Who Is Responsible for Cleaning Up Your Art Supplies

Today'due south episode is all about making cleanup piece of work in your classroom. Is information technology really possible to brand it enjoyable, easy and constructive? Cassie definitely says yes, and she talks nigh how to utilize call and response to speed upwards cleanup (4:30), how to make your cleanup anarchy free (7:00), and end class on a fun note (11:00). Cassie then dips into the mailbag to cover student pedagogy and closes the testify with her best tips on expectations and routines for cleanup. Total episode transcript below.

Resources and Links:

• Cassie continues to make awesome decorations for her own fine art room. Bank check out her blog post for the latest creation.
• This video shows how Cassie uses that gong in the fine art room
• This video talks about why the timer that Cassie mentioned is so important

Transcript

Some of you guys might know that I take a gong in my art room. That's gong with a One thousand, thank you very much. Information technology's our cleanup gong. It is a massive gong, 24-inch, and it is probably the coolest affair in my room, according to my students. I've been asked, "How did y'all get a gong in your art room?"

Well, it was a 10-yr wedding anniversary gift, my present. What? You guys didn't get one of those? Yeah, I'g pretty sure that's not the standard x-yr hymeneals anniversary gift, but it is if you are in my household. Anyway, I digress. Information technology is obviously the coolest affair in my room, and nosotros utilise it as a bespeak for cleanup.

Every bit you know, cleanup can be a little bit hairy, so imagine, if you volition, this scenario. I've got a room full of 25 first graders. Nosotros're late, as usual. Nosotros've been painting, and cleanup has become pandemonium. I have a pupil. She'due south standing at the gong. Her 1 and only task is to striking the gong, to signal to everybody else to stop and clean up, merely for some reason, she'due south frozen. She's property the mallet. She's continuing at the gong, and she's not hit the gong. It's only and then, that the classroom teacher walks in, and my administrator, to see, number one, why am I running late, as usual, and 2, what's all the chaos about?

That's when, from across the room, a little girl shouts, "Striking the bong! It's time to hit the bell!" to the frozen little girl at the gong with a M. It's and so, my admin turns to me and says, "Really, Stephens? Really?" This is Everyday Art Room, and I'm Cassie Stephens.

Today, we're going to talk most all things cleanup. Cleanup, as y'all know, is a really of import part of your art class, for a couple of reasons. Information technology can salvage your sanity, your art supplies, and information technology's how yous end your fine art class. You always want to stop your art course on a positive and upbeat annotation, not one where kids are yelling nigh hitting a bong and not cleaning your room upwards to your expectations.

Today, I'm going to share with you the Four F'south of Cleanup: How to Brand Sure that Your Cleanup is Fun, Fast, Chaos Complimentary, and has a Flow. I'yard going to share those four tips with you today and hope that it's something that you can accept back to your art room and ensure that your cleanup is fun, fast, anarchy gratuitous–there's my F; that's why I go on emphasizing gratis–and has a flow. Let's commencement at the beginning.

Before you lot can recollect virtually how y'all're going to innovate cleanup to your students, you need to put yourself in your students' shoes. Go sit at one of their tables, go a paper, get some paint, accept a piffling fun and create a painting, just relax. As you're sitting there working, think about how the art room looks, through your students' eyes. Then think most cleanup. Where will your students put their muddy brushes? Where volition your students put their painting? Do you lot take one drying rack or multiple ones, like I exercise? Where will you lot position that drying rack, so that it's easy for your students to become to, so there's not a bottleneck of children? How will they clean their easily–oh, my goodness!–the bane of our being? Once yous've actually sat down and thought those things through, so you'll be much improve prepared to introduce a cleanup routine that'due south fun, fast–say information technology with me–chaos complimentary, and has a flow. Let me share with you how my cleanup looks.

First of all, before my students even assemble up their supplies to showtime their projection, I practice call and response. Call and response, if you lot're not familiar, is when your students repeat after you. Believe information technology or non, I do this for every class, kindergarten through fourth grade, done it for years, so the kids know what to await. In lodge for me to become their attention, to remind them that they're nearly to repeat afterward me, I simply articulate my throat–ahem–and they know that whatever I'chiliad about to say, they are going to repeat.

I usually get through what our directions are for the twenty-four hours, what supplies they will be using, and I also cover cleanup. It might sound a little like this: "When I'yard finished," and then I pause for them to repeat, "I will take my paintbrush to the paintbrush hot tub." That's right. We have a tin full of water that we refer to every bit the paintbrush hot tub. I take found that the sillier yous make things, the more than they stick. Silly sticks, and then give that paintbrush hot tub a fancy proper noun, and they'll call back information technology.

