I’m finally starting to have fun on my job!  Here’s what we’ve been up to this week!

We made fresh peanut butter with my Champion juicer and then made peanut butter playdough so we could create hedgehogs and other critters.

This hedgehog’s got a mohawk!

Paper plates turned out to be quite an inspiration for my young artists!

One of my quiet student’s has really shown a flair for painting and drawing in the last few weeks! I just love how the little bit of orange in this drawing has so much impact against the blues and greens!

Two girls were proud to tell me they were creating a picture together. I was excited to tell them, “It’s wonderful to see you collaborating!
 I like how the children combined two types of building materials and the stuffed animals in this creation. I imagine the animals were vying for who would be king of the hill!

 This week our special letter was H. I saw a simple craft to create a house on Pinterest. I love how my students made such a variety of houses!

L. had so much fun narrating the story about his haunted house. He kept adding more and more monsters and creatures and the story became quite detailed. I wrote down his story and tried to get everyone else’s down too. They can talk so much faster than I can write!

Love the textures and feeling of movement in this piece by R.

Love how the glue looks like snow in this collage! I also love the fact that she cut it out and didn’t have a rectangular picture like everyone else.

…. came but dad slept in the closet.
Pretty amazing story for a five year old! Love how she included three dimensional pieces in her creation. Those are the chompers and you better watch out, because they might chomp on you!

Happy Halloween!

It’s always darkest before the dawn! (N is for Night and recently the students created night paintings when we were learning about nocturnal animals.)

I’ve had an incredibly difficult start to the school year. In fact it’s been a real nightmare! Thankfully things finally seem to be gelling and coming together in a positive way! My morning class has been ok, but my afternoon class has had me pulling my hair.

Last Friday several boys were playing with the plastic animals in the block area. My instinct was to redirect them to using blocks to build something for the animals, but I restrained myself. After about 15 minutes they got the idea to build a zoo all on their own. I was happy I didn’t interfere!

I started a new job as a kindergarten enrichment teacher this fall in a program I formerly was only responsible for art enrichment one day a week. That means that not only do I teach art, but I teach the entire curriculum from literacy, to math and science, to Spanish. (I try to approach it all from an arts perspective, because I strongly believe visual arts, music, movement, and drama really are fundamental ways that we learn and retain information.) I was hired last minute, and I had to hire two assistants even more last minute(!) from a very sparse pool of applicants.  However, the worst thing has been that I have a very unfortunate mix of children that are “like chalk and cheese” to borrow a phrase from my new favorite TV show (Doc Martin: which I’ve absolutely needed to watch every Friday night to decompress).  I felt like I was playing whack-a-mole in terms of behavior issues the entire first month. I’d get one situation in hand and suddenly have two or three more pop up, and even with help from assistants we were barely treading water.  As my supervisor put it quite aptly, “Your students are positively feral!” After a month, two children that provoked the majority of behavioral issues left the program which was a huge help. I still had my work cut out for me to shape up the rest of the “major players”, but finally that really seems to be happening! Most of my students are actually super sweet, cooperative, and wonderful, but the difficult ones seem to make the great kids invisible, primarily because they create so much stress and drama. I have been so exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally, and it finally feels as if my life is getting back to normal and my energy and my smile are back!

A student found a witch hat someone left in the art room and was inspired to play Wizard of Oz with a couple of other students and then he drew this witch.

When I got this job I was really happy because instead of coordinating several part time jobs I’d have one full time job in one location. I was also happy because I’d finally be making a living wage after quite a few years struggling and piecing together part time jobs. Soon I found myself thinking, “How am I going to make it to the end of the school year, I barely have the wherewithal to make it to the weekend!” I wanted to quit. The work I’d had the past few years as an art educator (which I’ve shared with you in this blog) had been demanding, and time consuming, but it was energizing and most importantly fun! All I could think of was that I had given up something that had really made me happy. I wanted to go back to my homeschool students. I wanted to be teaching art exclusively instead of being responsible for the whole curriculum. I felt guilty knowing that having a new teacher would be another upheaval and set back for this group. Then I began to realize my supervisor was considering firing me. She never came out and said it, but I sensed it. I realized I didn’t even care if I got fired. In fact it would have been a relief, and I kind of wish she had! Now that things are finally going well, I know I’ll make it through the school year. There will probably always be challenging moments or the occasional difficult day, just as there always are no matter how great your job is, but as long as things are mostly hunky dory I know I can muster up what’s required.

My students always love painting with metallic watercolors. This student create a cast for her arm with her metallic watercolor painting.

I’m still feeling as if I’m barely treading water in terms of all of the requirements of my job, but that’s definitely par for the course with a new job. I’ve been wanting to write this post for a couple of weeks now, but today was the first time I got home from work early and had the time to write it!

