Moving update & classroom resources

What a crazy week it has been. It has felt like the longest and fastest week, all at the same time. In the last week I have reorganized the classroom, cleaned and purged it of countless old projects and randoms just laying around. I have started to create the resources and menus for the centers but have not finished those yet. As my supplies for the summer start to come in I start to organize them and figure out a way to make everything accessible.

I will start with the drawing center, disregard the chairs as they will be removed soon. I have made cubbies for all the supplies and will be labeling everything hopefully today. There are a variety of tools and resources including a "What do artists draw?" menu to help inspire their drawings. This is conveniently located next to the classroom library with an abundance of books. I ordered two books for this center, one about manga and the other about drawing what you see.

This was the first center I organized. The second was collage because that is what I will be opening second. 

I tried to keep this one simple because there is only one table and room for 5. I wanted to give them enough space to work and store all their materials. Under the table there are also bins for magazines and extra glue. I still have to make the glue sponge. Waiting to make a trip to Walmart to get a cheap sponge (and the other supplies I'm missing.) I included a "stash or trash" menu because I dont want teeny scraps hanging out in the bins that are unusable. Hopefully this will help with organization. 

This is my exit slip board. I found this calendar rolled up and no one was using it. The dates serve as spots for each class to put their post it note. (Which will be located on the collage table) I surrounded it with a variety of art works, all different, I hope that this board will also serve as inspiration and a discussion topic. After each Block I intend to photograph the board. This will help me keep track of my 500 kids, I hope. 

Today I am going to work on my ink station, printing and stamping, and imagination station resources. So far I am happy with the way my room is looking and how things are being organized. I ordered a bucket of ping pong balls for this cool critique approach. Each child picks a ball from the bucket and answers the question. I hope that it will also help facilitate the discussion process. Everyone who walks into my room comments on how large it looks now and that makes me happy because it has always felt stuffy to me. Also not having any built in storage has made it difficult but I'm a scrounger. I have found cabinets and shelving all around the building. 

Summer camp starts on Monday. I hope to post again tomorrow when most of my classroom is completely put together and (keeping my fingers crossed) my stools arrive. That will make me one happy art teacher. 

*SN: I'm having issues with wrapping my text around pictures. Any advice or comments are welcome. 

Happy Thursday everyone.