I figured adding this page would be helpful for any newly hired art teachers who have to teach art from a cart, or if you are currently teaching in your own art room, but unfortunately have to move to teaching off a cart and have never done it before.
I have been teaching art since September 2013 full time, for grades K-5. I have had an art room and then lost the art room, then had my art room back— then sigh– lost it again multiple times since.
Currently I teach off a cart at one of my 2 schools 4 days a week, with only one day a week teaching at my other school in a shared room with the music teacher. So 1/2 the room is hers (with carpet) and 1/2 the room is mine (with floor tiles) and although it’s a shared space, I’m very grateful for it! And bonus! It has a sink!
Teaching Art off a cart isn’t the greatest and can be challenging to say the least! But I make it work. I love what I do, so it is what it is, and you just have to make the best of it.
BTW- I’ve been teaching from a cart continuously year after year for almost 4 years now (since September 2022) at one school due to a high enrollment in one grade level, and probably won’t get it back until the year after this one wraps up.
My classes are 40 minutes each, and I only have 5 minutes in between each class most of the time while teaching off a cart.
I will share with you below what works for me and how I teach off a cart and hopefully this info helps you out!
THE CART
I definitely think having AT LEAST 2 tiers on your cart is a must for supplies. I think you should also consider the width of the cart your school purchases to ensure it can fit through the doorways of every classroom. Some classroom’s entry ways are pretty narrow as you’ll see in the photo below. So a slightly smaller cart width wise is a good option. That way it can maneuver around tight spaces within the classrooms, as well as fit through the doorways. The photo below shows how narrow one of the classrooms doorway is.
THINGS THAT ARE ON MY CART EVERYDAY
My document camera (or ladybug) is on my cart everyday I teach. Just in case some classrooms don’t have one, have one but doesn’t work, or if you’re not into the one they have. I demonstrate pretty much every class so this is a must for me.
I make sure the kids don’t touch it, and it’s never been an issue for me.
By the way the eyes on my cart “Artie” light up when pressed, but the batteries literally JUST died and I need to replace them! My students yell “Hi Artie!” as I roll in all the time!
Clear plastic, stackable storage containers for markers, colored pencils and crayons. I bought my containers a long time ago at The Container Store (shoe box sized) and LOVE them. Kids and myself can easily see what’s inside them, they stack (which is a must for saving space on the cart), they are durable, and they are easily dispersed among groups of kids to share at a table (or grouping of desks). I always keep these on the bottom tier of my cart. They are used especially when kids finish a project early and have time to free draw, but obviously are also used when creating a variety of art lessons as well.
I have around 12 bins of each (markers, colored pencils and crayons) on the bottom of my cart, and they are always on there.
Also great to use for lifting up a document camera higher!! Sometimes I need a little more height to show the whole paper- especially if we’re working on anything like 12×12″ or 12×18″ paper.
Another item I always have on my cart is my amazing electric pencil sharpener (purchased on Amazon years ago and still running as good as new!) as well as a big box of sharpened pencils and erasers. The electric pencil sharpener was a little pricey (I think around $95?) but SOOO worth it! It sharpens a pencil (including colored pencils) in 3 seconds! And when we are working on a lesson that requires colored pencils it is a must! Plus usually the classroom teacher has one in the room, so you’ll get double duty with both! I don’t let my younger grades use it though—only for teachers.
As well as a container of loose hand held pencil sharpeners. Just in case one day my electric one gets jammed, (and it’s definitely happened—even with tiny crayons and tiny colored pencils—-😑) Also if too many kids need to sharpen I just pass these out so it speeds things up a bit)
Paper clips and large binder clips (I use these ALL THE TIME!) I use the large binder clips to clip a large pile of cut 9×12” white 80# drawing paper as I find that loose stacks of paper get jumbled around on the cart. Plus they can fly off the cart too, while wheeling down the hall. Another reason is so students don’t grab sheets from the cart when I’m not looking, thinking it’s freedraw paper (aka copy paper).
Freedraw paper (copy paper) and coloring sheets are also always on my cart on the top tier for any early finishers, or if they earned their “Choice Day” in art. (*btw- more on “choice day” under my “Art Room Rules and Routines” page)
I find a ton of images through Google and then screenshot and crop them, print them out and then make copies at school. Sometimes I’ll draw my own coloring sheets as well. Although my students LOVE coloring sheets and freedraw, I don’t see it being an issue with completing their artwork faster or not putting much effort into their art just to race to free draw. Sometimes I will let them know ahead of time that they won’t have time for that in art class anyhow.