Call and response really works for me in my fine art room, because it gets all of the children repeating with me and doing manus jives and mitt motions where they will exist cleaning upwardly. That'south one manner to make your cleanup a little faster. If your students know in advance what they are to do when they finish–and this really helps those early finishers–they don't have to come upwardly to y'all and enquire you, "Hey, where do I put my painting?" because they already know. If you lot can get a call and response going, or if y'all tin instill in your students where everything goes, before they even starting time working, that will make your cleanup a lot faster.

Now, let's talk most anarchy costless. Whew! Last yr, I had doubled up third and fourth grade classes. That means I was maxing out effectually 35 kids in my room, large kids, non the littles, and it could become really chaotic during cleanup. I hateful, I literally would jut stand up back and watch the chaos. I thought to myself, "Oh, it'southward fine. Information technology's because in that location's 35 of them. Information technology's supposed to await like this." No, y'all. Information technology doesn't take to look that manner. Let'southward talk near how to make your cleanup chaos gratuitous.

I have a time timer in my room, and I set it and so that it goes off almost vii minutes before nosotros are to leave, and that'southward our two-infinitesimal warning. About two minutes before cleanup, in an endeavor to endeavour to brand cleanup chaos free, when the timer goes off, all of my students are to become to level nix–that means they are silent–and I just cover where everything goes, i more time, with them, and I brand them help me with this. I'll say, "Delight point to where muddy paintbrushes go," and all arms swing toward the paintbrush hot tub. "Please signal to which drying rack yous will exist using. Please point to where aprons go. Please point to where baby wipes can be establish," if we're using them that 24-hour interval. That style, one more time, in merely a affair of seconds, all of my students sympathise where everything is going to become, and then in that location's no confusion and hopefully a little less chaos during cleanup.

Now, allow's talk about catamenia. Call up when I mentioned that you should sit down and create a painting? When yous're done with that painting, make sure, when you're putting things away, that there'south a flow, a flow of traffic. Think about yourself being like a crossing baby-sit or a person directing traffic. You want the traffic of your room to have a flow, to make sense. Last year, I had all of my drying racks–they're small and moveable–all in one identify, and it created a huge bottleneck of children getting to the drying rack. Somebody always concluded up dropping a painting or getting paint on them.

This year, I moved my drying racks in such a manner that they are at the ends of every long table where children sit down, so when they stand up, they're automatically in line to put their artwork on the correct drying rack. It simply took me 19 years to figure that one out, so I'm sharing information technology with you. I promise that little nugget helps yous out. Think about how you could have more of a catamenia, so it's not children going every which way. I even recently picked upwards, from the Dollar Tree, some of these reusable arrows that stick to the floor. That's been a great mode for me to visually share with my students my flow of traffic.

Now, last just not to the lowest degree is how to make cleanup fun. Okay, caryatid yourselves. I'one thousand going to tell y'all nearly the best thing always! Information technology is called the cleanup competition. Dum-dum-dah! Oh, my goodness! This is a hit. Let me tell you lot how this goes downwardly. I always option one student, who's working extremely difficult, to play the cleanup gong. The gong is played five minutes prior to cleanup. When the kids hear the cleanup gong, this is how the contest works. They are to clean up at level zero. That's correct, silent cleanup. The reason we do this is because it really cuts down on the chaos.

I noticed a lot of times when we were cleaning, there were a lot of conversations going on that didn't entail creating art and definitely didn't have annihilation to practise with cleanup, so forget virtually it. Go to silent cleanup. Equally the students are cleaning upwards, they are responsible for their own area.

I take yet to master the table jobs, so all of my students are responsible for cleaning after themselves. Yet, if they are finished cleaning up, and they accept friends at their tabular array who demand help, they are to step upwards and help them out, so all of the tables are working together. They're a team to get their tables tidy. The fashion the kids show me that they are completely finished cleaning up is they are to stand backside their pushed in chair, with a zero in the air, meaning they accept their hand up, and they're creating a cypher with their fingers. This is how their table shows me they are ready. Unremarkably, I try to emphasize that the best table gets all sorts of privileges. We don't know what they are, but they just go a lot of praise from me. Isn't that a privilege in itself?

Then I will usually cull one student, who'due south continuing exceptionally well, to be the cleanup contest approximate. I'll call that child to stand up right next to me, and I accept all of the kids–this is where the fun part comes in–exercise a drum coil on the back of their chair. Information technology's similar a thunder in my room, a roar of thunder, and the kids stop when the approximate makes the finish motion with their arm. One fashion to really ensure that they terminate is to tell them that the gauge is basing their choice upon who stops the fastest.