Students and I made sand dough. One of the students used the empty sand dough container to create this very “loose parts a la Reggio” creation.

Despite all of the challenges I do have some photos to share! There have been some activities that students have enjoyed and had fun getting creative!

Inspired by Andy Goldsworthy students created art with leaves and rocks today, which was the first sunny day we’ve had after a very foggy week.

10 Awesome Kindergartens in the World!

These schools are beautiful spaces for children. From experience I know that even humble learning spaces can be very lively places that children’s imaginations can soar in. Hopefully schools like these can inspire more municipalities to embrace fanciful as well as functional aspects in their building designs!

Versatile Blogger Award Nominations

It’s been a busy start to the school year. I am now teaching a kindergarten enrichment program full time, which means I have a morning group and an afternoon group. The program offers children the opportunity for extended learning experiences beyond the regular school day which is two hours and forty minutes long. Being that I have a passion for the arts, all of the curriculum is arts integrated!

I began this blog in January of 2012 as a place to reflect on my art teaching (and learning) experiences. I write when inspiration strikes. I take photos of my students just about every day, so the photos are an important part of sharing what’s going on in my classroom “corner of the world”.

I began blogging because I was inspired by reading the book Julia and Julia. I also was inspired by some incredible bloggers! Some are parents that homeschool and some are educators. All are wonderful, and I really feel privileged to be able to peek in on what’s going on in their “corners of the world”.

Thankyou Little Hands, Big Art for your nomination! My afternoon group is quite challenging to say the least! When I arrived home and found the notification of the nomination in my e-mail it really turned my day around!

In order to receive the reward, Franciful Arts  must participate in the rules required by the status of this award. They are as follows:

1. Display the Award Certificate on your blog. CHECK!

2. Announce your win with a post and thank the blogger who nominated you. CHECK!

3. Present 15 deserving bloggers with the award. SEE BELOW!

4. Link your nominees in the post and let them know of their nomination with a comment.  (Still trying to work out the bugs with this part!)

5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself. CHECK!

I’d like to nominate the following blogs for the Versatile Blogger Award too!

1.Teacher Tom   http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/

Tom Hobson shares the wonderful things happening at Woodland Park Preschool and is truly inspirational!

2. Artful Explorations in Nature    http://artfulexplorationsinnature.com/

Taran Pappas comes up with great ideas for getting outdoors for art inspiration. Not sure if she’s currently teaching, but she is definitely enjoying creating nature inspired art!

3. The Natural Playground   http://thenaturalplayground.wordpress.com/author/thenaturalplayground/

This Scottish blogger is an outdoor educator doing some wonderful explorations of nature and the outdoors with her students.

4. Julie Liddle, Art in Hand   http://artinhand4tots.wordpress.com

I have enjoyed reading about Julie’s art education classes for preschoolers. She has some lovely play based activities.

5. Acorn Pies     http://acornpies.blogspot.com

Beth is definitely versatile!  She paints portraits, she quilts and sews, she teaches art at her son’s school, tells stories, and travels!  I love reading about all her adventures in Switzerland and across Europe, and I love seeing all the projects she’s involved with!

6. Chocolate Muffin Tree    http://www.thechocolatemuffintree.com

Lots of lovely hands on art activities for young children are shared on this blog by an art educator that’s enjoying time at home with her daughter.

7. Awe Filled Wonder       http://awefilledwonder.blogspot.com/

Love this Canadian Kindergarten Teacher’s approach to learning through play and hands-on experiences!

8. Evergreen Art    http://evergreenart.birdsong.org/

A very special art teacher friend of mine writes this blog about her choice based art program in Western Washington.

9. Camp Creek Blog    http://project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog

A wonderful blog by Lori Pickert. Lori formerly operated a Reggio inspired primary grades school. Now she is homeschooling her own two children using project based learning techniques.

10. Bakers and Astronauts   http://bakersandastronauts.blogspot.com/

Allie Pasquier’s reflective art education blog is one you shouldn’t miss!

11. Jump for Joy   http://joyforjump.blogspot.com/

A photo blog of all different kinds of folks jumping and leaping. Most of the photos are taken in and around Vancouver, British Columbia.

12. Growing a Jeweled Rose   http://www.growingajeweledrose.com

This mother of two girls really knows how to cook up some great play experiences. She shares her recipes and the joy of messy fun!

13. Learn Play Imagine   http://www.learnplayimagine.com/

Another great blog that has lots of recipes for hands-on messy play!

14. Artful Parent  http://www.artfulparent.com/

Art educator and mom  Jean Van’t Hul shares wonderful drawing ideas and supports open ended art experiences.

15. Choosing Choice  http://choosingchoice.blogspot.com/

Julie Toole, Chicago art educator shares her choice based art classroom and student art!

