this last summer at Walmart, it was too cute to resist and I needed a way to separate myself from the sink in order to monitor students.I used to tell students to raise their hand when they needed water, and I would walk around with the "Water Soda Can" but I soon got tired of it. I decided students should be able to get their own water! Now I place it next to the sinks for easy refilling, I place a bucket on the bottom to catch drips, and let the Water Person go get clean water for their table.

 

After each group leaves I walk around with a big bucket, and collect the dirty water from the tables or else they might over flow. I also wipe clean the cups and make sure the tables have clean water for the next group. I usually show the students a video, at the start of class, related to the project so I can go around resetting tables. Students help a lot by stacking all the small cups together again, and if there's time I tell them to make sure their table has clean water ready for the next class and they help wipe down tables.

 

If students are using the tempera cakes I place them on the same tray as the sponges, if they are using watercolors, I just place the sponges on the trays by themselves. I'm glad I ordered these smaller tempera cake trays this year, I also have some bigger trays that I think take up more space when I have to sit 5-6 kids on a table. The downside is it's hard to take out the "pucks" from these smaller trays, I tried changing some and it was a pain. I ended up just placing the new "puck" on top of the old one. With smaller classes I use the big trays.

 This week I had a class that was painting. They were sandwiched in between two classes that weren't painting, and the space I would normally use for the trays is occupied with a printing station. I have some big lunch trays I ordered this year, so I used them to hold all the cups so I could distribute them faster, and pick them up faster. I just walked around the room and handed out the materials to each table. I liked this system a lot, so I might make it the permanent system for distributing the water supplies.

I actually did a lot of painting lessons this year, and I felt very organized once the kinks were worked out with the new system. Students had clear expectations and after a while, were very independent and understood the system completely. There is more time for them to paint, and there's more time for me to help and monitor now that I don't have to be next to the sink the whole time.

I hope this helps when it comes to painting with students, or at least sparks an idea!

Torii Gate Art Lesson

Visit All about Torii Gates for more awesome pictures

Torii Gates are found in Japan to identify the entrance to sacred places. Since I made a Torii gate out of paper in my class room I thought it would  be fun to have a lesson so students would understand what it is.

Torii gate in my classroom.

I started the lesson with this presentation, discussing the importance of Torii Gates and where they are found. Students observed and commented on the appearance, colors, etc. 

Torii gates from CaramelBun

Students were very interested in the Torii Gate from Miyajima Island so I found a video that tours the island temple.

With all the information learned, and the images in their minds I showed students how to build a mini Torii Gate out of craft sticks. Each student needs 4. When they were done, we left them on the side to dry and started the mountain and the temple. The stairs were a bit tricky, but most of them got them right. I then let them add details to their landscape. Some asked if Godzilla was Japanese, so they added him to the drawing. Others remembered cherry blossom trees and added those, while others wanted to do a sea to imitate the Miyajima Torii Gate in the water.

Next class, they colored the Torii Gates since they were dry, and they were careful to only use colors real Torii Gates have: red/red-orange, brown (wood) or gray (stone). Once their drawings were colored, and their Torii gates dry and colored they glued them to the paper.

Some classes didn't have time to create a craft stick Torii Gate, so I showed them how to draw one instead.

Tips for new art teachers and art education students.

I like to imagine I was ready for my first year of teaching art. The truth is I was fresh out of college and was hired the day before school began so I had no time to prepare anything ahead of time. I struggled to get organized and motivated, my first year was tiresome and overwhelming for many reasons. Now I look forward to the start of the school year because I feel more prepared and confident. Here are some things you can do make your first year a success:

