Everyday Art Room

We all know that the life of an art teacher is difficult. We have to know so much and do so many things on an everyday basis, it can get overwhelming very quickly. Cassie uses this episode to share some of her favorite hacks for the art room–each of which can help make life easier in your classroom. Listen as she discusses why you need a class set of dry erase boards (3:45), the versatility of dog dishes (11:00), and why she is over the idea of glue bottles (20:00).

• 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
• Check out the Art Ed Now conference!

No matter how long you have been in the classroom, there are still times when you feel like a first year teacher. In this episode, Cassie talks about what she wishes she had known during her first year, and how that advice can help you at every point in your teaching career. Listen as she covers what you absolutely can't do (7:00), how to respond to the overwhelming number of requests (11:30), and why you need to find a teaching ally (17:45).

• More advice for your first year of teaching
• 20 Tips for Your First (or 10th!) Year of Teaching
• Advice NOT to Follow Your First Year
• Adventures of a First Year Art Teacher

Art teaching is difficult enough as it is, so why make it more difficult by constantly comparing yourself to other teachers. It's fair to compare, but make sure that you are doing it in order to inspire! In this episode, Cassie talks about how stressful it can be--for everyone--to put their best foot forward (5:30), tips to avoid falling to the comparison trap (7:30), and how you can get your mind right to celebrate others' successes (12:00).

• Why You Should Never Compare Yourself to Other Teachers
• Can Social Media Affect Your Teaching?
• Using Social Media to Help Your Program Shine

Not everyone can be lucky enough to have 7 days off of school in a row like Cassie just did. But you can make plans to make the most of your time off! Listen to Cassie's best advice on sparking the creative process (4:00), why you should take the time to connect with friends and colleagues (8:30), and why you need to appreciate your time off (10:15).

• The 10 Stages of Snow Day Anticipation
• The Snow Day Art Challenge
• Cassie's latest blog post can be found here

Welcome to Part 2 of the Needle Felting introduction! Last week, in Part 1, Cassie covered everything you need to get started with needle felting on your own. This week, she tackles the topic of how to bring the craft into your classroom. She starts the episode with an awkward experience that taught her you can felt with cat hair (3:00). She then talks about the supplies you need for the classroom (5:00) and how you can make magic with wet felting at any level (11:00).

• Wool Buddies
• The Complete Photo Guide to Felting
• All Things Needle Felted
• The Art Ed Now conference can be found here (use the code SAVE20NOW for $20 off your registration!)

It's time to learn something new! Needle felting gives you the opportunity to create in different ways and with some different materials. In this episode, Cassie gives you an overview of her favorite--and most dangerous!--tools (6:00), all of the different surfaces you can use for needle felting (10:00), and processes and techniques that will work for you (14:30).

Resources and Links

• Some of Cassie's favorite needle felted sweaters
• All Things Needle Felted
• Here is the rundown of the Studio: Fibers course that Tim mentioned

Not everyone has a kiln--but that doesn't mean you can't teach clay! And even if you do have a kiln, there are a lot of additional options out there for other types of clay that your kids will love. In this episode, Cassie shares some of her favorite clay bodies and some great ways to teach with those types of clay. Listen as she shares how she gained expertise with air-dry clay (3:45), some of her favorite techniques and supplies (7:30), and the pros and cons of polymer clays (14:00).

• Here is a link to Cassie's Book
• Give last week's podcast a listen
• The Art Teacher's Ultimate Guide to Polymer Clay
• Help! I'm Afraid of My Kiln!

Ceramics is an incredible experience for our kids, but it can be overwhelming if you don't know what you are doing. Whether you are just starting out teaching clay, or are looking for new and better ideas, this episode has it all! Join Cassie as she discusses all the supplies she uses when teaching her clay units (4:00), avoiding explosions in the kiln (12:00), and making sure your glazes look good (15:30).

• Cassie mentioned The Clay Lady. She can be found here
• Some Essential Steps for Hand-Built Ceramics
• Glazing with Elementary Students
• Help! I'm Afraid of My Kiln!

We are so incredibly busy as teachers. it is difficult to find the time to make your own art, and it is difficult to keep our creativity going. But how do we solve those problems? And how do we find the time to create our own work? Cassie has some ideas she wants to share--join her as she discusses how it's tough to get your creativity in motion (4:00), why creativity is easier--and more fun--than you think (8:00), and gives everyone a challenge to get back to your love of creating (16:45).

• Some ideas to develop your own creativity
• 4 Ways to Respark Your Creativity
• Are Teaching and Making Art One in the Same?
• Does Creativity Require Procrastination?

You're on break now--or at least really close to it! So what do you need to do now that you have a couple weeks off? Relax, reflect, and reset. Join Cassie as she talks about the 3 R's and how you can take care of yourself with this time off. Listen for stories on how she relaxes over break (5:00), what ideas she has come up with in the process of reflecting (9:30), and how she will reset her classroom management when returning to school (11:15).

• 7 Ways to Beat the Winter Blahs
• How to Rejuvinate Over Break
• Why You Should NOT Work Over Break