Kindergarten students practiced cutting strips of paper and then had a wonderful time turning the strips into all kinds of wonderful creations!

Now for 7 things about Franciful Arts Blog!

1. I have fun coming up with titles for my blog posts!

2.Generally it’s a brief moment in my day of teaching art that inspires me to write.

3. It’s frustrating that I can’t post my best photos of the students grinning ear to ear while creating or with their creations. On the other hand….I appreciate that I can post photos that show them at work.

4. I hope to share more in depth information in a future blog post about teaching my students to sew stuffed animals from socks so you can try it or share it with your children and  students!

5. My students’ art is a tremendous inspiration to me as an artist!

6. I like to plunge up to my elbows in messy art! After all…I’m washable, and so are my students, and my classroom!

7. I’m proud to be a member of the National Art Education Association, and am looking forward to the next conference in San Diego this spring!  I’m going to be a presenter with another art teaching friend from the TAB/choice professional learning community!

Yowza!

I started a new full time teaching position this year and it’s been an intense start to the school year. Imagine what a boost it was to my morale to discover that I’d been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Roylco’s Little Fingers Big Art blog! Unfortunately I don’t have time this evening to follow all the proceedings such as nominating 15 more bloggers, but I should be able to this weekend.

In the meantime: here’s a photo showing what my kindergarten students have been up to in art this past week!

Playdough construction with beads, pipe cleaners, and plastic figures.

This summer I’ve had three classes that I meet with once a week on Thursdays. The preschool art group has been the class that I’ve enjoyed the most and that I really look forward to.  I’ve had a core group of two five year old boys, and one six year old boy.

I set up four choices, but we generally start with block building because students don’t all arrive at the same time, and it’s easy for the late comers to join in. The three boys really enjoy block building and imaginative play. I really have fun knocking down towers with them, and listening to their descriptions of how the toy animals are protecting the castles, or why all of the  orange blocks now represent cannons. They absolutely love it when I take dictation of their descriptions and stories  about what they have created.

Two weeks ago we had a fourth boy join in the class as a drop in. He wasn’t interested in the least in the wooden dominos I had brought that day as our block building opener. In fact after cycling through three choices in about five minutes, he finally found an activity that piqued his interest. The problem was that as he hurried through choices the other boys who usually will spend 15-25 minutes per choice were zipping along with him.  They weren’t settling in and really exploring the activities as they usually do.

Mr. Zip’s collage project.

Being that I am adaptable and flexible I made the best of the situation, and we still had a great class though for me I felt like an octopus with a hand in each station and managing several activities simultaneously. We weren’t playfully exploring and having the productive discussions about the art process that had been occurring other class meetings. We were bouncing into and out of the activities until the boy I’ll call Mr. Zip discovered the die press that I had set up for creating textured paper, that would most likely  be used  to make collages. Even then Mr . Zip finished  his collage first, and thankfully I had a picture book to read aloud about Timothy Wicks, a boy with a wonderful imagination. While I read the story to Mr. Zip the other three boys were happy to use the die press and stay at the collage center, while also listening to the story.

I was relieved the next week when Mr. Zip did not drop in. Everything was harmonious and relaxed and back to the pace at which discoveries were being made, and stories created.

Another wonderfrul building session that produced a fantastic world guarded by kittens!

This week Mr. Zip dropped in again. He was the second to arrive and technically was early. He did not want to build with blocks. As I figured the other students would arrive within  three or four minutes I had him sit at a table. He sat there quietly as the other boys came in and settled into the blocks. I asked him if he wanted to draw, which he did. I offered him markers, colored pencils, or graphite pencil. He chose the graphite pencil and began to draw a bird.

The three boys initially were building separate structures but then decided to connect their structures and really were cooperating and sharing both the blocks and the plastic animals. Rather than recording three individual stories I wrote down their dialogue which showed how their interactions fueled more ideas. (I was able to make photocopies for the boys to take home at the end of class so the parents could see the dialogue too.)

My three dedicated and very collaborative block builders started with three separate creations which they joined together.

Meanwhile Mr. Zip was engaged in drawing for the entire half an hour that the block building was going on. I was really amazed. And his drawing was really wonderful. I asked him if he wanted me to write down something about his picture, but he said, “No thanks.” I showed him a special  Lyra graphite crayon I have which allows you to fill in large areas easily and has a slightly different texture than a graphite pencil. He said he wasn’t interested, but later I noticed that he did test it out.

bird on a branch

I had also set up colored masking tape, cardboard tubes, small cardboard pieces for bases, old playing cards, and scissors for a sculpture station. I demonstrated a couple of attachment techniques and the kids started creating sculptures. One boy asked for markers, and soon the boys were also decorating their sculptures with colorful lines, pathways, etc…. One boy was really struggling with cutting the masking tape. He kept trying, and by the time he finished his sculpture, was excited that he could cut the tape easily without help.  After about twenty minutes two of the boys moved onto the playdough station. Soon it was time to clean up and go with parents, but Mr. Zip was still totally engrossed in making a marble run. His mother was a few doors down in another shop, and I said I’d bring him down. While I put materials away in preparation for my next class, Mr. Zip continued to work on his marble run for another twenty five minutes and talked to me about what he was doing with enthusiasm. His grandma popped in to take him to lunch and he left very proud as he showed her his two creations.

