Amazing things to have

in any art classroom...besides the basic supplies.

I have found some great things over the years that no matter where I'm teaching, I need in my life, lol.  Besides the basic supplies (markers, clay, etc...), these things I use all the time and I find myself buying them when I've changed schools. Many of these items have been introduced by colleagues or I've just ran across and have fallen in love with:)

Painting Supplies that will change your life:

• Little plastic containers with lids are great when you have multiples classes and just want to reuse paint without having to sacrifice your paint trays. You can fnd them really cheap at the Dollar Tree or Amazon Prime. I usually buy them at the dollar tree just so I can make sure they're the perfect size. But, here's a link to some on amazon if you're interested  - small containers with lids

Condiment Squeeze Bottles

• A colleague introduced me to these condiment squeeze bottles...how have I lived without them for this long?! I use these instead of trying to constantly pour paint or use those pumps that get clogged, spray paint all over the place or just make a mess. The only negative is they are sensitive when you squeeze them so just be aware of that. 

Towels for the tables - because I do not use paper towels. I know this is just a preference, but I think they make more of a mess than needed. I have used towels in my art room for years because if I spill happens, the towel soaks it up and there ussually is no need in worrying about cleaning it up and no crying students cause their art got ruined. The towel absorbs everything and we just keep creating art. I've always bought mine at Ikea cause they are cheap, but you could use old towels from home or buy rags from places like home depot, lowe's and amazon prime.

Tiny Spoons for scooping paint. I use these for scooping paint to put into the paint trays when students need to mix colors. This saves a ton of time, paint and keeps paints from getting mixed together cause they don't rinse there paint brushes out correctly. I love that these are biodegradable. 

Clay Supplies that will change your life:

• Canvas bags are great if you can't afford to buy the fancy canvas wrapped boards for clay. I love that they have handles so when we are done we can just hang them on a hook until next class, they're supper easy for the kids to hand out and they don't get wadded up and wrinkled because they can be hung. They are so fabulous for clay because the clay doesn't stick to them and it keeps their projects contained to their space. I ordered mine through our art supplier, but you can find them on other sites like amazon prime. When clay dries you just knock it off and reuse them over and over. 


• Plastic trays (cafeteria trays) are great for easily handing out clay projects in the works. They are also great to use with painting supplies. I have the students place their wrapped unfinished piece on a tray - per table - that way it's easy to hand them back out and keeps them organized. 

• Plastic bags are wonderful for wrapping and storing unfinsihed clay so it doesn't dry out. I buy these thicker and large ones so I can reuse them over and over. I have students write their names on masking tape and we tape it to the outside of the bags. If clay has to stay in the bag for too long make sure to add either a wet paper towel or a tiny bit of water - I use a spray bottle and spray inside the bag just to be safe. 

August 2019 Newslettter!

Well, it's "Back to School" and I have my first newsletter ready.  It's filled with lots of great stuff and how I'll be sharing art and communicating this school year. I'm excited to share our first 2019/2020 school year newsletter - August Newsletter, check it out! 

To view the PDF, just click on the link above and download the PDF to you computer. You do not need dropbox or to install anything, just download the file.

The 2019/2020 School Year

is fast approaching and I'm excited to share some new tips. 

One thing I like to do is have supplies that we use a lot in a place that can be easily accessable to students. I'm not a big fan of having them on tables. I know that many art teachers use caddies on their tables and I'm sure it's great. I don't do it because it takes up too much room and kids often play with them when it's unnecessary even when they know the expectations (pick your battles, lol). I usually have a few places spread throughout the clasroom that house our basic supplies.
Here's how I organize some of them in buckets:
 - markers
 - crayons 
 - colored pencils
 - erasers
 - pencils
 - small sharpeners
 - scissors
 - sharpies, etc... 

Each table gets one bucket/pail that they share and this keeps things organized and much more manageable. I often feel if you have too many supplies out at once, it's easier for things to get wasted and harder to manage.

I've written about organization and set-up a few times because I'm a huge believer in being organized. 

This year I lined the wall under my white board with shelves and storage carts so I could have a variety of areas for students. I wanted to have a few center areas for students.  

Organizing Other Supplies: 

• Usually clear buckets are my preference when storing items on shelves and in cabinets. Makes it easier to see what's inside. I aso label them - I love these "chalkboard" peel and stick lables I got from Amazon Prime. They are not only cute but easy to whipe of and reuse if I switch things out. 
My favorite is to use fun colors and shaped buckets, storage containers, bins, etc... 

• Oil Pastels - 
I bought these cute square buckets at Hobby Lobby and they're perfect for flourescent oil pastels. I put a towel down and then students can dump the bucket so it's easier to see the colors and keep the tables cleaner. Then when done they put them back in the buckets. 


I bought these cute cups from the Dollar Tree and they're perfect for metallic oil pastels.

I do the same thing with regular oil pastels, but I keep the BLACK, PEACH and WHITE ones seperate from all other colors. I have them in their own container - like colors together. This has helped me avoid the horrible mess of oil pastels getting so disguisting you can't tell the colors a part. I also only put one set per cup and each student gets their own cup. If a color runs out I give them a new one to place in their cup - no sharing that way everyone has what they need.

I do the same thing with chalk pastels but the only difference is I keep the BLACK and WHITE ones seperate from all other colors. Since my saying is "BLACK LAST" (usually applies) it makes it easier for students to not grab and use the black before they are finished. It also keeps the whites from getting so gross you can't tell what color it really is, lol. Once again they dump all of them out on the towels so they can share and find colors easily. This keeps tabbles cleaner and they can whipe their hands on the towels if they get too dirty. Clean up after is a SNAP!