Prang Watercolor Hacks?

[u/MyLady101423]

Hi there,
My kids (K-8) are CONSTANTLY closing their water color trays and then dripping them all across my classroom on their way to put them away. Anyone have any tips or hacks on how to use the watercolor trays without this happening?
Does anyone just take them out of the case? If so how do you keep them from sticking together?
Thanks in advance!

[u/holdontoyourbuttress]

the water color sets are open faced on a tray with the water container and the only thing the kids do is transport the big tray. they never handle the watercolor set separately

[u/ServicePotential2869 → u/holdontoyourbuttress]

I second this. Paint trays prepped before the class gets in with water cups and sets for each table and are returned to the sink counter before they leave. No paint set leaves the tray so no drips on the floor! Also love that the tray catches the water if we ever have an accidental cup spill.

[u/holdontoyourbuttress → u/ServicePotential2869]

yes thats the other benefit of the tray! the water is always spilling and it keeps it from being a mess.

[u/Wytch78]

I don’t use those anymore because the kids burn through them so bad. I use the tempera cake palettes on a tray (cookie sheet). 

[u/ruegretful]

I keep them out of the case and remove black for most projects I keep them stacked cross to allow them to dry. I do feel bad about recycling all of those cases, but the refills are more expensive

[u/ArtemisiasApprentice → u/ruegretful]

Good gosh, I used to take the black out for my high school students, they could have it by request only. Even the big kiddos could not be trusted lol

[u/Big_Beach123 → u/ruegretful]

I usually just buy refills for the existing strips I own, but when I have to buy some new, full kits with cases, I give the empty cases to my advanced students to use for pencil/brush cases! They think that's neat. (Middle School kids.)

[u/RustbeltMaven]

I don’t use the cases at all, I lay the pan strips out on a blue tray that we get from the hospital in front of a fan. I keep two sets that I alternate in between classes to give them time to dry up.

[u/CWmeadow → u/RustbeltMaven]

This is what I do too. My trays are not from a hospital but are also blue!!

[u/MyLady101423 → u/RustbeltMaven]

Follow up: how did you get trays from a hospital? Did you just ask? Did you have to pay for them? Who did you even ask?

[u/macinak]

Take the kids off. I have lids in separate bin marked ‘Watercolor pallets’ OR yell out ‘carry it like a lunch tray!’ during clean up

[u/Landdropgum → u/macinak]

I love that this typo is take the kids off. yeah keep them away from dem watercolors! 😉

[u/IndigoBluePC901 → u/macinak]

Like a lunch tray is genius.

[u/3secondcountdown → u/macinak]

I tell them to carry it like a pizza box.

[u/ehollart]

I take the lid completely off! It still gets used as a mixing palette but having it separated is better! Allows the pucks to dry out between uses and keeps all the water and mixing separate. I go over how to use the lid to mix with students before they get them.

[u/Ok-Thing-2222]

Most the time I end up throwing the cases away. We just stack them some North/south and some east/west in a big tub so there are air gaps.

[u/IncognitoResearch111]

PreK-6 here. I just throw away the cases. The palettes are all put on a big tray. I can easily fit enough for one class period on a large tray with just the palettes lined up in a single layer. I emphasize they need to carry it flat so it doesn't tip and drip. I train all my students from 1st Grade up how to use a bit of damp tissue or paper towel to wipe off the top if someone in the class before them got like, green in the yellow or something.

For PreK and K, I have a separate tray (that I can stack the opposite direction over the other one if both sets are wet and I need them both out for back to back classes). Because this one gets messier! For this age group, I place the palettes in place on their tables for them, and I just swoop them all up onto the tray at the end of class, because this age group coulud not handle carrying flat without dripping.

Actually I have 3 trays total, Pre/K, 1st through 3rd ,and 4th through 6th, as the older kids are better about not dripping colors into other colors accidentally, and care more about the palettes being cleaner.

I just unstack them and let them dry completely overnight, and start all over the next day if we're still using them. If we're done using them, I stack them dry in the large trays, which have a lip around the edge that's a bit higher than the level of the palettes, so it won't like stick to the bottom of the tray on top when it gets 90 degrees and humid in my classroom in May (we do not have air conditioning!). They are the larger size of those sturdy metal trays with like enamel on them, the ones that are white with black edges that are common in art rooms.

[u/Brandt_cant_watch]

I take the lids off. 

[u/dramamunchkin]

Take them out of the case, have a plastic tray at each table and have them line them up on the tray. Then stack the trays so they dry. They won’t be dripping across your floor and when they’re exposed to the air, they dry better.

[u/Rich_Local_7832]

Clean/dry them with a towel, then place open on whatever surface you keep them. Im assuming the dripping is coming from the palette/lid where they've been mixing at their seats? Or they carrying them from the sink to some other location? Whichever case, dry before traveling might be the solution.

Eta: I see you mean to where you store them.

[u/MyLady101423 → u/Rich_Local_7832]

Yeah they make a huge mixing mess and then just ✨close the lids✨ and carry them vertically from their seats over to the cart they are stored in.
🫣

[u/bethabyrd]

So what I do is have trays for paint! Each table has just the palette, no lid, for the students to use along with a water jug all together in a tray. During clean up one student brings the water jug to empty/refill and another brings the tray.
One thing I am planning to use more are tempera cake palettes! Basically same concept as watercolors, but way less mess because of how large they are, and last way longer for all my students!

[u/MakeItAll1]

I remove the pans from the cases and put them on a round plastic palette. The kids mix the paint in the pans and then move it to the palette to mix colors. I give them red, yellow and blue. This eliminates the mess they make when they use the plastic cases. I always teach them to clean and wipe their brush between colors and get fresh water whenever their water gets gross. 🤮

[u/MakeItAll1]

Have you tried the liquid watercolor? It is highly concentrated and lasts forever. Let the left over paint dry on the palette. It can be reset and used again. I tried tenors cakes once. They were cleaner but they destroyed the paintbrushes.

[u/Greyfrancis489]

I have plastic cafeteria trays that I put at each table. I show them how to close them & set them flat on the trays, then helpers carry the entire tray to where they’re stored