What I love about teaching is I’m always learning. Mr. Zip was a reminder to me that first impressions about a student can be very inaccurate. Perhaps Mr. Zip wasn’t feeling quite comfortable dropping in with a new teacher, in a new situation. Perhaps the activities I had just weren’t activities that appealed much to him.  After Mr. Zip left I reflected that I had been awfully quick to leap to the conclusion that Mr. Zip didn’t have a very long attention span. Mr. Zip did have a long attention span, but he had to have something to engage him that was meaningful to him. He has a lot to contribute to our group and I hope he drops in for our last session next week!

With the school year approaching, I will have new students. I will not have the luxury of teaching three or four at a time as I have this summer, but the lesson I learned will be a reminder to keep me open minded about the new students I am going to encounter.

I also have exciting news about the upcoming school year! I was offered a full time teaching position in the program that I’ve taught kindegarten art enrichment in one day a week for four years. I  will truly miss my homeschool students, but I will not miss juggling several part time jobs and schlepping my art stuff all over the county. I look forward to many wonderful adventures this school year! ( And I do get a one week trip to Lake Tahoe before it’s back to the trenches!)

Mr. Zip’s marble run. He spent a focused hour creating this.

Let’s let our children play

Play is essential and important! Play with your children and students! Playing is where the most meaningful learning happens!

Cooking Up Some Pinteresting Art Materials

Glorious Chocolate Playdough!

This past school year I became a member of Pinterest. As an educator I have found some helpful ways to use Pinterest that save me time and give me a way to organize information. And of course I love the fact that there’s a visual reference to the content.  The only drawback I’ve found is that I often have to google the pin topic in order to get to the info, instead of being able to go directly to the link from the Pinterest pin.

When I first began looking at Pinterest I noticed a lot of recipes for art materials. I started collecting them in a board. Then I actually tried one of the recipes which was for cooked chocolate playdough. The playdough came out looking and smelling like fudge. My students loved it! The only problem of course is that it is not at all edible!  It’s a recipe I’ve now used several times. I’ve tried about 15 recipes and some like the chocolate playdough are terrific, and some made me glad I tested the recipe, because the results were unsatisfactory. Thankfully none of the ingredients has been particularly expensive as they are mostly ingredients you can find at the grocery store. I taught a class in the homeschool program, where I have been teaching two days a week for the last four years, in which I helped students to make these recipes and then have the fun of using the materials. It was a great experience for them in that they practiced measuring and mixing skills, and got some practice at the stove in a safe, structured environment.  They saw chemical reactions, developed fine motor skills, and expressed their creativity! I have used these materials with preschoolers, primary grade students, and upper elementary students. The upper elementary students really enjoyed creating and exploring the materials as much as the younger children.

Here’s a brief review of some  of the recipes I tried.  I am going to include links to the recipes rather than writing each recipe here.

Cinnamon Ornament Dough: This dough is fun to make from cinnamon, applesauce, and glue. It almost feels like magic when it seems to miraculously turn into a dough you can roll out or sculpt with. And it’s great to let the kids mush it all together!  It definitely smells terrific!  You can press things into it to make texture, you can paint it, and glue things like sequins onto it. When your ornaments dry they are fun to hang up. Perhaps more crafty than arty, it’s still a great recipe to have in one’s toolkit!

Glitter glue was a great material for adding detail to the cinnamon ornaments.

http://crafts.kaboose.com/cinnamon-dough-ornaments.html

Chocolate Playdough : This recipe smells so divine and looks so delicious, it’s such a shame it’s not edible! I usually double or triple the recipe, because for a group of 4-6 students one batch is really not enough.

I used the quantities from the following recipe, but I cooked my dough on the stove top instead of just adding boiling water, because that’s how I usually have made playdough.  I was actually surprised when I reviewed the recipe that it wasn’t meant to be cooked on the stove. (I guess I was more concerned with ingredients than directions!) I didn’t have glycerin, and when the dough cooked it had a nice gloss even without it.  A dash of cinnamon adds to the lovely, chocolatey scent too!

