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.

Kindergarten Curriculum Outline

Check out this new edition to my TpT Store! Grades 1-4 coming soon.

Click here.

'I Can' Statements Download

Another TpT document available!

Previously in my room I used laminated pieces of paper to write my I Can statements for each grade level. It has become increasingly annoying to get up on the ladder to clean them, then re write based on the new project.

I have created 8.5x11 printable I Can statements for all my projects through out the school year. Most of these are very broad and can probably be used in your room. However, in the download I have included a word doc as well so the files can be edited!

FYI, the font I used is called 'throw your hands up in the air'.

Next is to print them, add the color coded border, laminate, and use for years to come!

To purchase this resource head on over to my TpT Store!

Artist Map Bulletin Board

In my art room I have the following bulletin board to use as a reference when I introduce a new artist to my students.

My students absolutely love it! They are often shouting out 'I can see him on the map, wow he's close/far!' It helps them make connections to the artists by seeing where they are from, when they lived, and what they look like.

The map is always growing as I add new lessons with new artists. Currently I have 15 different artist cards created (only 14 are hung up this year). If you would like to implement this map into your own classroom I have put the download file on my TpT.

My cards are also color coded by grade level learning about them. The colors are the same as the 'I Can' statements for each grade level. K-Yellow, 1-Orange, 2-Blue, 3-Green.

Some artists are discussed in more than one grade level, but I haven't figured out a great way to change the border color so it still appears cohesive. I'll figure it out eventually!

Freebie Weekly Planner

With my free time today I decided to make myself a planner. Last year I bought an Erin Condren planner but decided that it wasn't fully functional for myself as an art teacher - there were just too many extras. The two sections I used most often were the monthly calendars and weekly planning pages. The first part of my journey was to find a simple monthly calendar design that I liked.

 I found this gem by The Tomkat Studio.

Now that I had my starting point I decided to make a weekly planner that matched this design.

And here is what I came up with! I am a fan of the simplicity, especially if I will be printing this out MANY times. Click the preview images above to download these two pages if you would like to use my design for your own planner. Let me know what you think!