Art Made Easy

Do you ever wonder how the art moms on social media actually get their kids to create art? The photos are beautiful, the kids are engaged, and the materials beg to be used. What’s their secret sauce? Most likely, they’ve been inspired and nurtured by Jean Van’t Hul, the founder of The Artful Parent. Jean startedThe Artful Parentpartly to chronicle and share the experiences with her children’s art group, and also as a way for her to focus more on what it means to her to be an artful parent. This episode is our conversation on what it’s been like growing the blog, writing books, and engaging her passions. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: - How Jean’s passion developed into a business where she can serve and inspire parents to incorporate art into their household - Ways to introduce art daily without creating the big mess - What an art invitation is and the purpose it serves for young artists - The challenges of turning a blog into a business that makes a real impact - How learning to let go of some responsibilities gives yourself room to try new things and serve more people LISTEN TO THE SHOW 1. What was your path/journey to teaching art? I loved art as a child, studied art history and studio art at college, and then worked in the art field (art museum, art magazine, art website, public broadcasting). But it wasn’t until my first daughter was born, my interest in art was revitalized. I realized that I wanted to raise her in an art-rich environment and to encourage her creativity and imagination as much as possible. I read books about parenting, of course, but also as much as I could find about children’s art. Guided by the ideas I came across, I started a Toddler Art Group in my home with several other moms and their toddlers. We met weekly, combining a play group with art activities. I started The Artful Parent blog partly to chronicle and share the experiences with the children’s art group, and also as a way for me to focus more on what it meant to me to be an artful parent. I wanted to parent in a way that encourages creative expression, imagination, joyfulness, and a love of learning, not just in my daughters, but in our entire family. 2. What do you feel is your best attribute or strength as an art teacher? I see myself as a children’s art enabler, rather than as an art teacher. I help kids explore the possibilities of art. Sometimes I do that directly with kids (mine, friends, children’s art groups and classes), but mostly my focus is on helping parents make art and creativity a bigger priority in their families. I do this by showing them easy and fun art activities they can do at home, and also through inspiration, motivation, and education, as much as possible. I have teachers, caregivers, grandparents, and others come to The Artful Parent for ideas, but my focus is on the parent and on the family environment. There are pros and cons to this. Being outside of the education system, I feel like I have more freedom to focus on art and creativity unencumbered by expectations and red tape. However, I have to get parental “buy-in”. Instead of competing for limited time and resources within a school system and convincing those powers of the importance of art education, I am competing for limited time and resources within a family and convincing a parent about the importance of children’s art and creativity. 3. What do you do well in the art room and how does this benefit your students? I am enthusiastic about the possibilities in any activity, material, or technique and love to explore, combine, experiment, and encourage children to do so as well. I feel like this approach helps children develop self confidence, self expression, creativity, and their problem solving abilities. 4. Why do you feel teaching art to kids is important? The benefits of art are tremendous and varied, but I believe that art is an especially excellent way to foster creativity in children. LINKS & RESOURCES: - The Artful Parent

Of the many daily challenges art teachers face, adopting a growth mindset may not be at the top of your list. Emily Gould, known as @sierramadres on Instagram, is a K-12 art teacher who has done it all. Throughout her years teaching art, her one main focus is to never stop learning, always move forward, and do what’s best for the students. Sounds like a good plan, right? WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: -What craftsmanship means to Emily, and how it plays a role in her career and teaching - How the expectations she has for her students helps them grow as artists - What can happen when people fall out of the creative habit - The importance of practicing lessons you’re teaching before hand, and how this can help you make an art lesson your own - The many uses of Emily's favorite, unique art supply: joint compound LISTEN TO THE SHOW 1. What was your path/journey to becoming an art teacher? My first art teaching job happened by accident...I had just graduated from art school, and I was sharing a painting studio with three other artists in Chicago. I needed a stamp because it was time to send the bills. There was an elementary school on the corner near my studio, and I remember thinking...a school could have stamps! So, I went into the school, and I didn't know I was talking to the principal. She said, "You look like an art teacher, and I need an art teacher.”Maybe I looked like an art teacher because I had paint all over me?I needed a job, so I told her..."Yes, I'm an art teacher!" I was hired! I immediately walked to the Chicago Public Library and checked out several books about teaching art (There was no internet in 1993.) 