Arty-Kind-a-March

Megan - 2nd Grade

Clare - 3rd Grade

I've spent a lot of time doing art with kids this month. The more I do it, the more I enjoy doing it. But I still get frustrated with myself when I don't explain things well, when I see kids not knowing what to do. I'm still figuring out the best ways to help children explore their creativity. And of course every child is different, so learning how to work with so many different personalities is exciting and challenging.
I base my success as a teacher on whether or not my students enjoy doing the project I present to them, and then their emotional response to their finished piece. If they don't enjoy the class, if they're frustrated, I feel like I've failed them. I've learned that that kind of thinking doesn't help anyone.

Ultimately, my job is to guide, challenge and offer suggestions for improvement, and then the rest is up to the artist. I keep in mind that I had to draw and paint a lot of things to figure out my artistic interests. Perhaps, that's part of my role with these kids, helping them determine what inspires them, and what doesn't.

Pears
I love the fact that the pears are all different. I required that the pears were the compliment colors of the table they sat on, but they could choose what color family the pears would be. I also noticed that younger children tend to make objects small in relation to their paper. I reminded these students that the painting is not about the table and its background, but the pears. I suggested at least one pear had to be larger than their fist, and that seemed to help with size and space issues.  

Hayden - 4th Grade

Gabi - 5th Grade