I usually find a spot in a classroom along a long shelf in front of a wall of windows, or place them on an open table, and lay them out in piles for kids to pick from near the end of art. I always say they can pick just one, then if they finish that one, they can grab a second one and so forth.
But on earned “choice days” they can take one of each right away, and take home whatever they don’t finish.
I keep a small container of bandaids (from the nurse) on the top just in case.
I also always keep a tablet that I borrowed from the librarian (she lets me for the year!) for a timer to alert me when clean up needs to happen, as well as for taking photos too, on the top of my cart. Of course your cell phone can do that job as well- but I choose not to, just to keep my phone cleaner (all the paints, oil pastels, glue sticks and whatnot-—-not to mention germs!)
Magnets are also a great idea to have on your cart. A lot of classrooms I teach in seem to only have one or two, or they are being used for something already. Just so you can hang up an example or two on the board- (although I usually post the goals for the lesson with an image on the board with Google slides anyhow).
I also keep a bin of extra marker caps – from any old dried ones– in case you come across some throughout teaching that need a cap (which happens a lot for me!) The caps can be used to “stamp” circles with paint or ink or used for other art projects possibly too.
Hand wipes : This is a MUST especially if classrooms don’t have a sink in the room. I use these for cleaning hands and desks, as well as for cleaning the ends of brushes for a 4th grade lesson I teach called “Dotted Leaf Paintings”.
Art folders: I bring the class’s artwork in a large 18″ x 24″ folded tagboard that has been laminated before folding in half (so it’s 12″ x 18″). Each class has their own, and it’s labeled with the class lists and day and time I teach the class as well.
The maximum size artwork is 12″x18″ so it works perfectly for me.
When not in use, I store all the art folders in a shelf in my art storage closet/ office (see pic below)
I stack these art folders from top to bottom by grade level in my storage closet with all my other art supplies when not in use.
Label stuff yours: Another thing you may want to do is label your stuff “art” just in case you leave them behind in a classroom somewhere (guilty!!!) Then there’s no confusion on who’s it is, and it will probably get back to you if you forgot where you put it!
Now let’s talk about what happens when it’s time to teach a painting lesson off a cart 🤪
PAINTING OFF A CART:
A good drying rack is a must. I put a sticky note with the class written on it and stick it to the top of the drying rack so kids know what side to place their wet artwork in.
I also place the classes art folder inside the top first rack so that when I collect the dry artwork, the folder is already there, and I know who’s artwork it is. I wheel the drying rack down to the outside of the class that is painting first in the morning before classes begin.
Try not to plan a day where you’ll have more than 3 classes painting in the same day if you can help it!! I accidentally have a day this week where 4 classes out of 6 are painting!??! Ugh… but at LEAST this is happening at my school where I have a room.
Messy mats: I use a sheet of (12×18”) rail board or heavyweight Manila tagboard for messy mats. I always keep a large pile of them inside the top of the drying rack so they are ready to go when painting or for any messy art lesson. I try not to do lessons that use anything larger than 12×12” paper, but sometimes I’ve taught lessons that use 12×18” paper when teaching off a cart, and with those lessons I’ve used 18”x24” Railboard paper for a messy mat.
Ice cube trays for paints / stackable:
I use these awesome ice cube trays (with lids!) for any liquid tempera lesson. I bought these on Amazon as well, and LOVE them! They have 14 wells for different colors, and the lids keep paint for a looong time. Plus the fact that they are stackable and lightweight are perfect for teaching a painting lesson on or off a cart! These can be used for liquid watercolors as well- which I have done many times in the past for various lessons.
Additional clean up: if you run out of wipes or don’t have any- I highly recommend using a recycled cleaner spray bottle with soapy water to spray desks, and just bring a bunch of paper towels (if it’s a messy art project or involves paint).
Separate little cart for water cups and paint brushes and watercolors: I use a smaller cart (see pic below) for just the water cups, brushes, and watercolors. I just don’t find that I have enough room on my main larger cart for these items when teaching. So what I do is I prep the small cart in the morning with water cups, put multiple brushes in the cups for a group of kids to share, and wheel it down and park it just outside the classroom door (the class that will be painting first), ahead of time in the morning.
The plastic water cups I have are cleaned and rinsed take out containers collected over the years. I have used these since I first started teaching at my school I’m currently in since 2014. Love how easy they are to clean after, and that they stack when not in use due to the same size!
They also don’t ever tip over (I mean unless a student knocks it over) and multiple brushes can go in one easily to share.
