• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • My Account
  • My Cart
glitter meets glue logo

Glitter Meets Glue

Sparkling Teacher Resources

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SHOP
    • Products
      • Art Sub Plans
      • Assessments
      • Bundles
      • Classroom Decor
      • Coloring Pages
      • Crafts
        • Coloring Crafts
      • Distance Learning
      • Elements of Art
      • Google Drive
      • Printables
      • Sketchbook Ideas
    • My Account
    • Downloads
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • BLOG
    • Art Projects
      • Kindergarten
      • 1st Grade
      • 2nd Grade
      • 3rd Grade
      • 4th Grade
      • 5th Grade
      • Middle School
    • Arts Integration
    • Bulletin Board Ideas
    • Classroom Hacks
    • In the Art Room
    • Videos
  • CONTACT
  • HELP
  • ART RESOURCE LIBRARY
  • LIBRARY ACCESS
Home » Blog » Class Mascots in the Art Room

Class Mascots in the Art Room

6 Comments

class mascots in the art roomDo you have a class mascot in your art room? I do! Actually, I have a few class mascots. And they all have assorted backstories. They help me with my classroom management and they can help you, too!

It all started with Mr. Brush. He was singling and mingling for too long, though.

Then Mrs. Brush joined us.

And then it turned into a menagerie of plush, crocheted friends. Next thing I knew, I was creating enough characters for a book.

(Hey, that’s a pretty good idea!)

What is a Class Mascot?

The best way to describe class mascots are buddies that help students make the right choices, guide them in their learning, and create a warm classroom environment.

If you work with lower elementary students, you understand how difficult it can be to guide their thinking to make good choices that positively affect themselves and others. Class mascots can be effective classroom management tools to help with your students behavior issues. Let’s break these down one by one.

art room class mascot mr brush

ME: “If you aren’t ready, Mr. Brush is going to pass you by!”

Behave, child!

Class mascots are an awesome behavioral management tool for your art room. I find that my students never want to disappoint my band of class mascots, like Mr. Brush.

You see, friends, when the kids are acting all kinds of nuts? Mr. Brush doesn’t hand out the paint to everyone. He directs me to take my sweet ol’ time skipping misbehaving students while I serve the ready and willing.

Me: “What’s that Mr. Brush? You think I should go to tables that look ready? Will do!”

Now, I tell my students they don’t have to sit like show ponies. You know what I mean, right? Like when we were little: hands folded on the table “nicely,” body sitting perfectly straight up, and smiling big. Quiet, looking, and listening is the goal because let’s be real, some of our students today have a hard time sitting still.

But they can’t be mouthing off, doing the Running Man, and crawling the ceiling. That gets Mr. Brush upset as well as paint and brushes put into timeout. That’ll earn low scores in classroom management skills on an observation, especially during a pop-in observation!

To this end, they are external motivators that help foster a positive classroom community. Students look forward to seeing them weekly and what antics they play on us. And they help me build positive relationships with  my students because that’s one of the keys to successful classroom management.

crochet pencil art room class mascot

“It’s easy to look sharp when you haven’t done any work!”

Learn, child!

I love incorporating our class mascots into the learning. The primary reason I use them is as a teaching tool. I integrate them into our daily art lessons, especially when we’re talking about cultural arts. I mean, give Mr. Brush a camera and passport and he’s a world class traveler!

Mr. and Mrs. Brush have made appearances in the slideshows I create for studying global art. “Mr. & Mrs. Brush Go To….” is a popular theme in my art room. I’ve even made them real passports with stamps so that my students can verify where they’ve been. For realz.

Now, be prepared for the naysayers who will call you out. You know what I mean, the ones who are all, “Nuh-uhhh! He’s not real. You made him up! He’s just a doll!” 

You might have to pull out a selfie to prove it’s real. Maybe even make a fake mrbrush@yourhost.com email address and have your mascot email any and all selfies to you. (winky, winky) Do what you have to do, friends. 

mr brush paintbrush plushie for art teachers and students

Here’s a fun way to, errr, frame the beginning of a lesson to get your students attention.

Grow, child!

One thing Mr. Brush sometimes does is leave special notes on the board. Sometimes they’re funny and humorous like:

Why was the artist afraid he might go to jail?

Because he’d been framed!

What a great way to use humor to introduce topics and concepts! It’s also how teachers can connect with students on a more personal level. There is no better way than with some  humor.

Other times they are important directions for the project or art techniques. In the example below, Gary the Glue is instructing the kids to, “Dot, dot, dot and not a lot!”

