Free choice art. These words alone are enough to send an art teacher into a panic. That dreaded time when some children finish their lesson while others continue to work. For the last seven years, I’ve designated a “free-choice” area where kids can go, pick up a piece of paper and a few drawing supplies and draw. Only for kids who finished their art lesson, mind you. And that’s where the problem starts.
If Only They Could Work at the Same Pace…
In a perfect world–or in some cases, a perfect class– kids will have a few minutes of class time left. Some have truly worked hard on their art project and need something to do other than bug their classmates.
It always struck me as funny why some kids would rush through glitter paint and metallic pens to get to a plain white piece of paper and a few chewed up crayons. But they do. Reminds me of when my kids were little and the box the toy came in was far more impressive than the actual toy. Sometimes kids need the opportunity to draw without interference. Simple stuff. Scribbles. Whatever.
But it can also pose problems.
You know when free-choice art time has gone awry when the paper box is being hoarded by table groups and oil pastels and crayon nubs are scattered across the floor. Paper airplanes start to fly and all of a sudden you got major cootie-catcher chaos taking over the classroom. Clean-up becomes extra work now leaving some art teachers (okay, me) to wonder if there is a better solution.
Free-Choice Options
Obviously this has been a problem in my classroom for a few weeks now. I know what works for me in past years. Like setting out the classes’ portfolios at the back of the room. If a child finishes an art project, they can look in their portfolio for unfinished work. This only works if the parts needing to be finished are simple ones that don’t require a major outlaying of supplies. But I confess. I’m behind in creating portfolio’s for my students and so they don’t have them yet.
Lately, I’ve been reading through some comments/blogs from fellow art teachers and one lady said that she sets out a basket of art-related books for her students to peruse during “free-choice” time. She admits that the allure of books is not as strong as a blank sheet of paper, but that some kids will think twice about rushing through their art lesson to read a book.
Genius.
Books, anyone?
As of yesterday, I set out a stack of books. I didn’t say anything to the kids because on this particular day (which, by the way was one of the more challenging days ever. But more on that in another post!) I knew that no one would have time for free choice. Can you say difficult project?
So, I’m tossin’ the stack of free-choice paper in lieu of a book basket. Hopefully, order and calmness will reign supreme. Hopefully, I will not have robbed the few artistic souls that truly need scribble time. Hopefully, the cootie-catcher and airplane makers will appreciate their art time and become one with their art project. Okay, fine. Strike the last one.
I let you know how it turns out. Meanwhile, what works in your classroom?
I use the Usborne drawing books. There are so many of them…Usborne has great art projects and they are fun. I ordered them right from amazon.com and they are spiral bound. The pages can be copied easily and the handouts are self explanatory. I make copies of all of those different activities as handouts and leave them filed in a box for sub plans, as well as free time art. It was the best discovery I’ve ever made and I adore those books! I highly suggest them! They have made my life so much easier
Megan
http://elementaryartroom.blogspot.com
Anyone else blown away by all of these great ideas? I’m going to stick with the book basket but a few of you mentioned building blocks. I have some old ones from when my boys were young. This might be the answer to using less paper. I think the trick is not to make the free-choice time too appealing!
Thanks everyone for the fantastic tips.
How do you keep students from tracing the last step? I added these books to my free draw area and keep finding students flipping right to the fiinshed drawing example and tracing it….frustrating.
My situation is a little different, I own an art studio for kids so I’m not in a school setting,but the problems are the same in my studio. There are always a few to rush through all the projects. I have done something similar to the books but it is an “inspiration corner” with magazines books and even old calendars with hopes of fueling the imagination for our next project…The kids that rush through are always looking for what’s next? what now? so this way they can maybe come up with a subject that we can create a project around…It’s been really fun and worked really well…I also need to add I have loved this site and have used it so much. Thank you for that.
I have a “kid’s corner” designated in my room. There’s a bookshelf full of art books (many bought with the help of a grant), free drawing paper, origami, simple art games like IZZI and tangrams, and some play-doh. The play-doh is admittedly the favorite after-project activity. And I admit there are days I just don’t want to deal with it, so I will often guide the kids to what they can use. I have been using an activity center like this for years, and it doesn seem to work pretty well. I’ve also tried having an extra art project. This is a pretty simple project with few rules that the kids can easily follow (maybe one of your sub lessons.) This can be a go-to project for the entire year. One nice thing about having one of these projects to work on is that it’s an easy thing to pull out for a sub as well!
