Full proof clay prep
Clay prep can be stressful. It's kinda the worst when you think "Omg...how am i going to go from paper mache to clay."
In thinking about this process, I stumbled upon the "Art Of The Ed blog post: Never Stress ABout Clay Again". If you never checked out the site, I suggest you do. It's amazing and you have a group of people who are trying to make your life easier when you may not have another "art person" in your building. I took some tips and made something work with my space.
First, I use gallon containers and portion out the clay. I put a white label on tops of old ones so I can recycle the bags.
I play loud music and push through the process of getting every kid the correct slab size. This particular day I was listening to Dan Auerbach, singer of The Black Keys, solo album. I swear his music soothes the soul when you are portioning clay.
I have materials ready on a cart. The cart is your friend. Simply roll out the materials when you have that maybe, sorta, kinda 2 minute transition. Also, kids love helping. Pick your strongest kid and make it their job. Kids love jobs. Below is a sure fire way to set up your cart.
Lastly, your probably wondering where are you gonna put it all. Metro racks are your best friend. They are cheap ($40 bucks for 5 shelves), adjustable, and you can get them using your Curbside app for Target. Beauty of Curbside is that they put the heavy thing in your car for you. Spending your teacher salary of shelving is a bummer. But it's yours, it's tax deductabile, and if you are in your classroom as much as me, you need it. I waitress as well, so the extra bit of cash I have, goes to things like this and my huge student loans (getting a Master's degree is not cheap). Lastly, the metro racks are simple in design. If you are a design nerd like me and envision your life to look like Kinfolk magazine, you appreciate a functional and simple shelving.
Enjoy.
@todienomore