1. Do spot observations of a veteran teacher, if possible an art teacher. Make sure they are quality teachers and not just experienced. Notice how they address their students, how the classroom is organized, how the students behave, what the teacher does to engage the students and how classroom jobs are distributed. Take notes of how the teacher calls for the students attention and in turn, how students get the teachers attention. I was made to do observations as a student teacher but never saw a quality art teacher at work, take advantage of the opportunity and seek a good teacher to observe and it won't seen like such a bother. :)
2. Learn what students like. Watch an episode or two of the newest cartoons, learn about gaming consoles and video games, listen to the music they listen to, see what new movies are showing that your students would watch. Students feel more at ease with grown-ups who (at least try to) understand them. Some of my most successful lessons incorporate things I know my kiddos are into.
3. Decide what kind of students you want. Students respond to your expectations of them, so raise the bar high. What is your idea of a "perfect art student"? Write it down and decide on a set of rules based on your expectations.
4. Guide the students during the first lessons. Find an image that would be easy to reproduce and make a simple drawing combining basic shapes and lines. Figure out the steps needed to make the drawing and break it down. During class have students repeat each step to create their drawing. This will give you a sense of who's a good listener, who struggles with basic lines and shape, who should be moved to another seat because they get distracted easy and who's going to be a great artist! Give the students crayons, oil pastels or markers to draw, keep the pencils for now. I had too many kids waste time erasing every time we made a step, eliminate the problem before it happens. Let them color it and observe who needs help with their coloring skills, pencil grip, etc.
5. Have activities for early finishers. I'm not a big fan of " free draw ", make it more structured by providing how-to-draw books or handouts and newsprint paper. I made copies of books from the school library and bought more books from the local discount book store. The kids love the dragon books, and the anime and cartoon books. I let them pick a book and get a paper, they know not to draw or color the books because I stress it all the time, always remind them.
6. Have students help. There is no need for you to take care of everything when there's lots of eager hands to help. Figure out a system that will work for you. In my room every student has a chair number, when I call that number they know I'll give them a job. Taking the table's crayon box, or picking up the table's papers and placing them in the correct spot, etc. 
7. Brake everything down into manageable steps. If you give students too much information they will get overwhelmed. Instead, break down that big project into steps, don't go to the next step until everyone's on the same page, that way you also make them accountable for their time management. This is extremely helpful for the lower primary grades. Painting? Break the process into steps, mine is: water-sponge-color-repeat. I review steps every time we paint, even if we did it last class.
8. Be consistent. If you let one kid do something they will all want to do it. This is specially true of bathroom breaks and water breaks. I make a point of letting them do that at the appropriate moment, when they are working independently, not during instruction. 
9. Be patient and understanding. These are people, with their own personalities and quirks, they are not all the same. They need to see you as a person who they can depend on and trust. That doesn't mean you shouldn't discipline, it means you should try to understand their behavior to give them the correct feedback given the situation. 
10. Communicate with parents. Send out art newsletters along with the regular classroom newsletters so they know what you do. Take pictures and upload them to the school's website along with a short description. Call parents to let them know their kid is talented! 
11. Don't become the schools decorator \backdrop person. This is a hard one.... Remember you are there to teach, not to make murals for Valentine's day. When you are approached just kindly tell them you are busy prepping awesome art lessons for your kiddos, or you are busy prepping for the annual art show,etc. You don't needed to lie, we have tons of work just like regular classroom teachers. You can offer them suggestions on how to tackle the project. If they insist you do it, ask for a sub to cover your classes for the time it will take you to complete the project since your time outside of school is precious personal time (that you use to plan more lessons hehehe).
12. Organize your ideas. You will want to do a billion cool things, make a board on pinterest or a favorite folder on your browser specifically for art education. You can make categories by art medium, art elements, grade level, etc.
13. Try new things. My principal always says "the worst thing you can do is try something stupid with the students, then you learn and never do it again." Don't be afraid to take risks, after all, this is not your grandma's art class. Find an engaging game online, look for funny or silly internet clips, make up a song, get up and dance, use iPads, etc. Inspire your kids and crate a safe, fun environment for art making.

These are just some of the things I wish somebody had told me on my first year, or when I was a student teacher. Talk with colleagues, ask them how their first year went :)

Happy art teaching!