2. What do you feel is your best attribute or strength as an art teacher? Setting a standard of craftsmanship in the classroom that encourages excellence. Twosummers ago our summer reading book was,An Ethic of Excellence: Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students by Ron Berger. I've never thought "that's exactly what I think,” while reading a book as much as this one!Ron Berger is a carpenter, but also a teacher. He extends this idea of craftsmanship into the classroom. The book is all about setting a standard of excellence and how he inspires students to do this. I would recommend this book to all educators as an inspiration to revitalize the passion for excellence. The ideas in this book are truly inspiring and the educational goals are exactly what I strive for! It’s also important to build an arts community, to keep faculty and parents aware of what is happening in the art room. Student artworks are displayed on bulletin boards and in our hallway gallery space. Every student has an online art portfolio or gallery atArtsonia.com. Whenever an art project is completed, student artwork is uploaded onto an online school art gallery. It is always open for viewing and can be shared with family and friends internationally. Part of the art making process is getting your art out there to be seen! I’ve noticed that students work harder knowing that family and friends will see their art in school art displays or online. 3. What do you do well in the art room and how does that benefit your students? I am good at inspiring students and teaching the life lesson of perseverance, by assigning art lessons that are challenging. I also feel that an environment that allows for some playfulness helps to promote creativity! I was intrigued by aTED talk by Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO. He spoke about the connection between playfulness and creativity.He attempted to understand how one may lose their creativity. Tim Brown notes that "preschools are filled with shelves of building blocks, bins of crayons, tubs ofplay-doh.As children grow and move through the educational system all of these supplies that facilitate the creative thinker and once filled the classrooms get taken away…” I feel that a creativeenvironment must not be an environment where students are intimidated to loose their playfulness.

Do you have students who speak limited English? Teaching art in a community with language barriers is a ripe opportunity for engagement and connection. You might just need to approach teaching differently. Today's guest, classroom teacher Hannah Coggins, teaches 1st and 2nd grade in Africa. She shares her strategies for engaging and slowing children down long enough to reflect on their art so they can truly be the best version of themselves. Hannah is a member of The Sparkler's Club and was featured as our spotlight teacher for May. Like all Spotlight guests, Hannah turns the interview around and asks Patty a couple of questions. Patty shares her experience teaching art to children whose English skills were very limited and how this strategy is equally effective when you have laryngitis. And why both Hannah and Patty recommend trying it! Behavior management and student engagement usually go well together.-- Hannah Coggins WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: -What motivates Hannah to teach art as a classroom teacher -How to address a child who wants to go down a different path from the lesson assigned -The biggest challenges Hannah has faced in the art room (this one will definitely resonate with you!) -Tips for teaching art to students whose first language isn’t English - Why it’s so important to incorporate a students' culture into the lesson LISTEN TO THE SHOW Here is Hannah's interview in our SPARKLE magazine. 1. What was your path/journey to becoming an art teacher. I trained to be an elementary teacher at university in the UK. This training included art, along with core subjects and other "specials". I've been teaching for 12 years and have always been able to include art in my weekly schedule. I wanted to study a degree which was varied, with lots of practical application. Teaching was a good option. In more recent years, I have taught overseas in a number of African Countries. This has enabled me to have more flexibility and ownership over the curriculum I use. Art has always stayed a key part of my schedule, both in weekly dedicated art time, as well as incorporating it into other curriculum subjects. 2. What do you feel is your best attribute or strength as an art teacher? I've been able to instill a strong sense of confidence in my students, allowing them to experiment and try new things without feeling like they can get it "wrong". Across my teaching, I encourage children to take risks and challenge themselves. We have a strong community within our class of support and encouragement, which also supports high standards of behavior and participation. 3. Do you have a specific classroom management strategy? I believe strong teacher-student relationships underpin everything else. I endeavor to be a cheerleader for each of my students throughout their studies. Behavior management and student engagement usually go well together. Partly because I teach one class all the time, I am able to hone these areas. I have clear expectations and boundaries which I think is beneficial for the students. They know how to ask question in a respectful way, and that I am open to hearing their ideas on additions or changes to a particular project. I have a fairly high-energy teaching style, but I try to pare this back during art. I try to create a slightly serious tone in order to allow the kids to focus on craftsmanship and high quality outcome. We still chat and laugh of course, but they tend to appreciate that focussed style so they can really invest in their work. This is very similar to how we approach longer writing projects, which also require quiet focus for maximum creativity and accuracy. 4. Why do you feel teaching art to kids is important? Within the classroom setting, I probably do about 50% art techniques/skills and 50% curriculum related projects to apply the skills. I love the fact that art can enhance the curriculum and gives students another avenue to express themselves and be creative.