And they can even ofter words of encouragement when art room life is tough. Mr. Pencil helped us out with this one:

Map out your future – but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip. – Jon Bon Jovi

Students need to know that their class mascot cares about them and their well-being, just like their teacher. <3

gary the glue crochet plushie

This is Gary the Glue. His orange cap comes off and twists in place. I use him to illustrate the correct way to open and close a bottle of glue. And how to clean it off. Don’t be leaving his head dirty!

Ideas for Class Mascots

I’ve made several mascots over the years using my crochet skills I learned as a child. But you don’t have to crochet yours. You can knit it. Sew it. Sculpt it. Or shoot, just run to The Walmarts and snag yourself one on the quick and cheap. You’re an art teacher. Figure out a creative solution for your class mascot!

Do you. You dig?

I would love to hear how you’re all using class mascots in your art room and how you use them in your classroom management plan. Drop direct links to your social media where you talked about and showed yours. Would love to see! If this blog post helped you out, please re-pin. Thanks!

Tags: class mascot, classroom community Categories: Blog, In the Art Room

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Patti says

    07/02/2020 at 1:02 PM

    I love these, and thank you for sharing. I am a new teacher at the elementary level and it kinda scares me. I have been teaching for 17 years in high school. So I need all these great ideas, you rock!

    Patti

    Reply
    • ClipArtGal says

      07/02/2020 at 1:40 PM

      OH YEAH, that’s quite a shift! At the elementary level, you really have to keep them entertained. One thing that helps: videos. If you’re doing in-person lessons in an art room in the fall, put on a very short educational video at the start of the lesson. While they’re focused on that, you can run around getting things in place. If this advice doesn’t work for COVID times, it will certainly work once things reach the “new normal.” Either way, you need something that gets their attention right away. Best of luck to you, Patti!

      Reply
  2. Jessica Howes says

    08/28/2020 at 6:33 PM

    These are awesome!!! I love to crochet. I have been teaching for 12 years Pre-k through 12. I was wondering where I could get the patterns for your Mascots? Thank you.

    Reply
    • ClipArtGal says

      08/28/2020 at 6:35 PM

      Hey Jessica, thanks! It was linked to at the top of the post. The pattern is actually in another blog post. Here you are! https://glittermeetsglue.com/mr-brush-crochet-pattern/

      Reply
  3. Patti says

    04/29/2021 at 3:08 PM

    Do you sell these?

    Reply
    • ClipArtGal says

      04/29/2021 at 5:19 PM

      Sorry Patti, I don’t.

      Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

Wife. Designer. Art Teacher. Lover of the Beach. Cat Wrangler. I create art resources for teachers, classroom teachers, and homeschool parents. Continue...

YoutubeFacebookPinterestInstagram

Shop

glitter meets glue art teacher resources
how to host a virtual art show
distance learning art project ideas
artist trading cards

Categories

  • 1st Grade
  • 2nd Grade
  • 3rd Grade
  • 4th Grade
  • 5th Grade
  • 6th Grade
  • Art Education
  • Art Projects for Kids
  • Arts Integration
  • Blog
  • Bulletin Board Ideas
  • Classroom Hacks
  • In the Art Room
  • Kindergarten
  • Middle School
  • Videos

Tags

art bulletin boards art education art history art lesson art project art room art sub plan art sub plans back to school bulletin board ideas carol dwek class mascot classroom community classroom hacks classroom management classroom organization collage color color theory cootie catcher distance learning drawing elements of art end of year facebook groups fall growth mindset halloween iPads katherine bernhardt keith haring kindergarten organization painting pop art remote learning romero britto STEAM studio habits of mind summer break supply order texture visual arts visual arts teacher wild things

Footer

About Glitter Meets Glue Designs

I design classroom resources for art teachers, classroom teachers, substitutes, and homeschooling parents to get students excited about learning art and art history.

Whether it’s studying famous artists or learning art techniques, Glitter Meets Glue aims to connect you to resources that fulfill your needs.

Need Help?

Can’t open a .zip file? Need to know how to access your purchase? Check out my frequently asked questions page for all of the commonly asked questions.

Contact Me

If you still need assistance, please fill out my contact form.

Customer Service

  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Shop FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Return Policy
  • Shipping Info
  • Privacy & Security Policies
YoutubeFacebookPinterestInstagram

Payment Information

I accept PayPal, Stripe, and all major credit cards. Transactions are performed via a SSL server to ensure your privacy.

Secure Online Shopping

ssl certificate

Copyright © 2018-2022 Glitter Meets Glue, LLC - All Rights Reserved

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best user experience.OKPrivacy Policy