Tricks of the Trade - Baby Wipes!

Time in the classroom is valuable, so if you can spend less time on set-up and get your students working sooner, that's a good thing! Baby wipes can help you accomplish this.

Making art can be messy, so you will often find yourself trying to protect your desks and other work surfaces. Covering desks with newspaper is time consuming, not to mention that all those stories and pictures can be very distracting to your students! When working with watercolors, tempera paint, water-based markers, oil pastels or even acrylic paint you can skip the newspaper step altogether.

Just pass out a wipe to each student when they've finished working and their desks are cleared off. (I buy wipes by the case at Costco.) Tell students to clean their hands first, and then their desks. Most children's art mediums will wipe right off. This also saves on gridlock at the sink for hand washing and is especially helpful in classrooms that don't have a sink! The custodians will appreciate it, too. So, start using wipes and saving time!