I also have an activity center….I call it the “What Do I Do Now?” area. Here I have games, puzzles, free-draw, drawing books, K’Nex, Straws and Connectors, and stamps and ink, and other various crayons and markers. Many kids find something to do. check out my blog post about it here: http://wesbmsart.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-do-i-do-now.html
I hope this may give you some ideas!
I am a traveling art teacher (art on a cart) and I always have my students create sketchbooks in the beginning of the year. They are as simple as two pieces of construction paper, white computer paper that are stapled together. They decor…ate the front cover and they are done. When they are done with a project they work in there. On my cart I have an assignment that they draw and color in there. I change the assignments maybe once a week and sometimes I let them free draw inside. Super easy and they can take them home at the end of the year. They all know where they are and what to do so there is not much that I have to tell them. I have been doing this for very years and from year to year they remember and know what to do.
What are some of the ideas you use for “assignments”? This sounds like a great solution to to the extra time- rush through art lessons to get to choice time- issue. Thanks.
I have a choice time activity shelf…there are books, blocks, felt boards for collage-like work, white boards for drawing and occasionally free draw paper. I find that variety helps for my K-2nd graders. I am always on the look out for new choices so this post is helping!
I have a somewhat uniqe situation in that I teach k-12 art! I see 500 kids rangeing in age 5 to 19 each week. I have had to be somewhat creative in my approach to “free-time”. In the past I had a stack of free draw paper (I have CASES of that paper with the little feeder things on the side from the old dot-matrix printer days) and a box of drawing books that kids could go to and use. This was “okay” but it got to the point where a lot of kids were rushing through the lesson to use the drawing books and then would distract the kids who were still working. This year I knew I HAD to do something different. 10 weeks in I have yet to set out the free draw paper or the drawing books and we are still alive. Here is what I did!
During the first weeks of school I had all of my HS students make zentangle style puzzles. They took a 12×18 piece of paper and put a 1″ border around it.(this aides in knowing which pieces are the edge pieces) They then divided the middle into 7 or more spaces and filled each space with a different texture/pattern. I then laminated them. We cut them apart and place them in ziptop bags along with a puzzle key. I then put these in a box and my K-3 students may get these and work on them on the floor when they finish their work. They can not work in groups larger than two so that keeps the noise down and thye are away from the table and are not distracting to those who are still working. The kids LOVE the puzzles and enjoy doing them – especially since many of them know the kids who made them!
My 4 – 8 students all make sketchbooks at the beginning of the year. When they finish work their first option is to work on any projects in their folders that they havent finished. If they are caught up they may then draw in their sketchbooks. I have a file card box with all different drawing prompts on them that they can refer to if they need an idea.
I dont usually have issues with most of my high school students. If they finish early I have a stack of books about different artists and some sheets with questions that pertain to each of the artists. They have to spend their “free time” doing research so this persuades most of them to work slowly and take their time.
I am in the process of getting pictures of the puzzles put on my facebook page “J. Kohl’s Art Classes”. I should have them up by the end of next week!
It is certainly the same world wide issue at the end of the lesson- early finishers. The students each supply a scrap book ( we call them visual diaries ). Others call them sketch books. They are cheap at around $2.00 each. Free time can be free drawing but some kids just scribble and waste pages like nothing on earth. Others take their time and create some gorgeous drawings. The books are also used for developing their ideas or practice before they embark on a new project. Sometimes the drawing in the sketch book is better than their final.They stay with the student until they are finished – which can be a couple of years as I hate waste. I also have a very large box of wooden blocks which I challenge the students to create castles , the tallest structures or dominos- can be fun -but also problematic. I also have lots of reading books and great student art books to read as well.I do like some of the other ideas posted and think it is great to have different strategies in place to deal with our early finishers.
