One of the aspects of teaching art that isn't always fun is budgeting. Other subjects have to plan their budgets as well, but the art budget is big, complicated, and can be frustrating. There's nothing worse than running out of paint of paper mid-year and having to go over budget, believe me I used to do it all the time at KidSpirit until I had more experience. Plus other teachers sometimes need to use your supplies for projects and aren't always great about letting you know in advance, "Oh you needed paint for a poster and used all the expensive acrylics for it? That's great but I actually had tempera for that..." You get the idea. Staying organized can make your life a little easier when it comes to budgeting and one way to do that is to use a spread sheet to keep track of what your budget is, what you ordered, and how much money you have left. Some people are great at Excel spread sheets and don't need any help in this area. If you're one of those people then rock on with your geeky self and create a spread sheet so organized and detailed it'd make my OCD heart proud. If you do need some help or even just direction in creating a spread sheet I'm here to help.
I had to make a spread sheet project for my computers class last term and decided to create an art budget spread sheet to help keep me organized and on budget when I have my own class. The spread sheet has an itemized budget section where you type in how much each supply cost, then a totals and percentage section where you can see the total monetary amount you've spent on that category of supply and also the percentage of the budget that is devoted to it. For example, I can type in the amount I spent on acrylics, tempera, and watercolors and see how much money I've spent on paint in total and what percentage of the budget goes toward paint. I've included both the actual spread sheet itself which you can use just as it is, but I've also included instructions on how to make it yourself on Excel, step by step. I think it's a good idea to look at the instructions because if you ever want to change something about the spread sheet, or make it more personalized you'll know exactly how. Happy budgeting!
Art Budget Spread Sheet
Instructions for Excel Spread Sheet
Peace!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Graduated!
Well I actually did it...I graduated! It got pretty tough towards the end there, and to keep my head above water I had to cut myself off from the world and work. I was student teaching a freshman class at the high school in the morning, then driving over to the middle school and teaching two 7th grade classes in a row. After teaching and inhaling my lunch I usually tried to work on my 2nd work sample on my laptop for the rest of the day. This last term, while a little lighter on the work load, was emotionally draining and I was often fighting back tears or yells of protest during the day. Nothing like a good cry in the kiln room eh? Without going into details, lets just say that you can't always choose who you work with and as a grad student you have to grin and bare it...then drink when you get home.
There were several things that got me through this term besides alcohol though. What really helped me the most not just this term, but this entire year was my fiance Mike. Without his support, home cooking, advice and love I don't know if I would have survived this year without an ulcer. The other big thing that got me through was actually my students. I had some amazing classes this year that I really bonded with (shout out to the 1st period freshman art class in WACA!) and although at times we all wanted to strangle each other I think everyone learned something important, maybe me the most of all. Other people that I should thank are my mentor teacher Cathrine who is the most patient, inventive and dedicated teacher I've met, and my entire cohort at Western who always kept me laughing when I wanted to cry or fall asleep in class (remember: the answer is always Marzano!).
Please excuse the sappy rant, but the finality of this adventure is starting to sink in and I have a good glass of dessert wine beside me. I read in an NEA magazine once that every teacher should have an emergency file for when they don't think they can make it another day and they're wondering why they chose teaching. They recommended that you put in inspirational articles, letters from students, or anything else positive and motivating. Above my fiance's computer he's taped a story that he got from a coworker about teaching, and every once in a while I'll read it and am reminded of why I'm doing this. He recently found the online version of the article and I thought I'd post it here. Although I'm sure that many of you have read it before I encourage you to print it out and start an emotional-emergency file of your own for those days when you find yourself crying in the kiln room.
Peace, and remember: you make a goddamn difference!
http://rattle.com/blog/2009/04/what-teachers-make-or-if-things-dont-work-out-you-can-always-go-to-law-school-by-taylor-mali/
There were several things that got me through this term besides alcohol though. What really helped me the most not just this term, but this entire year was my fiance Mike. Without his support, home cooking, advice and love I don't know if I would have survived this year without an ulcer. The other big thing that got me through was actually my students. I had some amazing classes this year that I really bonded with (shout out to the 1st period freshman art class in WACA!) and although at times we all wanted to strangle each other I think everyone learned something important, maybe me the most of all. Other people that I should thank are my mentor teacher Cathrine who is the most patient, inventive and dedicated teacher I've met, and my entire cohort at Western who always kept me laughing when I wanted to cry or fall asleep in class (remember: the answer is always Marzano!).
Please excuse the sappy rant, but the finality of this adventure is starting to sink in and I have a good glass of dessert wine beside me. I read in an NEA magazine once that every teacher should have an emergency file for when they don't think they can make it another day and they're wondering why they chose teaching. They recommended that you put in inspirational articles, letters from students, or anything else positive and motivating. Above my fiance's computer he's taped a story that he got from a coworker about teaching, and every once in a while I'll read it and am reminded of why I'm doing this. He recently found the online version of the article and I thought I'd post it here. Although I'm sure that many of you have read it before I encourage you to print it out and start an emotional-emergency file of your own for those days when you find yourself crying in the kiln room.
Peace, and remember: you make a goddamn difference!
http://rattle.com/blog/2009/04/what-teachers-make-or-if-things-dont-work-out-you-can-always-go-to-law-school-by-taylor-mali/
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