Second Semester

The second semester of the 2015-2016 school year is almost upon us.  Let me tell you, my friends, I am so ready for a do over!  This first semester has been a difficult one, for reasons unknown to me.  Sometimes, I suppose things can be rough and we might not even know why.  On a daily basis. Every. Single. Day.

One of the great things about being a middle school art teacher is the chance to start over with a fresh batch of kids not long after the new year begins.  Usually, I will take my first semester and change a few things up but for the most part, I'll repeat all the projects I did in the first half of the year.  Not this year.  Not at all.  While some of the projects that I did were tried and true and pulled out of my magic bag of tricks I just haven't been thrilled enough with any of them to do them again in the second semester.  That being said, I do have a plan.  In an amazing move that has surprised even yours truly, I have planned all my lessons out, even to the point of having a lesson plan written for every project until state testing starts in the beginning of June.  IKR?

I even redid my art newsletter that I send home in the beginning of each semester.

Here it is.

I'd love to know: If you are on semesters and have a whole new crop of students the second half of the year, do you do the same things or switch things up?  Does the weather play a role in the projects that you do?  Does state testing interrupt your routine?

So tell the truth, who is looking forward to Spring Break already? 

Ah, NC beaches are the best!

Helpful hints

While we try to take care in the Art Room, accidents do sometimes happen. Here is a great site that has some great cleaning tips.  We've been painting a lot this year and even MizzSmiff has had a couple of accidents.

For smaller stains, I have a couple of tubes of Kiss Off in my desk that work pretty well.

Do you have any great solutions to art room accidents?