lstoughton 09/05/2012 at 02:11pm
I prefer glue sticks...even though it doesn't stick as well...at least at the elementary level they avoid wrinkling with too much bottle glue!

jfrisco 09/05/2012 at 03:44pm
I teach dot dot not a lot... but must admit that I prefer glue sticks as well. :)

SoClose 09/05/2012 at 06:28pm
glue sticks are great for not wrinkling paper, but i teach high school and the students can go through them like water. i love glue in the bottle, it's great for a lot of uses, especially broken ceramics. the bottom line - i keep both on hand.

andreafuentes 09/12/2012 at 05:02pm
Agree with SoClose, but I teach high school also. I keep a few glue sticks on hand for certain projects, but mostly have them use white glue. I like mixing white glue with water for layering with tissue paper or papier mache.

ronnidart 09/23/2012 at 05:25pm
I use bottles. They make a glue lid called Tap and Glue. It gives one dot at a time. Students can still use too much glue but it is harder and the tips don't clog as much. My saying is "A little dab will do ya." Am I showing my age? It is the old Dippety Doo slogan from the 60's.

AmyHall 09/28/2012 at 12:42pm
I mostly use bottles as well and also do dot dot not a lot with my younger kids. I buy a few big UHUs for special occasions as needed, but don't but them in plain sight.
I made the mistake of buying School Specialty glue last year and it was terrible!!! it was super runny and made a ton of messes. I stick (haha, stick!) with Elmers now.

MrsImpey 10/26/2012 at 11:03am
I usually use glue sticks at the beginning of the year with Kindergarten and 1st grade so I'm not overwhelming them with information on how to use the art materials properly. I get into regular Elmer's glue bottles with them usually by the second or third project of the year, teaching them how to use little dots instead of a big glob in the middle. I always keep 3-4 glue sticks in each table's supply bin for random gluing projects or for gluing their rubrics onto the back of the art projects.

Astabeth 02/28/2013 at 01:40pm
I use bottles but I get the wide mouthed kind and we use it with brushes - I teach high school so we use it for everything from bookbinding to attaching sculpture elements.

RVArtist 04/26/2013 at 06:25am
I'm with Mrs Impey... I start out my little ones with glue sticks which I prefer for most paper to paper projects. I just hate having to go around and peel off all the junk and unclogging them. About half way through the year I run out of glue sticks or want to start to preserve them and switch to Elmer's. By then a lot of the little kids have learned how to use them from the classroom teacher.
My tips with the Elmer's bottle: Pinch the orange nose and twist. If it has a cold it may be stuffy and need picked... then they all say eewwwww, haha. I ask them to listen carefully to hear if it is breathing and squeeze the bottle a little bit to get some air flow. If it is "breathing" than it is "alive" and ready to be used!

jbucher 07/09/2013 at 01:34pm
Raindrops of glue.. not puddles! I used that saying when I taught elementary art and it creates a good visual for them!

I teach middle school now and I have both. I hate how quickly I go through glue sticks! They are like gold in the 4th quarter of school! I use liquid starch for apply tissue paper for colle's. I use ROSS art paste for paper mache'. It doesn't spoil and lasts forever.

jfrisco 10/09/2013 at 09:16am
I am trying glue sponges this year. It works WONDERFULLY for collages!

paintpeace 09/04/2014 at 03:58pm
Ooh, I like the glue sponge idea.