Everyday Art Room

There are so many ideas out there about the best ways to teach painting and organize the supplies in your art room. Cassie has decided to put all of her ideas on the topic into a single episode. Listen as she talks about her favorite supplies, her best management strategies, and sprinkles some of her best tips and tricks throughout the episode.

• This Episode's Corresponding Blog Post
• More About Painting and Weaving
• Routines for Painting Days
• 7 Paint Routines You'll Never Regret Teaching

No matter how long you have been teaching, there are still areas of instruction that can make you apprehensive. So what are those weak spots, and how do you deal with them? Join Cassie in this episode as she discusses teaching clay with no kiln or ceramics experience, dealing with the expectations of your colleagues, and how to begin teaching in areas outside of your comfort zone.

• Finding the Confidence to be Yourself
• AOE's Studio: Ceramics Course
• All of AOE's Courses
• When You Aren't Comfortable with Content

Most teachers are feeling the excitement of coming back to a new school year, but what if that isn't the case? What if you're losing your passion? Cassie wants you to know that you're not alone, and in this episode, she discusses how to combat those feelings. She talks about paying attention to how you feel about the new school year (4:00), ideas on how to take care of yourself (7:30), and trying new and creative ways to teach your old projects (14:00).

• How to Move on From Burnout
• Dealing with Burnout and Exhaustion
• Why It's Okay to be Tired of Teaching
• 3 Simple Ways to Fight Burnout

The art teacher life is a difficult one, and it can get overwhelming very quickly. Cassie uses this episode to share a new list of her favorite hacks for the art room–each of which can help make life easier in your classroom. Listen as she reviews her previous list of hacks (1:30), dives into her new--and extensive--list of hacks (7:00), and the power of colored duct tape (15:00).

• Cassie's Previous Episode on Art Teacher Hacks
• 8 Art Room Hacks to Make Your Teaching Life Easier
• 10 Storage Hacks for the Art Room
• Where to Look for the Best Art Room Hacks

Classroom management plans--in particular schoolwide plans--often fail to take into account the needs of the art room. So how do we deal with that issue? Cassie has some ideas, including her happy/sad board (5:45), how she deals with noise levels (11:30), and how to hold students accountable for individual behaviors (14:30).

• A Look Inside Cassie's First Day
• The Science Behind a Quiet Kindergarten Room
• Finding a Management System That Works for You
• The When, How, and Why of Art Room Consequences

It is back to school time, and after 20 years, Cassie might finally have all the answers. Okay, probably not. But she does share some of her best practices for the beginning of the year, the first routines she teaches (4:45), why she uses video to reinforce some of the most important ideas (9:15), and how she establishes a collaborative culture in her art room (15:00).

• 5 Ways to Make Art the First Day of School
• A Winning Game for the First Day of School
• 50+ Back to School Ideas
• Cassie's Video for the Smartest Artists

It's back to school time, which means it's time for PD as well. But what if you are the one in charge of your school's PD? Cassie has some advice and some plans for you, including why it can be intimidating presenting in front of your colleagues (7:00), how to find and focus on your 'why' (10:45), and how to deal with the pushback that you might get when you guide people out of their comfort zones (16:30).

• Leading Professional Development
• Art Workshop for Kids
• Cassie's YouTube Channel

Cassie is not a fan of evaluations, and she is ready to tell you all the reasons why. Listen to her experiences and opinions as she talks about the cyclical nature of teacher evaluations over the years (7:45), how she handles evaluation scores and discussions with her administration (11:30), and then gives some suggestions as to better ways to improve yourself as a teacher (14:00).

• Making Teacher Evaluations Work for You
• The Quest for a Fair Teacher Evaluation Model
• Preparing for Evaluations and Observations
• How to Handle an Observation Gone Wrong

One of the toughest things to do as an art teacher is to find exactly where you belong and discover how to make meaningful connections with your colleagues. In this episode, Cassie discusses her own story and her own feelings of isolation (5:15), the importance of connecting with other teachers (7:30), and suggestions for stepping out of your room and making time for other people in your building (12:00).

• The Importance of Personal Connections
• Stay Connected with Your Arts Communities!
• Why Summer is the Perfect Time for PD

It can be difficult to find the time to be creative and make your own art. But if you can develop your own creative space, it makes it so much easier when it comes time for your studio practice. Cassie tells the story of her own studio today, including why it took her so long to set up her own creative area (3:30), the inspiration she drew on to plan her own space (6:15), and why pegboard is slowly taking over her house (10:15).

• Help Invest in Your Own Creativity
• The Importance of Sharing Your Own Work with Your Students
• 10 Ways to Reconnect with Your Inner Artist
• How I Tricked Myself into Making Art Again