NCGHandmadeTile@AOL.COM on sun 13 aug 00
Hi Lisa, $3 can be a large budget for some schools. I was amazed at what
the teachers were expected to do with their budgets, but most of them were
very creative. I was asked to help young kids produce some tiles. I
stupidly asked about clay tools. We did very well with the plastic knives,
forks and spoons supplied in the cafeteria. It's disheartening, but a known
fact that all teachers spend a lot out of their own pockets for their
classrooms. In Ann Arbor, Michigan there is a place called the Scrap Box -
lots of teachers there all the time. I don't know where the stuff comes from
that is in that place, but it seems to be all left over from somewhere, I
can't even describe it. It's all pretty cheap, you fill up certain size bags
for a buck or two. These places are popping up all over, maybe there is
something in your area? Good luck in your search.
Nancy G.
L. P. Skeen on mon 14 aug 00
Nope, can't make 'em give up any $. I was allowed to require an art kit -
crayons, pencil sharpener, pencils, glue, and scissors - total cost less
than $4 at Le Target, but I have several who haven't brought even THAT in,
and I don't expect to see it at all. :( I want to have an Art By Me fund
raiser, but we'll have to get that approved, and even if we do it, I'm
betting the PTB won't let us keep all the $ for the art dept. :(
>>>>>>>>>>>>Also, can you collect money from the kids themselves (I know
some school districts allow this) and then buy in bulk
L. P. Skeen on mon 14 aug 00
>>>A simple sewing needle pushed in a cork with a pair of pliers is now a
needle tool.
ooh, it's also a very dangerous weapon we refer to as a homemade dart.
Yikes! I remember them from when I was a kid......
>>>>>>sell counter tops material. They usually have them hanging on a board
as color samples and they're freed.
another good idea........Tanksalot.
L
GURUSHAKTI@AOL.COM on mon 14 aug 00
There are a lot of ways for the kids to have their dad's, uncle, neighbors,
etc. help make or search for a few tools. A simple sewing needle pushed in a
cork with a pair of pliers is now a needle tool. You can buy junk butter
knives for 25 -50 cents at any Good Will or other thrift store and shape it
to a point on a grinder and you have a fettling knife. Old credit cards can
be used as ribs and there are free supplies of firm, ribs in all color, at
the local Carpet stores and other large hardware department stores which sell
counter tops material. They usually have them hanging on a board as color
samples and they're freed. I got a bunch of them to hang on glaze buckets to
identify the color inside. They already have a hole drilled. :-)
Have the kids go through Mom's kitchen drawer or dad's tool box (with
permission of course) and find tools suitable for impressing, scraping,
paddling, etc. Things like those little laundry bags with holes that you put
small things in for going into the washing machine, make interesting textured
when rolled over slabbed clay. Seashells, ecucalyptus and other seeds pods,
coffee grinds, screw heads, bits of paper or clothe doilies and on and on.
I think they'd enjoy the search and the sharing/show and tell during class.
Warm regards,
June
Millie Carpenter on mon 14 aug 00
Hi Lisa
learn to beg. Chopstics from the carry out sharpened in the pencil sharpener on
one end and sanded to a screw driver shape on the other. make friends with a shop
teacher and he/she will give you lots of little bits and pieces that with a drill,
miter box/back saw, file and sand paper can be all kinds of things. check the
parking lots for broken combs, at the lumber yards, you can get closet poles and
cut them up into rollers with your back saw, offer to take your friends newspapers
and magazines, the dry cleaners can give you plastic and wire hangers, wire
hangers are very handy, they can be cold forged into all kinds of things
I would sent a letter home at the begining of each sememster asking parents to send
in craft projects that they didn't want to finish or cooking tools that they
didn't use, the odd spoon that no one knew where it came from. even in my school
that drew from the projects, things would come in. Frame shops gave me tons of mat
boards and ends of glass.
you just have to either get used to begging, poking thru peoples trash as you walk,
or it comes out of your pocket. Mcdonalds has given me hundreds of paper cups and
forks and spoons, the grocery stores will give you styro-foam meat trays. all
they want is a letter on the school letter head and they write it off on their
taxes
good luck and think creativly about trash
Millie in Md
Lizacat29@AOL.COM on mon 14 aug 00
Just starting out with pottery myself, I find that Goodwill, Salvation Army ,
garage sales etc are a treasure trove of wooden spoons, rolling pins, nifty
little tupperware scrapers and gadgets, covered plastic containers etc. I'd
ask the kids to bring stuff from home too, challenge their creativity for
finding new uses for their old junk! Also, can you collect money from the
kids themselves (I know some school districts allow this) and then buy in
bulk so each kid has a very simple personal kit consisting of maybe a sponge,
a cutting wire, and a basic throwing rib? Sometimes when it is their own,
they take better care of it anyway!
Grace Sheese on mon 14 aug 00
Lisa,
I was interested in your post since I also teach art to "inner city kids"
(those words are in quotes because the school is really not in a city but
the kids have similar backgrounds) and, my budget just got cut way down to
almost nothing. Anyway, I just made this exciting discovery. My husband
was taking down our old shutters and the center of the shutter is made up of
wooden slats that pull right out. There are alot of slats in one shutter.
I'm going to tape 2 slats together for the kids to use as guides when they
are rolling out slabs. Hope this helps.
Grace
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Milton Markey on tue 15 aug 00
Hi Lisa!
I think you've accepted a position that will require more of you, than just
teaching alone. In order to get money for tools, to support a class of
underpriveleged kids, one must LOBBY, LOBBY, LOBBY and LOBBY once again, the
school board, the principal of your school, the parents of the children, and
the PTA. Rally with other teachers, and get their support for your project,
too.
Once you've developed a reputation for having a no-nonsense approach towards
these groups, the principal, and your job, you will gain respect. Politeness
just does not cut the cake.
I really respect you for your endeavour here. Art classes in any school are
becoming scarce. Once you've taught for a year or two, the results of your
labor will be obvious: lots of young children, eager to be in your class, and
all the art the walls of the school, and vacant shelves can hold.
Best wishes to you!
Milton NakedClay@AOL.COM
amy parker on wed 16 aug 00
Lisa - one way to get "things" for a school is to use the PTA newsletter,
or whatever printed news goes home. Some kids will take it home & some
parents will read it. Have them put a "column" in the newsletter listing
"Wish List", with a reminder that any donations to the PTA or the school
are tax-deductible (a fact often overlooked by parents - dues are not
deductible, but "enrichment fund" money is), then say what it is you need.
For example, if the school is short on copy paper, put that on the Wish
List and see how many reams suddenly show up in the school office (be
careful what you ask for - you might get it!). If you need crayons &
scissors, ask for them - many kids have extras at home that the parents
would like to get rid of. Ask for the broken crayons - they are good for
making those scratch-off paint backgrounds. Most people have a pile of 1/2
pencils and old ball-point pens cluttering their drawer somewhere.
Amy in Too-Hot-Lanta, where Kelly finally cleaned her room...we have a
lifetime supply of pencils and already gave the old crayons away (sorry)
At 10:47 PM 8/14/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Nope, can't make 'em give up any $. I was allowed to require an art kit -
>crayons, pencil sharpener, pencils, glue, and scissors - total cost less
>than $4 at Le Target, but I have several who haven't brought even THAT in,
>and I don't expect to see it at all. :( I want to have an Art By Me fund
>raiser, but we'll have to get that approved, and even if we do it, I'm
>betting the PTB won't let us keep all the $ for the art dept. :(
>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>Also, can you collect money from the kids themselves (I know
>some school districts allow this) and then buy in bulk
Amy Parker
Lithonia, GA
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