I just remembered some one posted somewhere that a strategy for using up left over paint and to keep some students busy is to have a very large canvas, sheet of primed plywood etc placed in the room where students can add to an artwork a couple of marks or a figure etc. It can be collaborative and then be used for a whole school mural etc. My sister uses a similar strategy by having a large sheet of paper or card painted up and the early ones create a extra boat or dog ( related to the current project) it is then glued to the sheet to make a mural. I have just got back from our district Art Exhibition- where I saw another fantastic idea. Students were give a small piece of canvas fabric to paint butterflies and bugs ( Could have been anything topic related). These are then glued onto a pre- painted canvas- it looked awesome.
All of these suggestions are so intriguing! Do any of you find though, that the free choice activity is more of a draw than the art lesson? Love the scrapbook idea. I wonder if the kids bring it to art class and leave it in their home room?
Thanks for chiming in everyone!
This is my first year teaching and I have been using a “reading corner” with a bookshelf, floor pillows and art books that children may read when they finish a project. In addition, students create a posterboard portfolio the very first day of art class, so students may also color and design those throughout the year if they have extra time on their hands. Finally, I have started a “fundred charity” throughout the school (http://www.fundred.org/) where students may create a dollar bill to be used for charity that raises money to help people on New Orleans. I am creating a bar graph in the classroom to keep track of how many fundreds each class creates to see how much money our school can raise! Check out the website, it is pretty cool! Goodluck and have a great school year!
I worked with Fundred. Awesome project! Thats a good idea to have kids to them during extra time.
Hi Patty,
I have a large box of architectural building blocks. The kids just love them but the rule is you build quietly on the carpet. If the class is really loud and not working as a team on their art projects they lose the block privilege. It has worked awesome for me. They are so creative when they build, skate board ramps, temples, houses, one class built The White House! lol.
It is a creative 3-D outlet where many kids just don’t have that option at home. It also keeps the room quiet while others are finishing their projects and are not distracted by their table mates.
While some kids are building with the blocks, others are painting a large mural hanging on the white board. I just put out the paints and brushes and let them create.
The kids have ALOT of movement in my classroom but they understand with respect in the classroom comes many “Choices” in Art.
I read alot of these and some are pretty much the same to what I do. I have tried in the past to set out free drawing paper, stencils and how to draw pages (I copy the pages in the book and then laminate them and cut them out so kids arenot fighting over books or theres not enough for everyone) but when I stepped back at the end of the year and looked at how much paper we used and wasted I was shocked and half my stencils were broken. I inherited a huge bookcase at the end of last year (I don’t know if it’s the same at your school, but they give everything to the art teacher….I mean everything!). At first, I thought what in the world am I gonna do with this thing but it is now my lifesaver….I put books, puzzles, how to draw pages and free drawing paper, crayons, colored pencils, markers, and the best thing in the world is the little personal chalk boards that kids can take back to their tables. the fifth graders have their own sketchbooks so they don’t bother with that unless it’s for drawing or coloring utensils. I told my students in every class that each month I would put one thing of paper in the free drawing bucket and they were to get only one piece (technically two for front and back) and when it’s gone, it’s gone…I don’t refill it until the next month…and surprisingly it has seemed to work…the big thing is the chalkboards..the kids love them and use those more than anything. The kids know that their area has to be cleaned up before they even think about going to the free time station…I think alot of it is consistancy…it took a few weeks but it is now managable and the kids know what to do without me telling them….CONSISTANCY is my teacher motto! Okay, thats all I have…not too different
I have the architecture blocks which are a HUGE draw. I do find a similar issue. When the students are in Kindergarten I only let them read books when they are done. Then, when they are in 1st, that seems “normal” and I slowly introduce the other “imagination cupboard” activities.
The dreaded extra time at the end of class. This year I have made sure I have lots of options. I still have an area of the room or coloring pages and scrap paper (which is where I put extra photocopies and scraps of drawing and construction paper left from other projects.) I also only allow “free art” markers and crayons to be used. (These are my leftover markers from the previous year that I can’t bear to throw out and are still usable.) I do put a limit on how many piece they can get in one class, so that they aren’t just scribbling through things and spending ridiculous amounts of time getting up to go to the free art corner and fighting over another piece of paper with a classmate.
