Safety should be your first concern when dealing with young children. Show them how this applies to the art center. For example, young children must learn how to be safe with scissors by never running with scissors and passing them to your friends by the handles.
Students should understand that others may want to use the art center and that they need to take turns fairly. One student should not take up the whole table with his work and he should pass the paint and other materials on to other students when they want to use it.
The art center can get dirty quickly, especially if students don't put away supplies as they finish using them. Have a wet cloth handy so that students can use it to clean up paint spills and other messes. If each student does her part, the area can remain clean, which allows students to get the most from their art center.
The art center allows children to express their thoughts and feelings in creative ways. This rule encourages students to think about how they want to do a project and not feel as though they have to follow the teacher's example exactly.
Teach your students that everyone has the right to create whatever he wants in the art center. Students should learn, for example, that it isn't nice to criticize another's work by saying that it doesn't look like a lion. Students should also avoid being bossy and telling others what to do when in the art center.