When the guess makes that motion with their arm, I make a big annunciation, like this, "And the winner of the cleanup competition is …" I pass it over to the judge. They denote the table, and then there's an eruption of an adulation, and that tabular array gets to line upward, at level zilch. Ah, and that'southward how we exercise cleanup. It'south fun. It'due south fast. It's chaos free, equally much as cleanup in the art room can be, and in that location's a flow.

I promise that those tips have helped you. I hope that you can add together them to your already awesome cleanup routine to make it even more than awesomer. Thanks for letting me share that with you guys. Information technology was fun.

Tim: How-do-you-do. This is Tim Bogatz from Art Ed Radio. I wanted to let you know again about Art Ed PRO, the essential subscription service for professional person art teachers. PRO members get instant access to a comprehensive, on-demand library, filled with hundreds of practiced trainings, hands-on tutorials, and rich printable resource. It is the professional person evolution you need when you demand it. With topics ranging from assessment to classroom management to literacy and budgeting, Fine art Ed PRO has what you lot need to be the best teacher you can exist. Bank check it out and start your free trial at artedpro.com. Now, let'southward become dorsum to the show, as Cassie opens upwardly the mailbag.

Cassie: Now it'southward time to accept a little dip into the mailbag. This question comes from Robin. Robin asks, "Practice you accept whatever wise words of communication to share well-nigh student teaching or pedagogy in full general?"

Whew! That'south a big one, Robin. I think I tin can aid you lot out in a couple of brusk tips, but that actually sounds similar an episode of Everyday Art Room, if I'm going to be honest, but let me see if I tin can assistance you out. I merely jotted down a couple of my tips, words of advice that I would give somebody, who's venturing into their showtime year of didactics or educatee teaching. Male child, that question brought back a lot of memories.

Beginning of all, biggest and nearly important, is please be on fourth dimension or, better yet, be early on. I remember when I was pupil teaching, I always made sure to get there before my cooperating teacher. I was overwhelmed, anxious, had a lot of things that I felt like I needed to do, and just getting there early on and really having a little bit of time to myself was wonderful. I accept had cooperating teachers in my room, non my student teachers but visitors to my fine art room, who've been late before, who've been no-phone call no-shows, and I can tell you, before I even met that person, I had already formed an stance of them. Leave your house early on. Give yourself enough of time. Brand sure everything's ready to go, and so yous're not feeling scattered and rushed and flustered, and quite possibly could become into a car blow on your way. That is my biggest, number one tip: Be on time.

Of course, another tip I would offer is to go out and meet the other teachers. Believe it or not, I'm really kind of shy. I don't enjoy meeting people that I don't know. It kind of freaks me out. It's something that I work on all the time. My advice would be that you need to practice that, though. You need to leave of your art room and come across other people. Introduce yourself, share ideas, collaborate. That being said, don't be a doormat, significant don't open up your fine art room to art supply giveaway. Retrieve, you are non a craft store, and teachers demand to know that, besides, and you don't want to be taken reward of. Next affair you lot know, you're making posters for everybody on the planet. You need to brand certain that, despite getting out and making new friends, you aren't taken reward of, and neither is your fine art room.

That was a great question, Robin, and, similar I said, i that I think I need to explore more in an upcoming podcast. Practice you lot accept a question for the mailbag? Please feel complimentary to e-mail me at everydayartroom@theartofed.com. I would honey to hear from you lot.

Information technology'south been a blast sharing with you guys cleanup. Who knew cleanup could be a blast, but why non make information technology that way? Remember, by a blast, I don't mean that it needs to be chaotic. Let's talk virtually it. Call up, you can brand your cleanup fast by doing a call and response at the offset of class. That manner all of the kids understand all of your expectations for cleanup.

Y'all can besides make information technology chaos complimentary. Ii minutes before cleanup, have your students point out where they're going to place everything. That way, when it's time for cleanup, nobody's request questions. Everybody knows what to do.

Also, think most your traffic flow. Y'all want to make sure that your cleanup makes sense, so all of your kids are moving in a rhythm and not scattered all over the place, walking from one end of your room to the other. Think about your menstruation.

Then, terminal simply not least, get in fun. Why not? Give my cleanup contest game a try. I would love to hear from yous if you do. Retrieve, it'southward easy, merely to win, they accept to clean up at level nix. Everybody is responsible for their own area, and, when they're finished, they help buddies tidy their table, standing backside their pushed in chair with a nil in the air, and so pick a person to decide who the winners of the cleanup contest are. Of course, tie in what already works for yous. Don't throw that out the window. You lot guys, have an crawly fourth dimension teaching art. This is Cassie Stephens, and this is Everyday Art Room.

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Fine art of Education Academy (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors utilize terms in the way they are most often talked about in the telescopic of their educational experiences.

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Source: https://theartofeducation.edu/podcasts/cleanup-ep-005/

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