Organizing Art Ideas
Pinterest is now my organizing tool of choice for all curriculum ideas. I have a board dedicated just to art, but I tend to add more art pins to my Unit studies boards. This makes it easier to decide when to use a particular activity.
But before Pinterest, I had binders and files. I still use a few binders. Here are my main ones:
(Sadly they’re not all snazzy and coordinated like those of other teacher bloggers!)
1. Templates
Templates are shapes that can be used in a variety of different art or craft activities such as cutting, pin-punching, sewing cards, etc. Last summer I decided to alphabetize all my art templates and pop them into a binder. I have found this to be pretty useful so far, but I am moving towards storing these templates in the appropriate Unit Studies or Seasonal storage boxes.
I find page protectors extremely useful. I’m experimenting with keeping extra copies right there with the master. It’s been working well so far.
2. Art Masters
I have another binder with other kinds of masters that we use in the art area.
3. Project Samples
A binder with samples of every project that we’ve had in the class is a handy tool. However now that I’ve started taking pictures of everything, I think I will phase this out soon.
4. Art Album
My art album contains all the resources and activities I received during Montessori training.
5. Trillium Art Album
Now this is something I would love to complete some day. I’ve been wanting for years to put together my own art curriculum with all my favorite activities in just the right sequence. Ah. Until then, there’s a binder with an outline.
Oh and here are some of my favorite art curriculum books for the Montessori primary classroom:
Okay, now on with the art STUFF!
Art Supplies Storage Cabinets
Just Throw Stuff Away Already
This year I didn’t have to overhaul my art storage setup. I guess that means it worked pretty well! I just had to do a little bit of tidying up this summer and now we’re good to go for the Fall, yay!
Keeping the gallon paint bottles with pumps in the bottom drawer makes it very easy to refill paint pots. This is a task that children can take on as part of their Practical Life work.
(Notice the toilet paper rolls for sorting the markers…? Thank you Pinterest!)
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Seemi holds a Master's degree in education, and an AMS Early Childhood credential. She has twenty years of experience in Montessori as a teacher, school administrator, and school owner. She is the founder of TrilliumMontessori.org.