A chocolatey cave with a flag on top! This playdough sculpts well too.

http://theimaginationtree.com/2012/01/easy-chocolate-play-dough-recipe.html

Chocolate Mocha Dough : I made this dough two weeks ago when I didn’t have enough   chocolate powder for a double batch of chocolate playdough. (That’s right folks…you are getting the scoop on an entirely new playdough recipe!)  I used one half cup chocolate powder and one half cup coffee instead of a whole cup of chocolate powder as a double recipe would call for. I had been given some Folgers coffee which I don’t really care for, but the grounds worked really well for this dough. It also gave the dough some texture in addition to the great scent! The moms really liked the smell of this playdough!  At first the kids didn’t, but then it grew on them!

Sand Dough :  I used coarse sand that I bought at Home Depot for about $3.00. My students and I liked the pebbly texture.  I imagine you could use fine grain sand. There are two basic recipes. One uses glue and one does not. The one with glue can be used to make creations that will harden.

http://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/art_recipes/sanddough/sanddough.html

http://www.twobigtwolittle.com/2012/06/sandy-playdough.html

Preschoolers exploring sand dough with cookie cutters, pine cones, sticks, and plastic animals.

A sand dough person made by a kindergartener. The hair had food coloring added to the dough.

Fresh Flowers Playdough :  A great easy no cook recipe! I happened to have some rose scented hand lotion.  I added it to the playdough and it provided a subtle rose scent. I haven’t been a fan of no cook playdoughs because the recipes often come out sticky, but this one was as good as cooked playdough!

http://www.blogmemom.com/fresh-flowers-play-dough-play/

Polymer Clay similar to Sculpey: Really stinky! I think it’s the baby oil that was a bit too overpowering for me. The consistency was nice especially if you let it sit overnight in a plastic bag and then kneaded it again before using. If you want a color it seems to work best to add the color while cooking. You can add food color in when you knead the dough, but that stains hands and takes a lot of kneading to get a uniform color. If you like swirled color though you might prefer to knead the color in after it’s cooked.

Using string to create a textured surface in homemade polymer clay.

Student combined dyed pasta we made with homemade polymer clay.

http://thenewnew.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-polymer-clay.html

Dyed Pasta: I thought that my students would enjoy making necklaces with bright colored pasta. When I went to my local grocery stores I looked for pasta that would be easy to string. Naturally the kids came up with all kinds of ideas for ways to use the dyed pastas besides making necklaces which means you don’t have to limit yourself to just those pastas that would work well for stringing. It’s so easy. All you need is a plastic bag with a good sealing top, some pasta, food coloring, and rubbing alcohol. The neon food coloring makes lovely colors. My students of course invented many new colors by mixing food coloring.  And they enjoyed turning the bag to watch the dye coat the pasta. The one thing we discovered however is that gel food coloring produces pasta that doesn’t dye well and is sticky.

http://www.artfulparent.com/2010/03/fun-with-dyed-pasta-part-i.html

Mixed media pasta!

Puffy Paint:  This paint is more like a flour batter. I poured it into some left over squeeze bottles I had from a tie dye kit. The squeeze bottles look like the type of bottles you might squeeze catsup or mustard out of. My students love pouring it from squeeze bottles onto cardboard and watching colors interact. On one blog I saw kids apply the puffy paint with q tips to cardstock.  After microwaving  they are thrilled with the change in texture, though some prefer the way it looks before microwaving. The paint lasts a long time if you don’t finish it up.  I’ve had mine for 6 months now and it’s still good. I had the students use inexpensive acrylic paint to make colors, and once again observed that color mixing is a very absorbing aspect of the activity.

Puff paint before it goes in the microwave.

Puff paint after microwaving. The picture is dry. You can see salt crystals and it has a raised surface.

http://www.learnplayimagine.com/2012/10/homemade-puffy-paint-with-3-simple.html

Snow Paint:  Snow paint is made with an equal amount of shaving cream and glue. We added food coloring and students had fun fingerpainting on a tray or table with it. Personally I recommend the tray for easier clean up! Paintbrushes don’t work so well, but I have seen q tips used as a way to control where the paint goes. The most successful method we tried was putting the paint into a sealable plastic sandwich bag, cutting off one corner, and applying the snow paint as if you were using a pastry bag to frost a cake.  You can also lay construction paper on designs and pull a print. Sprinkling glitter in is fun too!

A print with lots of texture made from laying construction paper on colored snow paint.

Colored snow paint applied in a plaid pattern with a plastic pastry bag.

