Hey ya'll! It's Gabrielle from Teaching Special Thinkers! I am in my fourth year of teaching special education (2 years resource and currently in an autism classroom). I love anything that involves crafting and organization, and today I want to share about my favorite way to set up my art centers. In my autism classroom, my students need a lot of visuals to get through the day. A lot of them have difficulty processing a lot of verbal language at a time, so pictures are more to the point for them. Art time used to be a nightmare in my class. I had too many different levels and not enough structure to help them get through an activity independently.
I love how many different skills an art activity can cover - attributes, following directions, cutting, fine motor, etc. In our classroom, we complete one art activity per day. These activities are prepped ahead of time and organized in bins for the week. Students use picture directions to complete the projects as independently as possible - hence, it's their work, not ours (you know what I'm talking about).
I struggle with being a perfectionist daily. So when it comes to completing an art activity with a student, it can be suuuuper hard for me to step back and try to let them do it independently - even if they aren't putting the pieces EXACTLY where they are supposed to go. This is such an important skill though and it gives our students ownership over their artwork. Above is a picture of how I set up our "craft" station. I have bins labeled with the days of the week, and we make sure we are prepped a week ahead of time so here is no scrambling in the morning before the students arrive. If we are able to prep more activities than the week entails, we just store them in a binder to pull for the following week (see photo below).
I hang up the craft of the day for the students to view and pull the bin with all the supplies needed. The step-by-step picture directions are hanging beside the art activity for students to use while they complete their project.
I include everything needed for the activity in the bin. So when the students have this center, they know exactly what to do without adult help. It's magical!
Today through the weekend I'm doing a Rafflecopter giveaway of my Spring Easy Art Pack. Included in this pack are 16 adorable crafts you can use with a writing activity or solo for some fine motor and independent following direction fun! Enter below!
My art activities are kind of scattered in different places. I am trying to find something that works best for me.
ReplyDeleteWell, not near as good as you have done with organizing my art supplies! My supplies are in several places in the room....goal is to have them all organized but since I had to move rooms this past year, I did good to get it all in! LOL thanks for the ideas though!
ReplyDeleteDepending on the project, my assistants do the set-up and any pre-cutting needed needed at the art table. They usually just work with 2-3 students at a time as part of a rotation.
ReplyDeleteI use my table in the back of the classroom to set up for my craft. I have all the pieces needed or printed out, and placed in the order that we need to cut/glue/assemble the craft. I either pass out the materials or I have my table captains do it.
ReplyDeleteI use my table in the back of the classroom to set up for my craft. I have all the pieces needed or printed out, and placed in the order that we need to cut/glue/assemble the craft. I either pass out the materials or I have my table captains do it.
ReplyDeleteMy art supplies are all located in one area which makes finding them easy. :) However, finding enough time to actually use them is the problem :(
ReplyDeleteMy answer is: Not well! I have stuff all over my room and am always searching for what I need. Sounds like a goal I should set for next year!
ReplyDeleteI have a table that I put my art supplies on while we are having art. I also have a nice big closet that I can store all of my art supplies in when I am not using them.
ReplyDeleteI have short bookshelves that separate the carpeting and tile. I store the art supplies on the other side of the bookshelves and in cabinets.
ReplyDeleteI have a few areas in my room for art supplies and they stay pretty organized, thanks to my wonderful paraprofessional. When we prep for an art project, my para puts all of the materials into a ziploc bag so all of the pieces stay together. When we are finished, the bag goes into a corresponding folder based on the theme. It seems to work...most of the time.
ReplyDeleteI don't do a lot of art activities in my room (I teach special education) but when I do, I try to lay out each step separately which keeps the materials organized and my students organized as they have tremendous difficulty following multi-step directions and organizing materials.
ReplyDeleteMason jars are a great way to organize supplies such as crayons and markers - shaunie on rafflecopter
ReplyDeleteI love putting all the pieces to a project in a ziplock bag or plastic container w a lid, including a sample.
ReplyDeleteWhat cute ideas for spring art!
ReplyDeleteI keep my art supplies in 2 places: labeled bins on a shelf above the cubbies and also in a Sterilite 3 drawer rolling cart. Love these crafts!
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