Part 1: Art Supports.

Hi ho, Miss French Fry here.  In an earlier post here, I mentioned that I would like to delve a little more into some of the behavior management and supports I use in my Art Room.  So, here goes.

Before working as an Art Teacher, I spent four years working as a Special Education Teacher, specializing in students with emotional and behavioral disabilities.  These poor kids have gone through so much in their little lives and come to school with some serious baggage.  In my current position, my school has a large population of students with special needs, and my background in Sped. has certainly been beneficial.  Here's why I love teaching Art: ALL of my students "get" it.  Art provides my students with special needs an opportunity to shine, work on their fine motor and gross motor skills, and  develop their self-efficacy.  The Art Room is THE place where individuality and uniqueness are welcomed.

Let's get down to the visuals!

I am a big fan of homemade posters and my room is chock full of them, all of which have a purpose.  For example, children coming to Art feeling anxious and wondering what's on the agenda for the Art day, can check the  "What Are We Doing Today?" board before getting down to business.

The magnets below are laminated magnetic photos I created and use on my whiteboard with every lesson, so that students can check on supplies needed for projects.  My students are very diligent about checking the magnets and if I ever forget to update them, they are quick to remind me!

I use the Yacker Tracker below (occasionally) to monitor voice volume for the classes that contain some Chatty Kathys or Chatty Charlies.  I try not to overuse it, and regularly use music to maintain appropriate voice volume in the Art Room.  I am a big fan of Pandora's John Williams station (go Star Wars, go)!

Below are my sink signs I created with the help of miniature versions of Andy Warhol's banana print.

 

Drying rack reminder...

No matter what age the student is, I ALWAYS have at least 2-3 kids ask me where their wet paintings should go when they finish.  Really kid? You think I want your wet painting?  I am trying to problem-solve a solution and will be sharing it soon.

And, to those of you that are teachers, Happy Well-Deserved Winter Break! To those of you that aren't teachers, sorry you don't get 2 weeks off.  Just one more reason teaching truly rocks.