It’s 5 minutes before the end of art class, the room is a mess. Some kids are finishing up their projects, others are not. The clock is ticking and you know what comes next…clean up time. What do you do next? That depends on you…today on Art Made Easy, I help you outline the best clean up routine for YOU. That little phrase always puts me in panic mode. Why? Because I didn’t have a system…at least, not one in which I identified as sound. I’ve always been honest about this failing of mine. I like to create not clean! This use to worry me and make me feel like a fraud..real art teachers know what to do. They have their classroom procedures under control. What I know now that I didn’t know then… But lucky for you, I have a few strategies that will help YOU identify the best clean-up routine for your art room. There are three phases of clean up: 1. Getting Attention: How do you transition from actively working on projects to stopping? Do you ring a bell? Play a clean up song? Yell? Dim the lights? 2. Cleaning Up: What do you want the kids to do? Why? What will help you the most? 3. Exiting: Do you need time to offer rewards or calculate class points after the clean up? Exit games? Or do you just need them to get out. All three parts are unique to you. YOU get to decide how each phase looks for your classroom. The kids will respond to whatever YOU decide. The real trick is to do it consistently. I’ve found that there are 4 different styles of art teaching. Figuring out which style fits your personality can help you decide on a way to get your students' attention, and that style will flow into the rest of your clean up routine. It’s all about knowing what is best for YOU and sticking to it. The Manager: This is the art teacher who manages every minute of an art session: entering, transitioning, demonstration, creating, etc. They often use repetition as their classroom management tool—few bells and whistles. This is the teacher who thrives on managing expectations by never deviating from the plan. Clean up for the Manager often looks controlled, orderly and efficient. In fact, a good allotment of time is spent on transitions. The Manager does this systematically, so notes or complex charts are often not needed. The Minimalist: This is the art teacher who likes to keep things very simple: as few steps as possible. 1. Art on Rack 2. Brushes & Paint on Sink Counter 3. Tools in Tray 4. Recycle paper The Minimalist gives the students simple tasks and oversees the execution. The Counter: This is the teacher who incorporates countdowns into every facet of the art sessions. Counting how many paper scraps children pick up or counting down to get kids to pay attention. There may be overlaps between the Manager and the Counter personalities, however the counter uses numerically based tactics. The Performer: This is the teacher who relies on fun antics and high engagement to get their kids excited about clean-up. There may be a song, dance moves, hand drawn clean-up posters, and/or props to get the party started. There’s often a reward system to motivate the students. This takes a lot of brain power and work if you aren’t naturally gifted in this area. I have included a helpful poster that may work for you and your class room. You can find the poster at the end of this blog post as a free PDF download. THINGS YOU’LL LEARN: - How different clean up methods work for others in their classroom - The three phases of a clean up routine - Four teaching styles and different strategies that work for them - The importance of finding your style and fitting it into every aspect of your teaching method LISTEN TO THE SHOW LINKS & RESOURCES: Download your free cleanup checklist poster by clicking the button below. Add your name and email and we’ll email it straight to you! Art Made Easy 130:How the Enneagram Broke Me Wide Open

Eva Marie Kirby from Tennessee dreamt of being an art educator since graduating college, but marriage and raising a family put her dreams on hold. Fast forward twenty years, Eva Marie steps into the art room and finds herself in charge of 800 children ages four to seven. Her story is absolutely delightful, and will inspire anyone who has waited before putting their career goals into action. Eva Marie is our Sparkler Spotlight of the Month for April. She's one of the first to comment and ask questions in our private Facebook group, and is always there to support others. At the end of the episode, Eva Marie asks me two questions about suitable art activities forchildren with learning differences and how to establish a clean-up routine. 1. What was your path to becoming an art teacher? I studied art and education in college, with a desire to pursue graduate studies in Art History and become the children's program art educator in an art museum. The first day of graduate school, I was offered a kindergarten teaching position and my parents advised me to take it.Instead of continuing my art education, I spent five years in a classroom with children. After I married and had a baby, I retired from teaching and raised our three children.Twenty-two years later, I got the opportunity to take two different art teacher interns in one year. When one of these art teachers retired in the same year, a permanent position opened up for me. I finally landed my art educator job! Not in a museum, but in a wonderful primary school. 