10 supportive tools in the early childhood education setting:
art classroom
BOOKS
Books are a great support in the art classroom. I have used some this past year and helped understand complex art concepts for the early year and elementary students. It is easy to connect bigger topics to pieces of art. The students find the visual and recitation helpful to understand concepts. The students love interacting with books as well.
FLOOR TAPE
Designated area for carpet time. I call the floor tape "imaginary carpet"
CLASSROOM PALETTE - CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
The classroom palette helps reinforce positive and responsible behavior in the classroom. When the class collectively meets each point, they score a paint swatch on the palette. When the class earns all five colors in one class, their homeroom teacher gives them two points in their Class Dojo.
Art Lessons & Resources for Home & School. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://createartwithme.com/.
ART JOBS
Art jobs are vital in the art classroom. The students love taking up responsibility and feeling like they contribute to the positive environment in the classroom. The jobs are as follows:
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Table Captain
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Supply Steward
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Volume Patrol
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Sponge Crew
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Clean up monitor
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Floor monitor
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Chair checker
PILLOW STATION
This section of the classroom is for after artwork and clean-up wind down. They are placed on the rugs so that the students can sit comfortably and cuddle the pillows if that’s what they wish to do. I believe in reinforcing that learning is a comfortable space where we challenge ourselves to try out something new.
CLASSROOM NORMS
Classroom norms are created by students and facilitated by teachers. In the art room, students have the option to adjust their norms at the beginning of every project, gauging what is needed out of them as a class individually and collectively. Norms are created by the students, however, there are some classroom rules I would like the students to follow. They are as below:
VOICE-O-METER
I use voice-o-meter in my classroom to remind students what meter we are currently on. This is great for those classes that are generally louder than others. Not all classes require voice-o-meter but it’s great to have it handy and let the students know what the expectations are at the beginning of the class. I’ve also used it as a motivational tool for those loud classes where, say, if we are quiet for 5 mins, we will move from 0: Silence Ninja Mode to 1: Whisper Spy Talk.
STORAGE
Age-appropriate and safe storage spaces are needed in the classroom. These are places where the students can interact with and reach for building blocks and art supplies. Whenever organizing your classroom, you always want to put yourselves in your students’ feet and see how they would interact with space. The art class should be a positive and engaging experience for them.
SINGING BOWLS
I use singing bowls at the beginning of the class to get students’ attention; this is especially useful when the students have come to the art class after a break or lunchtime. We begin our classroom by being mindful of our breathing and stillness of our bodies. The students love the sound of the singing bowl and it recenters all of us to focus on what to do next.
IB PROFILE ATTRIBUTES
IB Profile attributes posters are good to have in the classroom as we go over what type of IB profile suits us best, and it might vary from day to day or some students are natural risk-takers, where others are principled.