Next week I start working an extra day per week at a tiny little country school without an art room. If anyone has any helpful advice about being a travelling art teacher I would love to hear it!
I find that cheap plastic table cloths help for working on. You can move them anywhere, sit under trees or pull them inside quickly. Its fun and easily deals with mess. I hope this helps. I really love reading your blog. :)
Anne, It has been years since I was without an art room, but my big thing was to never let it stop me from whatever I would have done if I had a room. I brought buckets to tote water, and carefully planned materials ahead of time so I wasn't caught without. Have a plan for dealing with cleanup, and don't resort to only pencil-and-paper projects to avoid messes. Kids need the opportunity to use the same variety of materials they'd use if there was an art room for them. They'll love you for it!
Is there anywhere you could create a drying line? I find that often my student's work fares worse on a drying rack as the other children toss theirs on top. Clothes peg your artwork until dry and then, like me, you could sneak it under a stack of someone else's never used books... good luck, Liz in the UK
Label Label Label! I spent last year without a room...and my classrooms have carpet. No fun! But I have learned a lot. Keep everything assorted in my cart by grade. I am lucky to have rolling drying racks. and I supervise the adding of work to avoid overlapping. Then I attach a card with a ring to id which class. I make name cards to place with each artwork when I photograph it. Then the student name is with the picture and all of the work can stay in the classroom and not piled high in my "office". I also have "mats" that students place under their art work on the desks when we are using bleed through materials! Email me if you would like! :)
I find that cheap plastic table cloths help for working on. You can move them anywhere, sit under trees or pull them inside quickly. Its fun and easily deals with mess. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteI really love reading your blog. :)
Aha! First good tip. Thanks Jen, and thanks for reading. Yay :)
ReplyDeleteAnne, It has been years since I was without an art room, but my big thing was to never let it stop me from whatever I would have done if I had a room. I brought buckets to tote water, and carefully planned materials ahead of time so I wasn't caught without. Have a plan for dealing with cleanup, and don't resort to only pencil-and-paper projects to avoid messes. Kids need the opportunity to use the same variety of materials they'd use if there was an art room for them. They'll love you for it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phyl. That's the plan. I'm worried about how to safely dry and store kids work without an art room.
ReplyDeleteIs there anywhere you could create a drying line? I find that often my student's work fares worse on a drying rack as the other children toss theirs on top. Clothes peg your artwork until dry and then, like me, you could sneak it under a stack of someone else's never used books... good luck, Liz in the UK
ReplyDeleteLabel Label Label! I spent last year without a room...and my classrooms have carpet. No fun!
ReplyDeleteBut I have learned a lot. Keep everything assorted in my cart by grade. I am lucky to have rolling drying racks. and I supervise the adding of work to avoid overlapping. Then I attach a card with a ring to id which class.
I make name cards to place with each artwork when I photograph it. Then the student name is with the picture and all of the work can stay in the classroom and not piled high in my "office". I also have "mats" that students place under their art work on the desks when we are using bleed through materials! Email me if you would like! :)