I am humbled by the events of the last few weeks. I was nominated for an Outstanding Educator Award by my peers. The banquet was held last night for retirees and to announce the winners. Low and Behold I WON! Being in the spotlight is not something I am incredibly comfortable with. I know I know I am one of the loudest, silliest people around but truly when it comes to my professional accomplishments it is hard for me to hear. I do the things I do as an educator so that my students learn, have fun, and of course appreciate art. When I won this award I truly wished that I could make one for all of my students. They are the ones who push me forward and make me want to be a better educator. This website was mentioned in the speech a colleague made about me last night. I chuckled to myself because I have not updated it in nearly 2 years. Well, here I am to say, I'M BAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

New School Year

As I start to set up for this new year I find myself looking forward to it. In years past I had as much anxiety as many of my students. However, switching to choice has really changed how I and my students view the art studio. It truly has become a place for the students to express themselves. I have finished most of the room preparations and unloaded boxes and boxes of supplies. A new feature this year will be the mini-centers. This is a shelf of totes which contain all of the materials to complete a fun, relevant lesson. Also new this year are sketchbooks which all students will embellish on their first trip to art. We will be using these each week to take notes and jot down any ideas we may have. Of course it is a great place to put sketches of potential projects and take notes on successes and even failures.
I will post pictures as soon as the room is 100 percent!

Our Student Teacher

Ms. Peggy Halbig has joined us. She is a student teacher from The University of Toledo. We are really enjoying her fun and innovative lessons. We are also teaching her all about "choice."
In this picture she is showing the third graders how a spinning disk of primary colors will create secondary colors.
Look for more photographs of her projects soon.

Clay center opens

I have opened the clay center and will keep it open until we run out of clay.
I demonstrated pinch pots, coil construction, and slab rolling. There have been a wide variety of creations this month!

Tape People

I had seen this project online awhile back. I ordered 30 rolls of packing tape thinking I'd have a class or two bring in a stuffed animal to sculpt. Well, I hadn't got around to it yet. A few students who come in at recess to work asked if I had any ideas for their next project... The rest is History. Here are the works in progress. They are turning them into some strange sci-fi creatures.

"art let's you create what you're feeling"

I love listening to my students and their comments about art (when they think I am not listening). I have started a quote board with these comments. Most students are willing to write down what they have said and even sign their name. We have a student from UT who has been observing us once a week. She will be student teaching in January and February here at Jackman. I'll post more information on her soon. Choice has been going phenominally well. My 5-7 minute presentations go on too long at times, but no one complains. Thanks kids! We are running out of supplies pretty quickly. It's amazing how quickly you can go through hundreds of toilet paper tubes! Sewing has been incredibly popular this last month. My challenge is getting them to understand the idea of creating a piece of art using the sewing items. Ted has done a great job using scraps of felt to create this pillow.
Tempera paint is still a favorite and one center which is a challenge. I try to stress the importance of having a plan prior to painting. However, how can I not let an ambitious student just go for it? I have recently gotten some great texts and the "new" concept in them is encouraging creativity in our students and how it helps them in the academic content areas (duh). We art teachers have been trying to communicate this fact for years. More on that later. Here is more art from my exceptionally creative students!
A very colorful portrait using tempera paint.
Chinese red envelopes are given at New Year's for good luck (with money inside). Ours are much bigger than real Red Envelopes so they can hold other treasures besides money!

It's been awhile

Our latest discussions have been on shape (first grade), cave art (2nd), Japan (3rd), native american corn husk characters (4th), Georgia O'Keeffe (5th), and Pablo Picasso (6th).
Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

Thick paint

I introduced thick paint (otherwise known as tempera) to the students this week. Our emphasis is on how artists use shape and color in their work. I have also been trying to encourage a higher degree of finish to their art.