What do you do when students finish an assigned project before the rest of the class? As an elementary art teacher, you may have this situation where some kids work really quickly and others stretch a project out for much longer than you anticipated. I thought I had written about this recently, but it turns out it’s been quite a few years, so I thought I would revisit it.
First, I would make sure the first students are completing a project to the best of their abilities and putting in as many details as they can. I also try to pace a multi-step project so kids are not rushing ahead to finish. For example, one day we do brainstorming. No one moves on beyond that. The next day we do the drawing and laying out our ideas. No one moves beyond that. Then the follow day add colors and details. I also will give goals for the day, so students know “by the end of this period, you should be at this point.” So, hopefully, your slower paced students will aim to be at those points. In this previous blog post, I gave some ideas for extending a project or independent work.
Today, I am going to share with you my Early Finisher Station! My room is not one of the rainbow Instagram classrooms you will see scrolling through your feed. I have a small room and it’s more like organized chaos in here! Keep reading to see what are more most popular early finisher ideas.
Hashtag Blocks
These little hashtag blocks are amazing! Kids use their creativity to build all kinds of interesting little things. And, there’s very little mess to clean up! You can buy the name brand ones called Plus Plus blocks (which are kind of expensive) or you can buy little tubes of them in the Dollar Spot at Target throughout the year. They come and go, so when you see them, you can stock up on them!
Magnetic Tiles
Magnatiles (Amazon affiliate links have been used at no extra cost to you) or Picasso Tiles are another super popular option for students to build with. They offer endless opportunities for creativity and collaboration. They are pretty sturdy, I’ve only had one break in about 10 years of using them. I found a big box on Facebook marketplace for a reasonable price.
Animal Figurines
Pair these animal figurines with Magna-tiles, blocks or Lego bricks and the kids will have a blast creating all kinds of buildings, pens and scenarios with these animals. You can buy tubes of these from Amazon or look for people getting rid of them at garage sales and on Facebook marketplace.
Lego Bricks
Lego bricks are a classic center idea for the art room. Again, see what you can find on Facebook marketplace or ask parents if they have old pieces to donate.
How to Draw and Children’s Books
Books are always, always a great option for kids. I find they love pop-up books, colorful books, Look and Find books and books about artists. Check out my Amazon shop for my favorite How-to-Draw books. These are some great ideas for children’s books.
This is the Book Browser Storage Unit I bought to display some books and building toys.
Play-Doh
Play-Doh is another favorite extension activity for my students. I have 4 mini-containers of Play-Doh for each student in a plastic bag labeled with their name (for grades K-2). I find if they have their own bag and their own containers, they are more responsible about keeping it nice and putting the lids back on. If you have too many kids to do this, then just buy one pack and they can share.
Origami
The older kids at my school really love origami. Here are a few of my favorite beginner origami books.
Coloring Pages
Coloring helps people of all ages to de-stress and spark creativity. It can be a way to meditate and focus on the moment. I would never use coloring pages in place of actual art lessons, but spending a few minutes of class during free time is just fine! There are many free coloring pages you can find on the internet, or you can check out one of my coloring page bundles!
Well I hope this helps you as you set up your classroom and start to think about options for enrichment for your students as they finish their art projects. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
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