Back to School with Kwik Stix!

I was provided with a brand new set of Metallic Kwik Stix to do a back to school post! This year will be a different back to school experience for me as I'm using my built up sick leave to stay home a couple extra weeks with my new baby. I've been trying to figure out some easy but fun lessons to leave for my substitute to start off the year and the Kwik Stix gave me some inspiration. 

If you aren't familiar with Kwik Stix, they are a solid tempera paint stick that comes in a form that reminds me of a glue stick. They are vibrant and bold, dry in about a minute, and are low mess. 

I don't know about your students but mine LOVE anything metallic. These aren't over the top, they just have a nice sheen. The "metalix" pack has been expanded to include more colors now, so that's a real bonus! My elementary school has a camp/adventure theme this year so 5th graders will start off with a themed project. They will use Kwik Stix to make a sky and then create an outdoorsy scene silhouette on black construction paper. I know they will enjoy the project and we'll move back to more choice-based lessons when I return. I also used the Kwik Stix to make a sign for "Camp Learn-a-Lot" which I'll put up in my empty display case to start the year. Kwik Stix are my favorite poster-making supply when I don't have time to paint one.

Kwik Stix are available on Amazon, online at Target, online and in store at Michaels, and in store at Walgreens.

The makers of Kwik Stix also produce pencil grips which are great for teaching kids how to grip pencils or for those who need some an adaptation to help them out. I will keep my set on hand in case I see a struggling student. The pencil grips are available on Amazon. 

Donors Choose, Budget Stretching, & Class Dojo

In December I had 2 Donors Choose projects funded.
The first was for a new collage center. I asked for a storage shelf and drawer organizer and have just gotten them all ready to go. We previously had an old art cart and portable sink there. They took up a lot of space and were not very functional. The shelves lower shelves on the art cart had narrow access and the upper shelf was hard for the littlest students to reach. It was not super functional. I used to have paper sorted into "warm, cool, and neutral" color baskets, but that didn't work very well. The 10 drawers have allowed me to sort the papers by color, pattern, and painted. I've only had a few students working on collage this month as everyone is doing the Jr. Duck Stamp or State Fish Art thing, but those that have used the center have very positive comments about it. Plus, the sorted papers are STILL SORTED! I know that this will help students find what they need faster and waste less time looking. Yeah for organization!
I was so happy with the storage shelf that I planned on trying to get another to hold painting supplies. It's all about getting the supplies where students can access them. I ended up having some extra money left in my budget so I was able to go ahead and get another shelf! Before you go thinking I have some HUGE budget, let me explain that I've just gotten pretty good at stretching and supplementing my budget. Some years I order extra paper or other staples and have a little "extra" the next year for other supplies. I also end up with money to spend from Artsonia without being pushy with parents and I keep entering challenges on the smARTteacher to get some Blick money. Those are some things I've been doing in the last couple of years to help my budget go further.

Just got this on Friday so it's not totally organized yet.

The second project was for a Samsung Galaxy tablet that students can use to photograph artwork and upload it on Artsonia. I've found that the Kindergarteners are too short to hold the tablet at the right angle to photograph their work on top of tables, so I'll work on trying to figure out a system there. Even if only some of the students are able to photograph their own work, it will still be a huge timesaver. It takes about 2 minutes (give or take) for a student to get their artwork totally published. I still have projects from November that I'm not caught up with publishing. Taking the pictures with my camera yields better quality photos, but the tablet makes things so much faster! It gives parents a better idea of what we're doing in "real time".

I've also recently discovered Class Dojo. Class Dojo is a classroom management tool that can show students their behavior. I decided to give it a try because I honestly think most of my classes that have problems with talking more than they should don't understand what the problem is. There is a handy Class Dojo app that makes the program a lot easier to use. I can just carry the tablet with me while I'm working with students and if I see some students doing an awesome job staying focused, I can put in positive Dojo points. If I see some kids who are off task, I can just as quickly tap their names and put in "needs work" points. I think I'll collect some photos to show how we're using it and share later this week.

Be Kind to Your Erasers!

The poor, abused eraser. :(

There was a BIG problem with respecting supplies in my classroom this year, especially the erasers.  I have supply baskets at each table and started off with  or 4 brand new, big pink erasers at each.  Lots of erasers "disappeared" (I finally put out new ones but said I would not replace anymore if they were going to keep "disappearing") and the ones that stayed were not in good shape.  It drives me crazy when I see students drawing on, stabbing, and/or cutting the shared erasers.  If they want to destroy their own supplies, fine by me.  But when it's the supplies that are shared by all the students, we have a problem.  I finally remembered the Fugleflick, "Be Kind to Your Erasers" by Art teacher, Tricia Fuglestad and made a poster inspired by the video.  (I could not show it at the time but have since worked out my video issues at school.)