2. What do you feel is your best attribute or strength as an art teacher? My best strength as an art teacher is my passion for art and my desire to share knowledge with my students. I get very enthusiastic when I share an artist’s work or a new technique. The students enjoy it with me! 3. What do you do well in the art room and how does this benefit your students? I relate every aspect of a project to the appropriate elements and techniques of art. This benefits my students by giving a common framework of terminology to discuss artworks with. I also try to be encouraging and fun. 4. Why do you feel teaching art to kids is important? Teaching art, or at the very least, offering free choice art opportunities for children, is so extremely important. Kids are under pressure to perform well in their academics, where there is a right or wrong answer. The art classroom is that incredible space where the creative mind can create and explore. The end product is always “right” for the student. I love to see children flourish in the art room, but seeing a struggling student feel free and excel when handed a paintbrush or scissors brings me a special joy! There are so many art related jobs in the world -- kids need to explore their creative side. 5. Why did you join the Sparklers Club and how did being in the group help you? I joined the Sparklers Club after spending my first month creating lesson ideas and writing them down on color coded note cards for each grade level.I was having to dream up the supply list, make a sample, and guess how long it would take. I saw an ad on Facebook and joined the Club for a month to try it out. After seeing the EPIC curriculum, I was hooked and upgraded to the yearly membership. Having the lesson plans to choose from is a huge time saver! Besides the well planned lessons, the Facebook group is great. I feel like I am not alone in the art room, but part of a group of art teacher friends all working together. My husband says it’s the best money I could have ever spent on my first year back in the classroom, and I have to agree! WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Eva Marie’s earliest dreams for her career in art and the path she took to return to the classroom What she does to reward behavior and effort in her classroom and how she gets the children excited about art How she’s implementing what she’s learning in The Sparklers Club into her teaching

I love listening to podcasts and over the past few years, mentions of the Enneagram personality test has popped up over and over again. Last Fall, I decided to explore it further and happened upon a podcast interviewing Ian Cron. I was intrigued. The podcast shared how valuable knowing your team’s personality profile and how it can help the team as they interact with each other. Being the team enthusiast that I am, I sent all of Team Sparkle a link to take the Enneagram Test with the expectations that we would share our results at our Team Retreat. We did and it was really fun BUT…as I explored the Enneagram a bit more, through Ian Cron’s book The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, I felt a sense of awakening that I never experienced before. And that’s why I decided to make The Road Back to You, the Deep Space Sparkle’s book pick for Spring 2019. I can’t wait for you to listen to how this book impacted how I think about myself and the work I do to understand myself better but also how it has helped improve how I interact with my team and my loved ones. So What Exactly is the Enneagram? It's basically a personality test on how people are wired, both positively and negatively. Results are surprisingly accurate. The Enneagram isn’t just a personality inventory like Myers-Briggs. It’s a powerful tool for personal and spiritual growth that has many layers. The Enneagram is based on 9 personality types, but it's more than just the numbers. It is structured to determine not only your basic personality type (we are all born with a dominant type) but also factors in how as children we adapt to this personality type. There are many nuances to the Enneagram, like how healthy you are in your dominant personality trait or number and how your Wing factors in. Here are the 9 types: 1 ThePerfectionist is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and a perfectionist. 2 The Helperis generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive. 3 The Performer is adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-conscious 4 The Romantic is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental. 5 The Investigatoris perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated. 6 The Loyalist is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious. 7 The Enthusiast is spontaneous, versatile, acquisitive, and scattered. 8 The Challenger is self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational. 9 The Peacemaker is receptive, reassuring, complacent, and resigned. Here are a few basic assumptions of the Enneagram: 1. People do not change from one basic personality type to another. 