I think the student laid another piece of paper on top of the plaid pattern, but she changed her design quite dramatically. Ah….exploration, process, and creativity!

http://www.kiwicrate.com/projects/Shaving-Cream-Snow-Paint-/799

Sidewalk chalk: Very messy activity. Best to do outdoors! Also use paper cups for mixing plaster of Paris. (I saved coffee cups from when I went to the espresso stand.) Never pour wet plaster down a sink!  It will clog your sink. Plaster is ground up gypsum rock, so if you spill it on gravel or grass it will breakdown and mix in with the soil. We used inexpensive acrylic paint for colorant. We poured our colored mixture into Dixie cups but you can use molds or ice cube trays. When the chalk is dry tear off the Dixie cup or pop it out of the mold. The chalk works well and the kids loved it. Too much acrylic paint prevents the chalk from hardening properly. We found this out because one boy was so into mixing his color that he put in a lot of paint and it never hardened properly.

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/homemade-sidewalk-chalk/

There are a lot of other chalk-like recipes that I haven’t tried such as sidewalk chalk paint. Perhaps that will happen this coming school year! Here’s a great link for a variety of chalk-like recipes.

http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/07/homemade-sidewalk-chalk-play-recipes.html

Colored Glue: The easiest recipe ever!  Just glue and acrylic paint. And kids absolutely go gaga over it!  We found it was fun to swirl the glue onto surfaces with popsicle sticks. Just cover your plastic storage container with a plastic lid or plastic bag. The glue became a decorating element as well as a sticking tool.

Drizzling glue with a popsicle stick was a very mesmerizing and zen like activity for my younger students.

Home made glue: This stuff really works, though you don’t end up with much glue compared to the cost of the ingredients. Kids did like seeing the change from liquid to glue when the vinegar was added.

http://www.devotionalmotherhood.com/2012/02/science-activity-homemade-glue.html

Baking soda clay: It has an interesting soft and very fine texture. It tends to crack during the drying process and breaks easily when dry. So this is a recipe I do not recommend. However if you try it and are successful, I’d love to hear your tips and tricks!

http://www.ilovefarmweddings.com/2012/09/17/handmade-clay-holiday-ornament-favors/

Alcohol ink: I tried making my own ink pads with sponges and homemade alcohol ink. The glycerin seemed to make the ink sticky.  The ink really stains hands and I imagine clothing because you use powdered dye for the color. Plus the results were just not that great. I never even let the kids try this as I wasn’t highly enamored with the results.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4964580_make-alcohol-ink-rubber-stamping.html

Corn Syrup Paint: The kids enjoy the fact that this paint tastes good, and they like mixing the colors. The paint is sticky and very shiny. It’s a fun experience, but probably best to do at home with your own children as the paint is sticky and it’s hard to transport home from school.

Mermaid painting created by a 10 year old Marie.

Crayon can be used with corn syrup paint as a resist creating barriers where paint will not spread. this mixed media piece created by 4 year old Maddy.

Thanks to all of the bloggers that shared their recipes and photos!  Thanks to all those Pinterest pinners for sharing their pins! And most especially thanks to my students that zestfully dove into making these recipes and allowed me to share their creations! I have quite a few more recipes I’d like to try, and hopefully this school year I’ll have more opportunities to do that!

Robots, Volcanos, Harry Potter, and Other Acts of Divergent Thinking in the Art Classroom

I am part of an active online PLC group of art educators that has incorporated choice based studio  practices to support student learning through the arts called TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior). While most of my fellow group members work five days a week in one school with a permanent studio, I am itinerant and work in a variety of alternative programs. One day a week I have a full choice studio in an art room with storage space, linoleum floors, and three sinks for kindergarteners that I work with for the entire school year. The other days I offer classes with themes, and have a quarterly turn over of students, but am still able to provide students with choice.

A variety of materials students can choose from to best express an idea.

This past semester I’ve been teaching a class called Art Inspirations in  the homeschool program I work in two days a week.  One of the significant topics which is addressed in choice classrooms is: Where do artists get ideas?   Some students have created enough art to know that family, friends, nature, favorite toys, screen media, books, imagination, art works, and the materials themselves are sources of  inspiration.  Other students get to discover these sources of inspiration as part of their participation in a choice studio environment.

P.S. created this piece in response to the prompt: create art in which line is an essential element.

In the class which I am going to discuss, I posed this question the first day, and the kids came up with a few ideas. I had a list of art themes that I developed for each class meeting for the students to explore. The topics we’ve explored have been dots, lines, shapes, graphic symbols, portraits, still life, and collage/assemblage.

TJ’s art that emphasized line.

I explain the topic and then offer a variety of two and three dimensional materials for students to choose from. As the topics change some materials like drawing and painting materials are generally available, but others like sticks, pipe cleaners, and modeling clay may be added to the mix. Students select materials that appeal to them, set up a work space, and create. After studio time we have an opportunity to view each student’s piece and share what we find interesting and appealing  about the work. The following class meeting I show students examples of how other artists have utilized the idea. The students then also get to learn a bit about artists and art history which is an added bonus!

Professional Artists explore themes such as the use of graphic symbols and so can students!

