January has officially arrived, when a brand new year sits before you like a fresh, empty page. Whether you’re coming back after the holidays or beginning a brand new school year, January is the perfect time to refocus on your goals and prepare your room for success in the coming year. 

Download the January Freebie Pack for some great lessons to use this month. Click the yellow button below and we’ll send 3 lesson templates straight to you! (NOTE: We recommend downloading the freebie using Chrome or Safari)

Re-Focus on Classroom Management & Procedures

Coming back from the holiday break is the perfect time to reevaluate your classroom management plan. No matter what happened last year, you have a chance to begin again and focus on creating the calm, creative classroom environment of your dreams.

Being consistent is one of the most effective (and hardest!) components of classroom management. Committing to consistency is a great way to start the year.

Plan out procedures for each transition and routine in your classroom and then teach them one by one to students. In many ways, January can feel like a brand new school year. Was your cleanup time full of chaos and messes before the holidays? Now is the perfect time to teach a new routine and practice, practice, practice!

Here are a few resources to help you get started:

8 Bad Behavior Squashers for Your Art Room

Creating Classroom Routines for Positive Student Behavior

Get Organized for the New Year

As an art teacher, there’s so much organization that goes into all aspects of teaching; the physical organization of your classroom, organizing your lessons to meet the standards, and the list goes on. But sometimes, as creatives, organization might not come second nature.

Don’t worry, we’ve created an eight-step plan to help you organize your art room. If you have a teacher work day in January, use this as a checklist to get your classroom in shape.

Your 8 Step Plan to Organizing Your Art Room

Did you end December running on fumes and your teacher planner is empty for January? Get organized for the coming year by planning a curriculum that fits perfectly for you and your students and focusing on the remaining standards that you have to teach to kick off the year on the right foot.

Here are a few resources to help with curriculum & lesson planning:

How to Design an Art Curriculum

De-Mystifying Art Standards

Create Art to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The third Monday in January is celebrated as the birth of revolutionary Civil Rights Movement leader, Martin Luther King Jr. King was known for his nonviolent activism in the pursuit to end racial discrimination in the United States. We have the perfect lesson to honor and celebrate Dr. King’s legacy.

Martin Luther King Jr. Portrait Project

January-Themed Art Activities:

1st: New Year’s Day

15th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (third Monday of the month)

January Artist Birthdays:

14th: Berthe Morisot

19th: Paul Cézanne

28th: Claus Oldenburg28: Jackson Pollock