Watercolor Center

In my elementary art room watercolors are a staple. We use them all the time, so I have a counter dedicated in my room to the watercolor center.

It has always been a challenge to get the students to clean up their tray the way I want, so I created this poster as a guide! 

Not only does this show how I expect the trays to look at clean up, but it also reminds my students of the few watercolor rules I am constantly going over.

Here is a little more information about how I set up my watercolor center:

I started with these 6 trays, one for each table in my room.

On each tray I put some paper towel so students can blot off extra water.

In the middle of the tray is a large bucket. I have the old round tubs that Crayola Model Magic used to come in

- similar to what is pictured below-

but any large, sturdy plastic container will do. Another great choice is Folger's coffee containers.

On one side of the bucket I have four brushes, one for each student at the table.

On the other side are the two watercolor trays.

In my room they have to share the paint tray with the person sitting next to them.

This helped me cut down the initial cost of buying all of the 16 count sets. I couldn't stand the basic 8 colors - not enough variety for how often we use these!

Now I just buy the refills and have even rearranged the colors to be in rainbow order to help my younger grade levels find what they need.

Don't forget to complete your watercolor center with your very own rules poster! Download your own copy for FREE here.