May 1, 2011

Year End Organization Week!!

Let’s get organized together to wrap up the school year with ease! Sometimes the little things you do will make a world of difference as the crazy-busy time of May begins and the school year winds down. Of course, teaching and learning still go on until the last day of school, however, there are many things that can be done well before that last day to ensure you are confident to leave your room clean and fresh, so you can enjoy your summer.

Between ordering for next year, getting your room organized and ready for summer cleaning and dealing with looming end of term grades, there sure can be a lot to do, and it can be overwhelming. This week I will be doing a series on helping you to break down all the tasks that are necessary for wrapping up a school year, so you can start next year with an organzed room and piece of mind. Coming up this week:

How to file your lessons to be sure you’ll find them next year
Tidying up and organizing your room
How to keep the students engaged though the very last day, even as the summer winds bring warmer temps and squirmy kids
Finishing up your grades with time to spare!
Preparing for next year’s ordering and supplies

Join me this week on AOE!

These are conversations you won’t want to miss!

Pssttt… As the year winds down, think about what Art of Education Classes you may want to take this summer- Less than a month until Blogging for Art Educators begins in June. Maybe you’ve admired blogs and always wanted to start your own- Now you can get graduate credit to do so! Why wait? See what everyone is saying about PD with AOE.

Maria

Year end is a great time to reflect on better ordering, better classroom management and my biggy is the Year at a glance plans I create for the following school year. I would love to see ideas, strategies and even templates from others of us out there.I look forward to your tips Jessica!
Suann

I am so looking forward to this! My school is remodeling this summer. So I have to have EVERYTHING packed that is in my classroom and store room. By the last day of school. And still keep teaching. It will be worth it in the end to have new ceiling, lights, floor, cabinetry and sinks. But right now I am hyperventilating try to figure out how to sort and organize it all. Looking forward to any tips others will share.
http://findingartinthemiddle.blogspot.com Kari

Can’t wait to read what tips you have on end of year organizing! Last year I procrastinated right up until the last minute (I didn’t want to teach in a room that was all packed up) and I was still dealing with it in October. Hoping to avoid that this year!

findingartinthemiddle.blogspot.com
http://mastwayartprogram.shutterfly.com/ Deb Hastings

Hi Everyone,
One idea I use for the squirmy kids during the last week is to give out raffle tickets. I call it “hard work pays off” week, and try to do it the week before every vacation, when it’s tougher for all of us to muster our best efforts. I hand out actual tickets (like those from a carnival) and have them write their name and class on the ticket and put it in a large glass jar. They can earn more than one, but often it takes a lot of time to just try to catch as many kids as possible once. The first few days I have a student pull a ticket out of the jar at the end of the day. The winner can pick anything they want from the “Art Loot Box” (sample packs, magnets with famous artwork on it, bookmarks with artwork on it, artist pencils, etc.). If your name wasn’t picked, it stays in there for the each new drawing. Towards the end of the week I up the chances and have more drawings, maybe one at the end of each class on Friday. It is amazing how it helps keep me positive and the kids focused.
- http://theartofeducation.wordpress.com Jessica Balsley
  
  Cool idea, Deb, thanks for chiming in! I am sure people will find this helpful!