2. The descriptions of the personality types are universal and apply equally to males and females, since no type is inherently masculine or feminine. 3. Not everything in the description of your basic type will apply to you all the time because you fluctuate constantly among the healthy, average, and unhealthy traits that make up your personality type. 4. The Enneagram uses numbers to designate each of the types because numbers are value neutral— they imply the whole range of attitudes and behaviors of each type without specifying anything either positive or negative. 5. The numerical ranking of the types is not significant. A larger number is no better than a smaller number; it is not better to be a Nine than a Two because nine is a bigger number. 6. No type is inherently better or worse than any other. The last is the most important factor to understand and overcome…when I tested using the Rheti, I initially didn’t like my number…. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE: - What is the Enneagram and how it can serve you personally and professionally - What the nine personality types are - How my Enneagram number shaped how I perceived myself in a new way - Why taking the test not only helps you, but helps you see see others in a different light LISTEN TO THE SHOW LINKS & RESOURCES Learn about The Enneagram Institute and purchase the test...

The field of art education is often overlooked as a viable career in most school counseling offices. Many college students aren't even aware that the profession exists. Today's guest, Kelsi Quicksall declared Communications as her major until a quiet suggestion from a loved one opened up a world of possibilities. Now into her second year teaching art, Kelsi has a passion for teaching, a love and connection to her students and a strong following on Instagram. She absolutely radiates positivity! Get to know Kelsi Quicksall! 1. Can you share how you got started as an art teacher? It took me entirely too long to realize that teaching art was a viable career option, and a super rewarding one! I always loved art and school. I considered myself an artist, took all of the art classes in high school... but for some reason, it wasn't portrayed to me as a realistic career. It wasn't until I found myself feeling out of place in my first major in college (Journalism) that I stumbled upon Art Education. Quite literally, too- I was in the car with my boyfriend at the time (now fiancé) after class, rambling about how I didn't know what I wanted to do with my future. He looked at me and my crazy outfit and said, "You know who you remind me of? Me elementary art teacher. You even dress like her. You ARE an art teacher!" After than, I made the switch to study Art Education and it all clicked. I graduated with a minor in Mass Communications (having started college in Journalism) and still enjoy media and writing, but mainly sharing on social media! 2. What do you feel is your best attribute or strength as an art teacher? My best attribute also is my worst... I have high expectations and goals for myself and my students, but I'm also a procrastinator. As a result of both, I work extremely hard at the last minute to put things together that meet my expectations. I hold my students to high expectations as well, and they create amazing work as a result! The downside of my "attribute"? Lack of time for anything else like eating, breathing, sleeping... just kidding, kind of. 3. What do you do well in the art room and how does this benefit your students? Get silly! I have been told I have a ton of energy. With minimal amounts of sleep, I don't feel like this is true, but I guess the coffee is doing it's thing. I find that when I am super enthusiastic and excited about something (a "new" art media, artist, technique, project, art show, etc) that energy is transferred to my students. I thrive off of their feedback. I use a microphone to enhance engagement- most would think it's for my students, but it's also for me. I love using that thing. I've been asked why I don't just use a hands free mic set (often provided by schools), and the answer is because I love holding the microphone and taking the "stage". I even have a second microphone for students- they are more likely to want to share with the mic! It really enhances engagement when we're analyzing artwork, sharing what they see/think/feel/wonder, or just what we've learned. If I notice that they're not excited, I know I need to make changes. If I ever feel like I'm "losing them", I immediately go for silly. Silly accents, songs, and call and responses really work for my students. As the great art educator Cassie Stephens always says, "silly sticks." It's so true! 4. Why do you feel teaching art to kids is important? Teaching art is so rewarding for both parties- my students and myself. Teaching is one of the most under-appreciated and underpaid professions, but that's not the challenge. The challenge is in the way teachers think and the time we spend thinking. Educators cannot simply "turn off" their brain. I now think of everything in life as a potential lesson, an art project, or teachable moment. That being said, teachers work hard. Countless unpaid hours planning lessons, money spent out of pocket on supplies, classroom improvements, rewards for kids...

