In the Art Room... #22-Back To School!!

I'm alive over here! I just  wrapped up the first 4 days of the school year. 

Here's a peek at what I've been up to and what my room looks like this year. I've been wearing dresses all week so I'm without pockets which means I'm without a camera. I will work on this next week!

Every teachers's thoughts on Labor Day! 

A shirt I made for our Superintendent's Day. I'm not a fan of hugs to begin with so belly rubs are definitely out. The message was well received and unwanted belly rubs were avoided. 

 

A few shots of the art room! It's huge, amazing and full of storage. 

We're continuing with the same job routine as last year. I reviewed jobs on the first day of art by making a rainbow kickoff project (pics coming soon!) 

Monthly jobs, printed, glued to construction paper and laminated. I use overhead markers to write the jobs on them. Dry erase are a huge pain to get off! You can get your own set of job charts, chair shapes and bin posters (below) over at my TeacherPayTeacher site. 

Supply bins are kept on the counter. No matter what I do and try these bins are distraction on the tables. Well, anything on the tables is a distraction really. 

Gave the bins another coat this summer. Spray painted pencils and a few scissors so everything coordinates now!

Front and backs of all the chairs are have a shape sticker. It's how I assign students to pick up and cleanup.

I moved my "I can" chart from the chalk board to a window. I can print statements or write with a dry erase marker now.

A sample of what we did this week. We are spending the first day of art making a piece for the school wide rainbow project. Every table is assigned a color, every grade a mini project. 4th graders worked collaboratively on a "pipe" project with table mates. I loved seeing them work together on this! And every student in grades 2-6 filled out a student info form on the iPads. This saves me countless hours of typing students names for my grade book and checklists (learn how to make your own form here).  I'll type the kindergarten and first grade names in. I use this kickoff project to review rules and jobs. You can get your own copy of my rules for free at teacherspayteachers.com!

Spent Labor Day upgrading seating charts and checking out my class lists. I use the Staples brand flags. They are super sticky and last from year to year. Plus they are colorful. It makes seating charts a little more exciting. Read more on why seating charts work and how to make your own here.

First day of school and there was NEW construction happening! Traffic was backed up quite a bit. Ugh. 

This book was in a giveaway pile for students. I couldn't help but laugh, email our faculty and contemplate a book study. 

Even though we had insane humidity I managed to walk the dog and squeeze in a run/walk (at 22 weeks pregnant) on Wednesday! My feet were killing me afterwards but I slept like a log. Hoping to get a run/walk in a few days a week for as long as I can. 

So there it is! The start to my tenth year of teaching!!! How did your week go?