During my time at Conroy, the art room became my art room entirely. My co-op gave me the opportunity to 'run-the-show' as he would say. This included organizing all the materials, re-organizing the chairs and tables based on each class/lesson/art center, planning each lesson, creating bulletin boards, hanging artwork up, distributing artwork to each class when it was dry, etc. Each and every day my routine started by me writing on the board the date, my name, each class and the lessons for each class I would be teaching that day, gathering all the materials for each class and appropriate amount for each class (eg. cutting paper, cutting pre-cuts, gathering paint or markers, writing names on papers to save time for the classes I knew had students that couldn't write their names), laying out my teacher role book that included photos of each students and faculty that was in that class, and setting up the tables by organizing them, putting out appropriate number of chairs, sanitizing each table surface, take any dry artwork from the day before to the various classrooms around the school to save the other teacher's time, then go to bus, auditorium, and breakfast duty before even teaching for the day. I would pull the materials out only as needed because my students would get into everything other wise. After teaching each class I would only have a minute to re-organize myself and the materials and sanitize the tables. At the end of the day I would go to bus duty, then come back up to the art room to put everything away that wouldn't be needed and get out anything that would be needed for the next day, wipe down the board, create some new teacher samples, push all the chairs in, sanitize the tables, take all the dry projects to the classrooms around the school, turn the lights out, and head home. I believe the classroom is a third-teacher. From the board, bulletin boards, posters in the room, teacher samples, student artwork on the walls, the way the classroom is set-up, the way the materials are presented, and the various learning centers that are in place, you need to be organized so your kids can establish routines. This is especially key in a special needs environment. A lot of the students that were non-verbal knew exactly what they wanted and could go get it for themselves if they needed to. In the classroom there were lots of books, puzzles, jigs, iPads, and a light table that were available everyday for the students to use when finished with their art making or just needed a break. The classroom also had a quiet area with a mat and bean bag chairs, where the students could go to take a break from noise. I also played a lot of music in the background because in some of the classes, the students couldn't talk, so playing some music created a nice learning environment. Sometimes the kids would sing or dance which was exciting to see because I believe the students should be able to move around and explore. An art room is a creative and safe oasis for a lot of students. My goal as an art teacher is to keep the art room safe, sanitized, and filled with art that excites the students. Slowly during my time at Conroy, I would walk around the school and see artwork everywhere. Because so much art was being made many of the teachers created their own art galleries inside their classrooms or in the hallways! It was so exciting to see everyone in the school so excited about art.