Do you have a mantra? Something you say out loud before every class? I sort of did. My mantra of every child is somebody's baby was something I thought about before the students poked their heads inside the art room. But it never occurred to me to pick something to say loud and proud. Enter Sarah Krajewski, AKA Art Room Glitter Fairy. She created a mantra that is spoken before every one of her art classes. Sometimes with matching actions. Sometimes silently. But always with the students. Sarah shares her heart-felt strategies for connecting with her students in a very real way. You'll love Sarah's honest advice, her commitment to her own artistic pursuits and how she wins her art program. Make sure scroll down below to download Sarah's mantra poster! 1. What was your path/journey to becoming an art teacher. When I was in 2nd grade, I had a bet with my elementary best friend that I would become an art teacher before she would. Needless to say, I won that bet! I went to UW-Eau Claire for Art Education and have a music minor in percussion. My first teaching job was at Fontana School where I taught k-8 art for 4 years, and am now currently teaching k-5 art at Cambridge Elementary School. This is my 8th year teaching! 2. What do you feel is your best attribute or strength as an art teacher? I feel that one of my best attributes is making connections. These connections happen in lots of ways. Certainly, making connections with my artists is the first thing I focus on! It is very important to me that I have a strong relationship with each of my students! The longer I have been teaching, the more I have been realizing how important it is to make connections with working artists and businesses. For example, we have brought in a few visiting artists, and those connections for students have been huge! We also display art at local businesses or partner with them for our art show events. I also feel strongly about connecting with other art educators; we are such a strong team and can be such a great support to help each other! 3. What do you do well in the art room and how does this benefit your students? I set in place lots of positive affirmations that help drive our classroom atmosphere. For example, We have a classroom mantra that we recite at the beginning of each class. "My mantra. I am positive. I am creative. I am mindful. I am amazing. I am an artist." We also have a motivation board that changes quotes weekly. At the beginning of the year, we completed a collaborative garden collage that reminds us of our yearly motivational quote "Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds." All these reminders help students to know what kind of attitude we are practicing in the art room. 4. Why do you feel teaching art to kids is important? Kids need places to make mistakes. They need places to play, and get frustrated, and giggle, and get messy. The art room is the perfect place for this. More than anything, I feel that my role of teaching is to help kids figure out how to be good humans. We happen to practice this through art. So when they are having a good day and compliment a friend, that's a life skill. Or when they are frustrated and need to work through a problem, my role is to be there to help them and coach them. Art is a beautiful way to practice all these important skills! 5. What is one thing that you do well that can help other art teachers? I think a strength of mine is classroom management and organization. Obviously, days differ from each other, that's what keeps everything interesting! But, I do feel that the structure of our art room works well for students. Over the years, we have gained a lot of tricks! (Call and response, volume charts, our mantra, master painters, bean table rules, musical response with instruments, sketchbooks, early finishers) We have a good routine going and that helps our art room run smoothly.

