1. Sloppy Shirts
These are overstocked t-shirts from an arts festival on our campus. We put them over our clothes when we paint. The best thing is that because these are fabric, they are absorbent so sneaky paint from other classes' activities won't get on clothing for the next group (a big problem with plastic smocks). A word about germ concerns: The shirts are sprayed down with disinfecting spray in a large garbage bag between groups and are laundered at school whenever possible. We only use sloppy shirts when working with liquid tempera and acrylics or printing ink.
My tables are close together in clusters of two. I figured that I could place portable drying racks between the tables so students can put their wet work away on their own without having to walk it across the classroom. This system even works for pre-K and I LOVE it!
3. Newspapers
I know this one is kind of a no-brainer, but newspapers on the table make clean up a snap. I fold the paper up and can actually save it for the next day. Most of the time, it doesn't even stick to itself. I instruct the students to avoid painting the newspaper, and it generally works out great.
I wash them myself and spray with Lysol between groups in the interim.
ReplyDeleteI was curios...my Principal hadme to get rid of
ReplyDeletemine...which I washed every week and kept in
Good order she just though it would head off any trouble
I require all my students to have an "art shirt" - I send a letter home every fall, and the kids know the rule. Between tempera, acrylic, oil pastels, watercolors, papier-mache, clay, glue, etc, there's more times we need them than not. The kids store them in their cubbies in their classrooms. This way I don't have to worry about stuff like germs and head lice (ick). They usually bring them home to wash them at vacation time. I have a few emergency spares in my room but I like the kids to learn to be responsible to have their own, plus then I'm not stuck washing them all the time. Even my 6th graders still wear them!
ReplyDeleteThat is so smart, Phyl! I actually tried that at our school but we are a higher poverty school and a lot of the parents did not send an art shirt for their child. We had smocks, but they would invariably destroy someone's clothing within minutes of being used. I am going to try again to get the students bringing their own art shirts next year...so much easier!
ReplyDelete