Lesson Learned: Keep Reading

All the questions I had in the last post were answered in the next chapter on the drawing center. If I had just kept reading for 10 more pages.. well, lesson learned, keep reading.

So the drawing station:

Keep the basics on hand and accessible to students for normal use.

Materials:

1. Pencils
2. Crayons
3. Colored Pencils
4. Markers
5. Erasers
6. Rulers
7. Stencils

Resources:

1. Drawings books
2. "What artists draw" board
3. Tips and tricks for materials
4. Idea Boards
1. I have this nifty idea in my head by starting each semester with the making of a new portfolio that keeps their work and serves as a brainstorm board to keep their ideas. Any time they are stuck they can refer to their portfolio [or the resource library] for inspiration.

The 'special' drawing supplies (pastel, charcoal, pen and ink) are kept separately and introduced through their own 5 minute demos as additions to the drawing center. In my own version students must fill out a plan sheet including their required materials and then they will be given the special supplies. This will also help cut down on waste.

I'm also wondering if I can keep the plan sheet and add self evaluation to it. At the bottom I've already added a corner that tracks whether they completed the project or if it was abandoned. Projects may not be abandoned without discussing it with me.

In Engaging Learning through Artmaking, the second center/station to be opened is simple painting. I dont know if that is manageable for me at this time. Currently our studio uses acrylic paint and tempra paint pucks. I guess the paint pucks are an option to start with but collage seems more logical and manageable.

On a side note: I had a horrible experience yesterday that made me cringe when thinking about implementing choice. I passed out pastels [brand new in the box, mostly unbroken, brilliant pastels] and when I came around to collect them one of the girls had drawn all over them with her pencil and then used pastels to color other pastels. I about lost my mind. So in looking back I am trying to think of reasons for her inappropriate behavior and lack of respect for the materials. She wasn't engaged with the materials and she didn't like her project, so that was what she did to take up her time. So now I know next time to approach it differently. I'm still stuck on whether to trust her with the new materials, so is it wrong if as a consequence she must work in something else? like crayons? In some of the readings so far it has mentioned closing of a station when the materials are mistreated. I will have to see how this goes.

And I am hoping to load pictures of my classroom in its current state before the transformation so that should be coming soon... as soon as I find the charger to my digital camera.