A Poem inspired by a Kindergartener

Don't Eat the Crayons!

By: Rachel Dillon

I love to teach art,
art class is so fun,
Except when art parts
became food for one.

“Don’t eat the crayons!”
I told Zack, on Monday.
With crayon in his teeth he told me, “OK.”

“Don’t eat your eraser,”
I told Zack on Tuesday.
He swallowed real hard and then asked to go play.

“Don’t lick the blue paint,”
I screeched on Wednesday.
Paint dripped down his chin which he then wiped away.

“Don’t taste the pastels,”
I begged Zack on Thursday.
He spat out three pieces much to my dismay.

Friday came along
and I was scared to teach art
I walked into class
slowly pushing my cart

And there at a table
sat Zack with a smile.
He gave me a paper
he pulled from a file.

It said, “To my favorite art teacher,
Art stuff tastes like gruel.
I’d rather make art,
cuz art is so cool.”

 

The Age Range in an Art Class

I've made an interesting observation within my last few kid's art workshops; an age range in class is beneficial to the creative process.

Now, I haven't done any scientific, psychological studies or anything, but I do spend a lot of time with children and their art. It seems that around third or fourth grade children start to fear creativity. They begin to feel anxious about being right versus wrong (understandably in our test-crazy educational system.) Some have a hard time with the whole trying and not caring if it's perfect. It is almost as if they have begun to define themselves as artistic or not-artistic.

Kindergartners are fun to watch doing art. They are boundless with their creations, happy to mix a paint color and never actually apply it to a canvas. Exploring and trying to do something as simple as drawing a star can give them immeasurable pleasure, and upon their success the gratification is the joy of being able to guide their mind and their hand together.

A parent asked if I was going to start splitting up my classes by age. I respect that question and certainly someone in upper middle school and in high school might have a hard time in the same class as a first grader that doesn't comprehend in-depth instruction. But, after I thought about it I figured that first graders in the same art classes as seventh graders could actually benefit both parties.

The free-flowing creativity of younger students and the detail orientation and calm of older students are a great combination in an art classroom. The energy rises and falls and ultimately, they inspire each other.

Art Auction Items Blog

Kindergarten Collaborative Piece

The art projects are complete. A total of 52 pieces will be on display. The invitations have been sent out and posters are in the school hallways. My checklist is almost full of checks, whew. The last elements on my agenda include: name tags for the auction items; bidding sheets for each auction item; and assembling a team for the auction night to keep track of the bids.

For the parents unable to attend I established a blog, listing each individual auction piece where they can place a bid the night of the event. I'm asking the administration to send an email reminder to the parents the day before and the day of the auction. To bid, parents and family simply leave a comment on the auction item posting. I'll have two people with iPads walking around updating the physical sheets at the auction and then updating, as necessary, the auction item, should the bidding continually change.

The work is almost done but there are factors working against the event that might not make it successful. It is at the end of the school year; parents have an event at the school two days before the auction; and, the cost to attend the dinner auction is high. The lack of success won't be for the lack of beautiful artwork, that is for sure!

Collaboration - Elementary School Art Auction Pieces

This is the Kindergarten Classes Collaborative Piece 22"x17"

On top of the individual and collage art auction pieces I've created a collaboration piece for each individual class. My collaboration pieces are a mosaic puzzle of an image. Here are my steps:

1) I created the piece on an 8.5x11 piece of paper with just the outlines (like a coloring book page.) 
2) I then blew it up on a copier so that it became a 22" by 17" piece.
3) Using oil pastels, I matched the colors to the original inspirational painting.
4) I cut it into squares depending on the number of students in my class. (16 or 24)
5) I laminated the squares individually.
6) In a plastic bag I put the the individual laminated square, and the identical uncolored square, plus the oil pastels used to color in that specific part.
7) I know my students abilities so I made sure to match the artist skill to the complexity of the square.
8) I'll spray a fixitive on top and mount them together to create a single piece. 

This is the first grade collaborative piece 17"x22"