Teaching this class has been interesting.  I discovered that my younger students (K-3) were much freer and more divergent in their responses to these prompts than my older group of students (4-8). In fact several of the younger students rarely ever followed the prompt topic but came up with their own ideas that were inspired either by the materials or their imaginations. As far as I’m concerned the class was a success for all students because everyone used studio time wisely. Each one was inspired to create art that was meaningful to them personally. After introducing the portrait prompt TJ wanted to make a helicopter with pipe cleaners. In my local community a noted local artist paints detailed paintings of airplanes. I was able to offer that portraits might not just be of people and pets especially when considering what this local artist does.  One boy named A. M. drew wonderful drawings each class. The week the prompt was portraits, he created his own version of the Harry Potter Marauder’s Map on one side of his paper and Hogwarts Castle on the other.  I suppose I might be able to say it was a portrait of a castle.

The week afterwards when we were exploring the topic of still life, he drew portraits of characters from an audio book he’d been listening to at home showing that he’d processed what was going on the week before, but had other ideas that were more significant to him that week.

Yesterday I explained to the students that our final prompt would be a two week collage project. I reviewed that a collage was art which glued various cut or torn papers to create an image. I reminded them that Eric Carle the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar (a book all were highly familiar with) painted his paper and then created collaged illustrations with his painted papers. I demonstrated some gadget printing techniques so we could create our own specialty papers.  I had three students out of  6 that created some collage paper for the project. Here’s what the others created: P.S. painted a volcano.  TJ created a 3-d volcano with a cone of construction paper attached to a piece of cardboard.  He painted lava flowing down the volcano and then wanted three d material to create smoke to pour out of the volcano. I suggested using tissue paper  which was a solution he liked.  A.M. created a 3d construction using cardboard he had drawn on.

P.S. painted a volcano.

TJ created a 3 d volcano.

E. created collage paper.

Although students at times seemed  to ignore my prompt topics, they were still exposed to the topics  such as gadget printing and collage and ways a variety of artists had utilized those themes. As A.M. showed, portraiture could be part of his repertoire, when it was his choice.

In April I hosted a TASK party. Participants are asked to write tasks for others. The group of kids I worked with wanted to write their own tasks. They saw the available materials and had their own ideas, and just didn’t want to create tasks for others, or do tasks other kids came up with. Here is a robot a 12 year old boy was eager to create once he saw the big cardboard tubes.

Professional artwork is generally viewed as superior when it reflects an  individual’s own personal expression.  Artists that are significant in stature have often pushed the boundaries of art and practiced divergent thinking as well as mastery of media. I enjoy looking at Pinterest and have found lots of helpful teaching information there. I do often wonder why  teachers would appear to go gaga about having all students learn how to make cats like Laurel Burch does for instance, as I’ve seen repeatedly on Pinterest. It wouldn’t be so hard to use cats as a prompt and allow students to explore their own ideas on ways to represent cats. Then Laurel Burch’s cats as well as cat art from a variety of artists and cultures could be shared. This would actually give students more self confidence in their own ideas.

E. loves Batman and has made many pieces depicting him. In this case she selected several items for a still life and added Batman into the scene. She also sprinkled poppy seeds on the picture that she found while looking at a seed pod that was in one of the vases. I was a bit annoyed she sprinkled the seeds, but softened when she said they represented snow. She pushed my boundaries as well as those of her art!

I spend time getting to know my students. If they are interested in dinosaurs, horses, or Pokemon for instance I talk about those things with them, and support their interest in creating art about those interests. I have one kindergarten student that has announced she wants to paint every week during studio time. I’ve tried to make painting available in some form or other most weeks which makes her really happy. Students feel comfortable and appreciated as individuals. I believe that has led to their comfort in expressing themselves and in performing “shameless” acts of divergent thinking. And let’s face it.  I’ve taught all class projects and though most kids will go along with “the program” there will always be those that question the status quo and don’t buy in. They may do the project but it won’t be their best work, because they really aren’t invested in it. (You might enjoy reading a previous post: Whose Art is it Anyway?”) They might even misbehave and fool around causing mayhem, because they aren’t engaged. Other students will pretend to comply but surreptitiously do what they want rather than “follow directions”.  And that creates a classroom which is not a fun place for any of us to be.  It’s not open, sincere, and honest.  It’s a dictatorship, though it might be a relatively benign dictatorship. When I was working on my master’s degree I was assigned to read Paulo Friere.  I loved his ideas about the reciprocity which can exist between teacher and student as they take the learning journey together.  I’d rather be a part of that type of classroom.

Another one of A.M.s drawings. This was created in response to the shape prompt.

E.’s response to the shape prompt. A ballerina dancing with the stars!