One of the small details that often gets overlooked in the art room is whether or not to cover your art tables during art class. You might be wondering: What type of placemats work best? Should the whole table be covered in paper? Fabric? It took me a few years to figure out this placemat thing but when I did, it streamlined my prep and clean up substantially.Today's episode answers a question from Katie inside the Deep Space Sparkle Facebook Group. I thought it was such a great question, I decided to go a bit deeper, answering the WHY behind which placemat is best. Katie asks, Does anyone have an inexpensive way to make clay mats? My budget for the year has been used up, so I'm looking for out-of-pocket affordable solutions. Any cheap and quick ideas? I totally hear you, Katie! This episode is for you and all the art teachers who are wondering: - what type of placemats work best - when to use placemats - when NOT to use placemats - best mats for clay and ceramics Here's what other teachers had to say to Katie's question: Fiona CoulterI use the cheap but sturdy blue paper drop cloths from the hardware store. One side is more plastic and the other side more paper like. I use the plastic side for clay and the paper side for any painting and drape them over the entire table grouping (8) desks. Works like a charm and lasts a long time. Laurie O'Connell LongberryI use the plastic flexible cutting mats that you can get 3 for $1 at the dollar store. They last for years! Tina Leggs MalochI use a canvas drop cloth from Lowes and cut it into 10 x 12" pieces - I have been using the same ones for 9 years and they work great. I love the inexpensive version of using what I already have. At the beginning of the year, I would add an extra 50-100 sheets of 18" x 24" sulphite paper to my inventory order. This works out to be about $15. I found regular drawing paper works great for underneath most painting and coloring projects. At the end of the year, I would take the paint-splattered placemats and cut them into strips and shapes. These because extra media for collage and paper projects for the following year. For ceramic projects, I used basic paper as well as tablecloths but found that tightly woven canvas or indoor/outdoor fabric works best. I found some Sumbrella fabric at a rummage sale, cut the bolt into squares and used them for years. Easiest clean-up ever! WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: - How to start going "back to basics" in the art room and why this can be beneficial for you and your students - When and where not to use placemats in the classroom - What you can do to creatively reuse your paper placemats - What has, and hasn't, worked for me with this project LISTEN TO THE SHOW LINKS & RESOURCES Tru-Ray Sulphite 18" x 24" paper Watercolor Easter Eggs blog post You can visit Patty through Deep Space Sparkle on Facebook and Instagram Patty Palmer At Home Instagram Join the Sparklers Club waitlist HERE [email protected]

Are your students coming to class attentive, respectful and ready to learn? Or do you spend most of your time battling challenging students? No one wants to admit that there are days - maybe weeks - when the students wear you down so badly that you sink to a low point of frustration. I know I've been there. And believe me, there's no worse feeling than knowing you let down the students and yourself. Today's guest, Team Sparkle's own Amy Clay shares 4 powerful management strategies that will help you get your class back on track. Her years of being a sub empowered her to tackle classroom management head on. She shares her passion for being an art sub and ways you can ensure that any substitute teacher who walks into your art room is welcomed and ready to create art with your students. Make sure to download the free Art Substitute PDF. It's filled with helpful forms and worksheets that will allow you to feel confident during those unpredictable sick days. Amy Clay heads up the lesson development for Team Sparkle. She dreams, designs and creates the lessons that go into the art bundles inside our membership, The Sparklers Club. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: - How substitute teaching gave Amy insight into classroom management - Why setting expectations for your students and following through is crucial - How you can be fair with your students, a protector and an adult - How our Sparkler's Club Substitute Plan Bundle can help teachers prepare when needing a substitute - How to implement seating charts into your classroom - Where to start with creating a classroom management plan LISTEN TO THE SHOW LINKS & RESOURCES Download my free Art Substitute Information Binder by clicking the purple button below. Type in your name and email and we'll send it to you! Podcast mentioned in this episode: Classroom Management Strategies That Work For You: AME 088 How to Assess Student Artwork & Qualities of a Great Art Teacher: AME 003 You can visit Patty through Deep Space Sparkle on Facebook and Instagram Patty Palmer At Home Instagram Join the Sparklers Club waitlist HERE [email protected]