ELEMENTARY CLEAN UP

Kim Brodie Metro plays this song during clean up; "Oh My Goodness, Look at This Mess!," by Sweet Honey in the Rock, Youtube

Elementary specials classes have an interesting dynamic; we have far less time to develop relationships and leverage than regular classroom teachers do. With limited instructional time, how can we train the kids to clean up in an orderly way and still have time to create some amazing art? How can we get them to stop working on art, return the classroom to order, and then line up without the room looking like a zoo? It takes time to teach and practice routines, but it is absolutely worth it. The first few weeks of school, I don't get anything really messy out because I am training students how to behave toward me and each other, how to take responsibility, how to be attentive, and how to clean up in a timely and calm manner. They don't want to stop working to clean up, so extra motivational factors need to be in place! (I admit - my classroom DOES look like a zoo during clean up but it doesn't bother me if the kids are working hard to restore the classroom to order and they are being respectful, responsible, and safe!)

Below are some helpful hints for clean up time in the art room: 
  • Set a timer so that everyone knows when it is time to clean up, or play a chime or small gong. Sound effects are extremely effective!
  • Allow plenty of time to clean up, especially the first few weeks so the kids get accustomed to the procedure. Too much time can be a bad thing, though - play a game in line while waiting for the teacher if there is any extra time. Idle hands mean trouble! 
  • Monitor, monitor, monitor! Don't sit at your desk while the kids are cleaning up - this is a recipe for disaster with any age group. 
  • Learn students' names quickly; have a seating chart so you can glance down to see who is doing what they need to do and who needs some redirection. Saying a child's name is powerful - they don't expect you to know their names right away, especially if you are a new teacher. 
  • Don't let the entire class out of their seats simultaneously. Allow students to clean up one or 2 groups at a time so the entire class isn't up at once.
  • Practice, practice, practice the routine until they get it right. If necessary, practice cleaning up at the beginning of class so the kids know what to do when it is time!
  • Choose one student to give special recognition if they do a good job cleaning up. This student is known as the "Mystery Artist;" kids don't know who this person will be, so it motivates them all to behave! Along these same lines, the music teacher next door to me gives the "Big Hand" award to one kid each week. 
  • If you don't have wet-wipes (or a sink, like me!), have a bottle of water ready to spray down the tables and the kids' hands - just put a tiny bit of soap inside. Then, the kids use paper towels to wipe their hands and the tables clean. 
  • If you are pressed for time, have the students put their dirty brushes into a soapy water container. Have a student volunteer clean them out. 
  • Allow the cleanest table group to line up first. Say, "I am looking for the fastest group to clean up!"
  • Send notes home after the first week or so to motivate kids - I send a green note (with a picture of a "High Five" bear) that says, "I did grrreat in Art class today!" or a red note that might say, "I need to practice following directions at clean up time in Art class." 
  • “Frame” the directions, be VERY SPECIFIC about what the kids are expected to do. Use the phrase, “When I say, GO!” to communicate when they need to start the procedure. 
  • They start the procedure only when you are done giving instructions.
  • Student helpers pass out materials and gather at end of class
  • Holly Lambeth Huber says, "At the end of class (if there is a mess on the floor), I walk around the room and choose a 'secret piece' of trash in my head. Whoever brings it up to put in the trash can wins a new pencil, sticker, etc. Another teacher taught me this. Talk about a clean floor in a hurry!"
  • With very young children, you can play the "Dirtiest Wipe" game. Give each child a wet wipe and send them to clean everything in the classroom. The kid with the dirtiest wipe after a set amount of time wins!
  • Assign "Table Jobs:" This idea is from Maria Gleason: "I assign jobs by table - 'Collection Team' brings brushes and water buckets to sink, 'Table Polishers' use paper towels to wipe tables - 'Tree Huggers' collect paper towels and plates of paint, 'Tech Team' rolls drying rack around picking up work, 'Sink Savers' wash brushes and rinse buckets, distribution and straighten team puts brushes and buckets away. Takes a bit of training but they get it done in five minutes. They grab a baby wipe in line and clean hands on the way out the door if needed. Students are trained to rub brushes against bottom of tub - 'Sink Savers' are trained to put all brushes in one hand and shampoo and rinse just like you do your hair. Have tried many methods over the years but this has saved my sanity!"


MOTIVATION FOR CLEANING UP WELL: 

  • Go Noodle; Youtube video shorts for fun movement breaks as a reward at the end of class.


Photo credit: Alison Bradley Paul
  • "FAKE PAINT" students who do well that day..."I use an Artsmart board where the kids earn brushes on a colorful paint palette-- using inside voices, cleanup well, ready to learn, responsible and respectful.... The kids usually fight over who is in charge of the board. 4 brushes for the day is silver, all five is gold and extra is diamond. I fake paint the kids when they leave. It works really great for prek-3. Sometimes I paint the older ones too." Alison Bradley Paul
  • SMELLIES = fruity chap-stick rubbed on a child's hand: "I motivate through stamps and 'smellies.' Yes, even my 5th graders still love a stamp. As they either leave or are sitting they are to put their hand flat on their head. I will apply the stamp or smelly. We always tell students, 'Do not eat, or lick. Don’t rub on your mouth.' It is just like a smelly sticker." Shelly Bailey
  • EMOTION GAME: "If you clean up in a mannerly way, and quickly I will play the “Emotion Game.” This is where the kids line up to leave and pass a bedazzled paint brush. I assign an expression. The child with the best face that looks mad, happy, sad, monster and so forth gets to hold the paintbrush and the person with brush gets to pick the face." Shelly Bailey
  • MAGIC GLUE: "I have a rainbow curtain hanging over my doorway as they leave. I tell them as they walk under the rainbow it drops magic glue onto their mouths and it doesn’t release until they get to PE or their classroom. For some reason they like this and it works. If they break the magic glue, the magic art fairies know they were not following directions." Shelly Bailey

    • TAPE LINE: "Having colored duct tape outside your room will help as well…Make one a line up line, one an exit line…So if they are lined up you can remind them, get on the purple line…or leaving, exit on the red line etc." Shelly Bailey



      photo credit: Alison Bradley Paul
    • PAINT SPLAT RACE: Alison Bradley Paul uses a "paint splat" table race in her classroom; she says, "(The splats) are magnetic. A kid is in charge of this. The top one is the cleanest and so on. Then, this is the way they are called to line up. They like to be first to show their classroom teacher." 











    FURTHER RESOURCES:

    Clean Up Procedures In the Art Room, by Patty Palmer, deepspacesparkle.com


    Cassie Stephens, Clean Up, the Movie








    Editor's note: Managing student behavior involves far more than discipline techniques. In order to create an environment for student success, the teacher needs to provide quality instruction as well as appropriate motivation. Most importantly, the teacher needs to have the right attitude for leadership in the classroom. Finally, having a solid classroom management plan with rules and procedures set up from the beginning of the year is also extremely important - students need to be very clear about what the teacher's expectations are.

    disclaimer: These are a set of ideas about being proactive in teaching based on classroom experience as well as various education authors. Many times there are circumstances in the classroom that are beyond any teacher's control, especially when serving at-risk populations or in environments where those in administration fail to provide effective leadership in a school. Sometimes, regardless of the prevailing theories about teacher responsibility, the teacher is not to be blamed for out of control students. Finally, we do NOT recommend that you put any of these strategies into practice if your administration disagrees with them. 



    article by Mrs. Anna Nichols

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