For my 4-8 kids I offer blank art trading cards as well and suggest making a mini version of our project when they are done. This is usually a good motivator and will keep several earnestly on task and creating something great.
I also added an art skills box this year which has how to draw pages as well as images of famous art. They can use the images to draw from and get ideas, and I tell the kids many artists do this (and have to do) at some point in their art training.
On the board there is a list of art jobs that kids can do to help maintain the art room. This is anything from organizing papers, delivering work back to classrooms, or sharpening pencils. This is helpful to me and allows the kids that need it to be active.
I like to start my classes off with a free draw. (when I’m on the cart, I use the first few minutes of class to set up, when I’m in the classroom it gives the kids an immediate focus as they enter the room). Kids use crayons, pencils, and copy paper. Sometimes I provide a theme to draw about, but no biggie if they are inspired to draw something else. Free draw lasts about 5 minutes, then we move on to the lesson. Kids put their free draw paper under their place mats and can return it if they have time at the end of class. They take their free draws with them when they go. Because I use this time to set up, I do insist that it’s a no-talking-time.
My students really enjoy this choice time. After five minutes they’ve gotten their creative juices flowing and are ready to engage in the lesson. If kids finish up early I notice many choose to practice something we covered in that day’s lesson on their free draw paper.
I have tried a free-draw center, but don’t use it anymore because it seems that some kids are more engaged with moving about than in free draw. I only use centers when we are all using them.
I’ve been teaching elementary art for over twenty years. I am curently working at a private school and have created the following creative work stations in my classroom: the cut and color table for collage, drawing, cutting, punching etc., the sculpture table area for building and taping recycled boxes, tubes, plastic caps and other sundrie materials togehter, the lego bin, building with legos, the clay table, using oil based clay, the children build model and recycle oil base clay. I offer a pasta machine for putting clay through the flattener. Art painting easels are also available. I work in an old mansion that was converted into a school. I am fortunate to have room for all this in my classroom. These staions are open as needed if children finish their projects early, but not every class allows for this time. It works like a creative charm : )
In my art room I have a table on the side I call the activity table. When the children are finished with a project and have some extra time they may go to the table to choose an activity. Activities include scrap paper to draw on, how to draw sheets that i make up for different seasons(right now it is Halloween items) rubbing plates,tesselation animal stencils,symmetry stencils, unruly ruler tracers, drawing books and imagination sheets( again these reflect the season or holiday ) right now it is a pumpkin shape and the directions on the sheet ask the student to use their imagination and decorate the pumpkin. At Christmas I will draw mitten shapes for them to add patterns to ,gingerbread people to decorate,etc.. Students are to take one activity at a time and must clean up from the first activity before getting something else. They are free to get crayons to color with and if I have the markers out for the project we are working on they may use them. I have used this for many years and has always worked for me. I add new stencils, drawing books as I can. The most popular drawing books I pick several pages from and make up booklets to keep in the drawing book basket so the students are not fighting over a particular book.
I teach to an elementary of 700 a week. The best purchase I made for free time was a class set of 9×12 dry erase boards with markers and erasers. This has drastically cut down on paper waste, and the kids really enjoy it. The only drawback is having to purchase more dry erase markers, but other than that, it has been very successful!
I have to agree, with my group of kids the intrigue of playing with other materials would lead to rushing and that’s obviously not what anyone is going for!
I’d love to hear how other people are making these stations work.
I’ve done book tubs at each table (we don’t have the room to roam about) so the kids can literally grab and read. This sounds really intriguing to the kids at first, but after the first week the excitement fades and they settle into their own assignment without rushing for a book.
I also have two “medals” for kids to wear to signify class helpers. I choose them so there isn’t a constant “Can I wash the brushes? Can I sharpen the pencils? etc.
I actually have a class set of whiteboards to use as with a prompt, a weekly how to draw, etc. but I have been too scared to pull them out just yet…
I think that next month they will be out and about. Again, I think it will seem exciting at first…but the novelty will fade. I like both this and the book choice simply because other than the markers, I don’t have to renew, renew, renew materials. 
Do you have a list of some great art-realted books for elementary??