The students were intrigued by the poster and I think humanizing the erasers on the poster helped.  It seems like when the students can imagine the art supplies as people, they remember to take better care of them.  Example: I have students who talk about Mr.Brush every time we paint, even before I can point to the poster!

I used pencil, markers, watercolors, and magazine pages to make my poster.

8 Things (I'm glad I ordered)

I'm Glad I Ordered

I made some purchases with my Art budget this year that I'm really happy with!  I thought I would share.

#1 Glue Pump: I LOOOOVE the glue pump that I bought!  It is more affordable to order glue in gallons but if you are a messy pourer like me, it can be a bit of an inconvenience.  The pump eliminates most of the mess and really doesn't take too long to refill smaller bottles.

*Ok, I'm revising my statement about the glue pump.  It works great as long as the little cap stays on.  If that falls off, the glue hardens inside and it's useless.  I might try ordering glue pumps one more time.  Hopefully the cap will stay on and I won't have any more trouble.

#2 Crayola Color Sticks: I tested this product at the KAEA Fall Conference and decided they were worth ordering.  I do wish that I would have read the description more carefully before ordering.  I saw "classpack" and added to my list.  It includes 10 sticks of 12 colors.  I didn't end up using them this year because I knew my 20+ students in each class would be fighting over the colors.  I am going to order another set in the fall and then I plan to pretty much replace the traditional colored pencils that are in my classroom.  Don't get me wrong, I love colored pencils.  They are just about my favorite supply to use.  The problem with colored pencils in my classroom is that most of the colored pencils are old, stubby pencils that take forever to sharpen.  It seems like the students spend more time waiting in line at the sharpener than actually drawing.  I think that the color sticks will eliminate this problem since they are pure color, no wood.  That means they do not need to be sharpened and there is no waste.  So even though they are quite a bit more expensive than colored pencils, they will last longer and should be make classroom management easier!

#3 Mr.Sketch Markers: I got a tip about these markers from another Art teacher at the KAEA conference.  I was told that the color lasts a lot longer than Crayola markers so after I found out that they come in "unscented" (yes, I loved how the red ones smell like kool-aide when I was in 4th grade but do we really need to encourage kids to sniff markers?) I put them on my wish list!  The colors are vibrant, the markers are sturdy, and I love the shape of the tip.  The tip of the marker is more square than conical so I showed the students how to pretend they are paintbrushes to apply the color quickly and evenly.  I'm a convert.  (Plus the new Crayola markers that are made with recycled plastic have colored lids but everything else is black.  It's easy to see how little ones get the colors mixed up.)

 #4 Prang Paint Pump: I had wanted to order pumps for my big bottles of tempera paint and I am so glad I did!  For the same reason as the glue pump, I am a messy pourer.  I just realized I photographed the wrong pump!  There were a couple Prang pumps at one of my schools but the pumps I ordered were actually Sargent Art Paint Pumps.  The Sargent Art pumps were a just over $2 compared to the $6 Prang pump.  I have mostly generic tempera paint so I decided to take a gamble hoping that the bottle opening would be the same size.  I am happy to report that the pump fit several different brands of paint bottles.  The only thing I'll warn you about if you've never used a paint pump before, is to apply slow, even pressure when you are squirting paint.  I got in a hurry one day, there was a tiny clog in the pump, and blue paint went EvErYwHeRe!  See below...

 #5 Clay Tools: Believe it or not, there were no true clay tools from previous Art teachers.  I did find plastic cutlery which worked OK but thought I should replace them with some sturdier tools.  I am also glad I got a couple wire tools that make it SOOO much easier to divide the clay for classes.

 #6 Crayola Window Markers: I ordered a box of these with my Artsonia money.  They were fun to have around.  There is a small window by my classroom door and I used these glass markers to decorate it for seasons and Youth Art Month.  I got some cool effects by drawing on both sides of the glass to mix the colors.  They hold up on glass a little better than dry erase markers and wash off with water.  (They will smear or wipe off if you have little fingers that can't resist touching everything in line.)

#7 Masking Tape Dispenser: If you have to hang artwork in the hallway with tape, this will save you time!  It's a lot easier to tear tape from the dispenser than off the roll.

#8 Paint Pipettes: These were pretty affordable and a lot of fun to try out with my students.  You can see one project we used them for here: http://artteacheradventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/splashes-of-color.html

On my list for next year are....

• More metal rulers, enough for each student to have their own.
• A nice stapler!  -The one I had was old and broke all the time.  Then it disappeared.  I wasn't too disappointed.
• Heavy duty scissors for me to use, bigger scissors for my big-handed students.

Have you made any great supply purchases lately?  Share them if you have!  Let me know if you write a blog post with your list and I'll add it here:

We Heart Art
There's a Dragon in my Art Room