Art Show Must-Haves

Displaying a TON of student art work can be overwhelming, but I have found some tricks along the way that make the process a little less daunting. With our Art Show happening in just two days, I thought I'd share some photos of my Art Show Prep Must-Haves. 

First, I am a person who loves PILES! If you ask me, piles are a perfectly good organizational strategy if you label them like this!

Piles = bad         Labelled Piles = AWESOME!

And without a long reach stapler, the Art Show could not happen! Well, that may be an exaggeration, but it sure makes things easier.

Long-Range Stapler

Another great invention, if I do say so myself, is my "Tape Donut Station"! I use three self-healing cutting mats and when kids are done early with a project or don't want to go outside for recess, they make oodles and oodles of "tape donuts" and stick them to these mats. It makes the tape easy to use and PORTABLE! I can put up the entire Art Show and then walk around and just add tape where it is needed.

Tape Donut Station

I bought the next item at our school's "Books Are Fun" display in our teacher's lounge thinking, "This might come in handy some day." I had NO IDEA how great it would work for the Art Show! As a student pointed out last week, it's like an "Art Show On the Go", which is so true. I can use it at school, at home, it folds up to fit in my school bag, and it holds everything I need to keep the logistics of the show in one place. It's called a WonderFile and I think they were originally an "As Seen on TV" item.

Art Show On-the-Go

The last three things that are crucial to Art Show success are mine and mine alone. You can't buy them in stores or online, but if you're lucky you already have something like it in your life. 

Family.

My family is so supportive of all my school craziness and help out with whatever I need, whenever I need it. My kiddos actually spent SEVEN straight hours with me, at school, during spring break, helping me staple and tape everything. They did have some TV/iPod/snack time, but they earned it! 

And my hubby rearranges his own work craziness to accommodate mine. I'm a lucky wife and mama, which allows me to be a great teacher!

I love our all-school Art Show - it is one of my favorite days of the year! It's a lot of work, but its worth every staple, tape donut and name tag. And I can't wait to see my students' faces when they see our school transformed into a celebration of all their hard work and talent!

~Amy

Teachers Don't Work in the Summer

WHAT?!?

I had a great conversation with my kiddos in the car today. (Isn't that where some of the best ones happen??)

I asked them if they thought teachers work in the summer and, very quickly, in unison, they said “No!” I was shocked! This summer, they've come with me to my classroom each week to pick up/drop off supplies, they've helped me make some new decorations for the art room, they have been with me at Target when we bought new bins for school, and I thought they noticed all the time I've been spending on the computer working on "school stuff."  But they didn't know that teachers work in the summer?!

After I got over my initial shock, I thought about it all a bit more. I love the planning that goes into my lessons, my management system and the organization of my art room. And I feel so lucky that I have a few weeks to catch my breath and really reflect on what has worked in my room and what needs tweaking. And who are we kidding? I don't spend all this time on those things so my students NOTICE the new scrap paper bins and color-coded labels! I do it so that my room is colorful, welcoming and runs efficiently.

And because I love the planning, organizing and creating lessons, my own kiddos don't see what I do in the summer as "work”. I now see that as the biggest compliment!  They will grow up thinking that work can be enjoyable, can be creative and flexible, and that they can have a career, a family, and anything else that they work hard for.  I can't think of a better message!