Not on-hand. It’s a good idea for a post though. I have a category called Art and Books. You might want to click on it (side bar) to see lessons I’ve done with books.
This is my second year with my own art room (I did the art-on-a-cart for a few years before) and I am still feeling out the “What do I do when I’m done?!” dilemma. I have a free draw table with laminated copies of how-to-draw pages, as well as a bookshelf with AR books. The best addition to my room this year was over the summer I got permission from my principal to paint my cabinets. I panted a section with chalkboard paint and made some rules about the number of students to use it etc. It’s been a hit and it’s cool to see the art change each day as I have different classes. I’m thinking about painting a magnetic section soon and getting some sheets of magnets for students to create their own characters to put on the cabinet as well.
Just discovered your blog today! So encouraging to hear other art teachers going through the same things! I have 350 students, K-9, and free draw is always an issue. For my elementary students, I have an “Inspiration Jar” containing several strips of paper. Each paper strip asks a question or has a statement that gets the kids’ creative juices flowing. For instance, “I’m a butterfly! This is what I see as I fly over my neighborhood!” Or, “This is what my dog would look like if he went through the car wash!” etc. The kids really get a kick out of what they will get to draw, it gets them really thinking creatively, and some of the things they have drawn are amazing!!
I have all of my students (PreK- 3rd) make a portfolio at the beginning of the year–a piece of posterboard folded in half. We practice different skills by decorating it. (Older kids make a color wheel and their names in block letters, younger kids make designs with primary colors on one side and secondary on the other.) When they are done with a project, their first job is to put it in the portfolio (I try to pass out the portfolios at the beginning of class) and check the portfolio for anything left undone. Then they may “free draw” or look at a book–their choice. I tell them they have to use whatever material we have out on the table for the day. (If it’s something like paint, I let them get out some crayons.) The rule is that they can’t cut or glue the free draw so there is not more of a mess. We have animals picture books, how-to-draw books, books about artists, books that just have nice illustrations, etc. For the older kids who can read, I also have a can with “free draw ideas” on laminated strips of paper they get to choose from if they need an idea. ( I just googled “free draw ideas” and came up with several hundered ideas.) I also made a poster of “If you finish early” and hung it on the wall so I can point to it any time a kid asks “What do I do now?”.
I love your site! Thanks for all the great ideas you post.
My kids love to sort crayons by color and help check markers ( sorting dried up ones from the usable ones)
I really like the dry erase board idea but I’m afraid they would all want to do that!
I have each student purchase a sketchbook. They are “Roaring Spring Compostition Books” They are unruled (blank pages) and there are 100 pages in them. We sell them for $1.50 BARGAIN! I teach in a K-8 school and they last the students at least a couple of years. Sometimes we use them for things we are covering in class, but they are able to draw in them any way that they want. They use them mostly when they are done with their project. The students really enjoy working in them. I also have a tray in my room labeled “Just for Fun” with handouts to color, draw, or create. I also have books that relate to subjects we are covering or about a specific artist.
I also dreaded free time, but I picked up a big stack of 5×5″ stencils from http://www.Orientaltrading.com. and a plastic 5 drawer storage set from walmart that they fit into perfectly. Labeled each drawer with a topic (Holidays, Outdoors, Animals etc…) and its definitley the favorite thing to do during free time. Also in our free time station is a “Scrap box” filled with unused big scraps of paper, odd shapes. Great way to recycle!
Great tip…might have to try that! Thanks.
I love your blog Patty! Kids which are to fast done…. or early finished, yes, this is once in a while a problem in my classes too. I teach around 600 kids K to 5th grade at an Elementary School in the Bay Area, California. Mostly we are so busy, that there is not much free time.
Usually it happens with the 4th and 5th graders. One idea which the kids like is: have copies of the theme, the work of the artist we discussed and cut just a partial part. Glue that part of the object on a paper and have the students draw what is missing. Always fun. Even with landscapes images this is a fun thing to do.
Younger kids help sometimes the slower friends, as good peace builder, this is a great way to practice what we talk about every day.
I hardly ever have time for free drawing, but use it once in a while for a class which is too early done.