Box tops : I know I’m not the only one that uses these for many MANY different things for art, but one of the ways I use a box top is to store watercolors in. It just makes it easier when passing out / faster distribution. I don’t like keeping the watercolor containers they come in because personally I find they get too sticky over time, and truthfully, I’m not the neatest art teacher and am lazy about cleaning them out periodically.
Bigger box tops (or boxes in general of any kind!) are also good to save for storing any 3D artwork, art examples, or art supplies in a storage closet /art storage area.
CLEAN UP TIME
Give yourself AT LEAST 5-8 minutes for clean up at the end of all classes– Especially if it involves any kind of paint or if it’s a messy art lesson of any kind!
I give myself 8 minutes typically when there is a larger mess to clean at the end of art. It stinks to have to cut art-making time down a little, but it’s crucial you’re ready to fly out the door as soon as the teacher comes back.
And give multiple cleaning jobs out to students to help. I usually pick 3-4 kids per art class that want to do a job -depending on what needs to be put away/cleaned up.
SAVE STUFF:
I have the BEST cafeteria staff! They let me take a stack of recyclable lunch trays, and I hoard (ahem, I mean use) these for containing art supplies and art materials.
I use them especially when I need to separate certain colored crayons or oil pastels for certain parts of a lesson. Below you can see 3 containers that hold 3 various skin toned crayons for a self-portrait project. Because honestly, it’s a pain to have to search a box (or bin) of mixed colored crayons for particular colors and it just saves so much time!!
Students can just go up to the cart when they need a particular color for that lesson.
Other times I’ve used a lunch tray with 5 separate compartments to hold air dry clay flowers for a lesson for 5th (“mixed-media bouquet of flowers”) and the cafeteria staff gave me 28 trays to use for an entire class when I ran out of styrofoam plates!
Another tip that I do is to leave a stack of supplies out in the hallway by my art storage closet.
For me, it’s impossible to put ALL needed supplies on the cart for the ENTIRE day. Especially with 7 classes with varying grade levels doing different projects. So what I do sometimes – not a lot – is I will place certain items out in the hallway and stack them along the walls, so I don’t have to go into the storage space to get them. For me, my storage space that holds all my art supplies is actually inside a closet which is inside a Kindergarten classroom!
As you can imagine, it can get pretty hectic with kindergarteners and teachers, coming back and forth through the door, lining up at the door to go to lunch or recess, when at that exact moment you need to get the supplies in between classes!!? So I find that by doing this, I can grab what I need quicker and they are out of my way, and I am out of their way! My art storage closet is literally just to the left as you walk into a K classroom (pic below)!
As I wrote before ——GIVE KIDS JOBS:
This is an obvious one— and a must for teaching off a cart! I usually ask 3-4 kids to help. Have kids (who want to) in the beginning of art help pass out art supplies, paper, artwork, watercups (mayyyyyybe water cups haha) and have a few helpers at the end of art for clean-up too, to help save time! (Collect artwork, collect art supplies, wipe tables, desks, floor checker’s, etc.) Jobs help build self-reliance, a sense of community and trust between the student and teacher.
I even ask students (sometimes) to wheel my full drying rack down the hall after kids finish painting! (I pick these students verrrry carefully!) Sometimes I’ll ask certain kids to go ask the custodian for more wipes, or I’ve asked students that were finished with their art for the class, to deliver another class’s finished artwork! Anything to help make it a smooth day, get stuff done! and kids LOOve doing jobs!
GOOGLE SLIDES:
This is probably what EVERY art teacher does already, but I thought I’d throw this one on the list! Using google slides makes my life SOOoo much easier! It’s just so easy to make, and use and they are on every teacher’s computer once you sign into Google. I don’t honestly know how I lived without it before!
Another final thing to consider – does the classroom teacher have individual desks or shared tables in the classroom?
You need to know ahead of time how many containers of materials you’ll need to disperse among students to share. When teachers group desks together —or say—- 4-6 kids share a long table– it makes your life sooo much easier!!
At times in the past- I didn’t have that luxury and had kids move desks together to get into groups so they could share, but it’s not ideal, as that can be a time-sucker with having to move all the desks around during art time.
In this particular 2nd grade class (above), the desks were 2 put together- so 2 kids shared a water cup with brushes for painting.
I hope that reading this was helpful to any of you art on a cart to be teachers out there!!! Thank you so much for visiting my website and reading this! I am blogging this post on my main page as well as keeping it on the page “Art on a Cart” under the drop down menu.
Also, I added a new page recently titled “Art room rules and routines” under my drop down menu, and added some new items to my TpT store (link here ) in case you’d be interested in checking those out!
Be on the look out for a new blog post soon!
