Starting over

Welcome to Art! 

My name is Michael Kantor, this is my 4th year as an elementary art specialist. I am excited to be starting the art program at Cedar Creek Community School! I like painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography, and drawing. I love all sports, and local sports teams, especially the Wild.  I enjoy going to valleyfair and being outside. I spend my summers working at Hazeltine National Golf Club, in Chaska, MN.

Summer is long gone and the school year is here! This school year will be different than any I have ever experienced before.  I have the privilege of STARTING the elementary art program at my school. (That's right, a district who is ADDING art! Woohoo!) The classroom had been a random assortment of other classes in the 6 years since our district has had elementary art, and let me tell you, cleaning the random tools, books, and supplies was a daunting task!  As the clutter turned into an organized mess, I started to see how my classroom would look.  This will be my 4th year teaching and my first time really having a feel for how I want my class to look.

We have our own display case (great for square1 display)

My rules turned from paragraphs into a simple acronym.

I am more visual with the elements and principles of art.

The paints and brushes are sorted (Rainbow order)

Table bins are sorted and labeled by color.

Drawing books are at a good elementary height.

aaaaaaand finally my drawing mannequins and Vinny found a new home.

Will my classroom look like this at year's end? Who knows, but I am confident these students will be set up for success based on my experiences!

Back to school

Last year, my first full year in the art room, was a learning experience; one of the main issues I saw in every class at one point or another, art caddies.  The art caddy is a place to store all the art supplies for each individual table. Even though the caddies were supposed to look clean and the same for every class, some classes were better at cleaning and organizing than others.  Here is an example of a clean, fresh, sharpened, art caddy; all the supplies are in their place and (in theory) they will all look like this at the beginning and end of each class.

By having this example for my students at the start of the year, and assigning students to check each table; the disappearing pencils, erasers, and messy art caddy problems will vanish!

I also was sure to show how chairs are pushed in and the art caddy is in the middle of the table (below)