I do this too! I have a mini library of art books, and most kids would rather not read but they know exactly what to do when they finish early. If they are really well behaved I let them take an AR test on the book they just read (I have a computer center).
I have Free Draw Paper on an office paper organizer: copy paper, grid manilla paper, and a coloring sheet that goes along with the theme of the art lesson. (Yes, I allow a coloring sheet – many of my younger students simply need the fine-motor practice and I encourage my upper grades to use a color scheme.) I have drawing books, texture rubbing sheets and stencils available. I have a book shelf with art related books, seek-and-find books and books about different cultures that we are studying. This year I have added tangrams, “Izzy” and famous artist puzzles.
Most importantly, students must show me their artwork before they can get paper, books or puzzles. This gives me a quick assessment oportunity and I can encourage them to work on the weak areas.
Patty- what a great website! i check the students work before they can proceed to free drawing time, and like the other teachers, the area must be cleaned up and paper used is limited to two sheets per class. Kids love making animals , people ,etc from Ed Emberley’s thumbprint books and origami is always a big hit. I have laminated instruction sheets and 9″x9″ newsprint paper for practice first. If they do a good job, then they get a good piece to make a piece of origami.
I teach in a public school, 600 students grades K-5 for the past 20 years.
I have three free time activities available for my upper elementary through middle school students. I keep them on a shelf in three labled office paper box lids.
1. Origami – I have a stack of 6×6″ paper and a packet of simple to upper simple origami diagrams. I also include cast off crayons so students can color or decorate one side of the paper for contrast in their models.
2. I have a small bucket of racketball sized chunks of non-hardening modeling clay and a list of 15 sculpting ideas. They must do three of my ideas before they can commence on doing one of their own. When they do one of their own, they can’t make “snakes or snowmen”. Students can work with partners on “scenes” (forest scene, underwater scene, sports scene, etc.)
3. Free draw with “how to” drawing packets. The packet includes drawing comic book characters, manga charaters, realistic animals, and cute fantasy creatures.
Hi Patty,
I am a classroom primary teacher and one of my Year Two’s favourite “I’m finished” activities is Read and Draw. You still use the books in a box which is a great settling quiet time, but they must make a response of some kind (inside a large rectangular space) to the book on a piece of paper labelled Read and Draw.
They literally beg me for it anytime and I also have a box labelled Ms Tamara’s Special Books-that they love and know are special so can’t wait to read and then draw their favourite part!
It works for me!
Tamara
I am so grateful for all the lesson plan ideas on this website! I have been teaching art for 20 years and some of your new ideas are a breath of fresh energy for me. Some days I don’t know if I can keep up with the kids for 10 more years! I teach 950 K-5th graders a week for 40 minutes so can’t do some of the prep required for things like the fish with yarn project although it looks very cute (would need to cut 150 of them) . I have two art rooms to manage and some ideas I use for early finishers are these:
1) K – 2 building has choice shelves which contain :stencils, markers, coloring books, blank bookmarks, modeling clay / craft sticks, and scrap paper. In September I save the inside holders of my new crayon boxes( which I empty into large bins). The students love to make things with the little white crayon holders.
2) 3 – 5 building has a choice shelf with drawing books, drawing paper, bin of modeling clay/craft sticks,
blank bookmarks. My 5th graders have a sketchbook we make at the beginning of the year and they have assignments to complete if they finish early. (for one page I stuck a small piece of neon colored duct tape on it and they had to do an abstract composition around it!)
4th graders have a handout of 8 blank art trading cards which was in a Schoolarts issue years ago. You could make your own as well. They work on the trading cards whenever they finish early, then in the Spring they choose two to turn in, I cover them with contact paper and we have a “trade” day. Some kids enjoy the trading card size and idea so much they ask for extra hand outs to work on.
3) Now the state I live in is requiring teachers to follow all goals and objectives. Since many of the art standards include students knowing the elements of art, talking about artwork, etc. I am trying to incorporate these things into my class time as well. I created a question page and if two students are done I may give them a picture of art to look at along with the questions to ask one anther and discuss quietly based on the picture. I am going to have to find more ways and more time to do this in order to meet the requirements for art teaching in the next few years.