Expecting students to create cats like a particular artist, to my mind, subliminally sends the message that the student’s idea of a cat or any other idea the student would like to explore isn’t  acceptable or good enough. If a teacher wanted to have students create art inspired by Laurel Burch, he/she could have students evaluate how Laurel Burch uses particular art elements such as line, shape, color, and patterns in her creations. Then provide students with a variety of materials  for them to create art that could allow them incorporate some of those techniques and ideas if they wish.

Recent painting by N.G. one of my homeschool students. Really love this piece…..in fact am quite envious that it isn’t my piece!

Each day I teach I am learning and inspired by my students and fellow education professionals. Sometimes that learning is about what doesn’t work for me and my students. Looking back over this past school year it’s been pretty wonderful overall, and the low points were challenging but valuable, because they spurred me to reflect and adjust classroom practices. Have a great summer everyone!  I look forward to creating some of my own art, and hope you all will too!

Page from an altered book I’ve been working on.

Who’s that tired lady I thought was my teacher?

Lizard Queen presiding over her minions! (Definitely not the metaphor I want for my teaching and classroom experiences!) (Collage by Bronwyn)

The past few weeks have been intensely busy, and I’ve been feeling wiped out and drained.   It’s hard to believe that it’s only been three weeks since spring break!  It feels more like a lifetime! Instead of leaving school on cloud nine after a day of art with the kiddos, I’ve been leaving school grumping and dwelling on the challenging and difficult moments in my day.

Wondering if this could be me after a tough group of short people! (Drawing by Audrey)

I realized that my schedule has been busier than it was earlier in the year because I’ve been teaching some additional classes at the new art store in my town.  My kids have also had more extra curricular commitments which has made me have to chauffeur them around more, which in turn means dinner later, and any chores or school prep get finished later too. Although the school year will be over soon, I’ve still got a lot of deadlines, and school events looming. There doesn’t seem to be such a thing as winding down, it just goes full bore up to the last day!

I was beginning to think that perhaps I just don’t have my heart in teaching any more, because I was feeling annoyed  with a few students for blurting, or talking when they were supposed to be listening for instance.  (I try to keep my talking to a minimum so we can maximize studio time.  And kids have no restrictions on conversing and collaborating during studio time!) I don’t want to get to the point that I hate going to work!  When I reflected more seriously about my feelings I knew that in my heart, teaching is my calling, and spending time with children really brings me tremendous joy. I was simply tired!

Pooped out Teacher Frances backed into a corner by seemingly endless work and life responsibilities! (Sockpet by Phebe)

 

I don’t know if it’s the great weather we’ve been having, getting to bed earlier, or just realizing that I need to focus more on the positive, but I feel as if I’ve come out from under the dark cloud which was shadowing  me!

We’ve had an unusually gorgeous spring, and the kids are anxious to be outside.  And who can blame them?  Here in the Pacific Northwest great weather has been in short supply  for several years.

I came home last Friday and got my sons to come help me with some yard work outside. It was the best therapy ever! Saturday morning I got up and made a list of things I needed to do on the weekend, and I actually got most of them done! Sunday I was able to  spend some time on school work preparations, which included testing a photo sensitive dye on fabric. (Inko Dye…really interesting results….looking forward to more experiments with students!)

Samples of Inko dyed fabric from Sunday experiments. The animals were made with silly bands. The stars were created with plastic cut up from an old school folder.

I’ve had a great week at school so far, and I feel excited about the activities to come before school ends! And now that I’ve gotten some major tasks off of my to do list, it actually does feel if school is winding down!

Student challenges will always be there. However, having a good sense of humor, and empathy are essential! There are always alternative ways to approach problems, and there’s no sense banging one’s head against the wall, when one can tunnel under, leap over, or make a detour. Sometimes that’s changing and adapting curriculum, and sometimes it’s trying a new strategy for managing challenging behaviors.

So….enough sturm and dross, and on with artmaking! I just heard Pierce Brosnan’s interview on NPR, and I loved how he finished by saying, “It’s work. Nothing comes from nothing. It’s always about doing, and showing up, and trying to get better at the job.” That desire to stretch, try harder, and discover the “new” in what is potentially “old hat” is what keeps the flames burning and the energy flowing in any work whether it’s acting, teaching, or running a cash register at the local grocery store. And I’m so glad I haven’t thrown in the towel, because after all, life isn’t always a steady trajectory!

Color mixing exploration by Bronwyn

I just found out that today is Teacher Appreciation Day, and that my post about overcoming burn out couldn’t have been more ironically timed!  I’m here to say that I appreciate the opportunity I’ve had to be a teacher, and my students are incredible teachers that I learn from every day! My most heartfelt thanks to my  students for making my life immeasurably richer and for sharing your zest for the pleasures to be found in little things like watching an ant, to the big things like painting a bold stripe of red across a painting!

Gelli plate monoprint created by Izzy