Kids' Opinions

So on the last week of camp I decided to have an overall share time encompassing all their thoughts for the summer.

First my reflections:

• Choice with middle school was much tougher than choice with 4th and 5th grade. 
• Possibly a modified choice for these students to start them off with an inspiration as opposed to complete free choice. 
• Possibly an overall theme for the week. 
• Maybe even several choices to create art about so that it doesn't go back to the way it was of me telling them exactly what to do. 
• The portfolio project lasted WAY too long for some of the members and that is where they put most of their effort. I think that this one should have a time limit. Or maybe even just their name on it and not all of their interests.
• Removing the stencils and stamps because it became too easy to just make random tracings. It became a cop out for making their own art, so those will disappear. 

Kids' Reflections:

• They liked the independence and freedom but liked that they were able to get help when they needed it. 
• Liked not being told when something needed to be finished.
• Felt like they had more ownership of the classroom and their personal work.
• They were able to make their idea comes true.
• Now that they know the function of the classroom they feel like they can make higher quality work. 
• The pictures at the centers helped them clean up the right way. 
• They miss the cleanup chart that I had done in previous semesters and like that they were held responsible and could compare themselves to other classes.
• Wanted to have some HAVE TO projects. Some that were lead by the teacher and wanted to do some large group projects. 
• I never told them they couldn't, they just didn't. So I will have to make that clear in the coming semester. 
• They loved having a large variety of materials to work with.
• They felt that there was less pressure on them by having no previous examples. 
• They wanted more video examples.
• This is due to THE ONE TIME I showed them the bob ross remix video on youtube. They loved that so much I must have played it 100x. 
• They want to learn specific techniques like stippling and hatching.
• Totally caught me off guard there but so willing to teach that. 

We ended with a girl who told me a poem she saw at an art supply store.

A dot isn't just a dot

It is more than a dot.

You can make stuff out of the dot.

So think about that dot. 

LOVE IT.

Overall  a successful summer with some rough spots. That is to be expected tho and I wanted to deal with any snags now as opposed to when I am doing my capstone. It was a lot of fun (minus missing two weeks and coming back to a lot of broken things.) Plus I learned how much I love blogging about my teaching experiences! 

The best thing  I heard today was "Ms. Alexa, with art, alot of times its the teacher that makes it awesome and you make it awesome. Those two weeks without you were really boring." Oh how they make my little art teacher heart melt.  

Week 6: better late than never..

So week 6 I decided to recap everything that I went through in a short 7 minute demo. What a mouthful. I never made it to ink and values but that was ok because I think that a lot of my students were overwhelmed with the amount of materials available.

It is currently week 7 and I am at UF for my summer studio courses that I need to take to graduate. So before I forget everything that happened, I wanted to reflect on the 6 weeks that I was present.

What worked:

• Choice Based Learning as a whole worked with the occasional student who didn't understand the allotted freedom to create.
• The classroom function and space was marvelous, once we got through two centers it was easier to spread them out. I kept basic drawing materials at each center to make up for some space issues at the beginning.
• The students became really patient during the demos and they knew that  it wouldn't take me long and they could work soon.
• After I added pictures to the stations, the room started to stay cleaner.
• Hiring classroom keepers a week before I left gave them the initiative to clean and show me they deserved to be hired. That was the cleanest I've ever seen the room and the keepers took responsibility. 

What needed to be changed:

• The post it note was too much during clean up and it was wasting paper. I changed it to a chart that gets glued on to their portfolios. This worked better and I could track all 8 weeks in on place. Less work for me. 
• Talk time needed to be more structured and that is a change I will make for the Fall Capstone Project.
• Keeping some students on task was difficult, they would make one thing in 15 minutes and say they were done. I need to find something for them after besides making something else which they wont even care about because they are no longer inspired. Maybe classroom jobs?
• Order more paper for portfolios. Unfortunately some of my paper didn't come in until the 3rd week and by then I had run out of the ones I was using for large portfolios. It was worse than newsprint but the biggest thing we had in the building. Make sure to get more. 
• Get more copy paper!

Overall there was so much I learned from this trial and error experience that I now feel more prepared for the Fall Capstone Projects. I really liked the classroom function as a whole so now I can do more observations on the problem solving aspect which is what I wanted to focus on. Summer is a hectic time at work and the school year brings a different set of kids and skills.

I am really looking forward to it. For now I'm having nightmares about what my classroom will look like when I return. Thankfully I hid most of the really good stuff. We shall see. 

Terrible Tuesday & a Recap

Remember that comment I made about being terrified of having a sub for two whole weeks? Yeah, I got a taste of that on Tuesday when I went on a field trip with the High School Members and was gone for two blocks. A total of three hours. Not even a whole day.

I left explicit instructions for the sub which he read over in front of me. I asked if he had any questions, he did not and I left for the field trip. When I returned I found things out that should not have been used, materials that they did use in other places and STAMPS ON MY DRY ERASE BOARD. I am now officially terrified of the mess that I will come back to. Due to this inconvenience and nightmare, I have decided to hide most of the materials that they usually use. I will be leaving them with the basic drawing materials and the collage station. While the collage station will probably be a huge mess I need them to learn that even though I'm not there they must care for the materials as if they purchased them. Also, I have hired 2-3 "Classroom Keepers" for their scheduled block to help with the mess and to assure that the routine goes as planned. I will be "paying" the classroom keepers in Character Counts Coupons (a reward system we have for good behavior) and Free Taco Bell Coupons. I will have the sub make sure that they do their jobs and will hopefully leave me notes as to the classes overall behavior. I'm nothing short of terrified, but I must go to UF for the studio classes. I graduate in December, it has been a wonderful experience and I am thankful for all that I have learned.

Printing and stamping for the other class has gone really well and they have made some really interesting monoprints. I hope to get them passed back next week to be sorted into their portfolios.

Week 4: Printing & Stamping

With two classes so far this week I thought it was important to record how my first day went with printing
and stamping. I showed them the basic stamp that went over well... until it came to cleaning them before using them in another color. So I developed a quick wash process for the sink that didn't involve constantly running the water. This worked out better than the other way and limited wasted water and people hanging out at the sink.

The prints we did were simple mono prints from one side of the paper to another. I showed the example, did the demo, showed them how to clean it and we were on our way. I limited it to one mono print for the day so that everyone could have a chance if they wanted. It worked out well and it was obvious who listened

to the demo and who was daydreaming. They really enjoyed this method, so much so that a few of them tried to sneak a second one. We fixed that problem early and it ended up working well. I had them blow dry them and then put them on the drying rack. During one of my planning periods I'm going to sort them and put them in their cubbies to be distributed next week.

We were having a problem cleaning up and returning things to their spots so I took pictures of everything (labels are NOT enough). These pictures show the proper placement for everything. Now no one can say they dont know where it goes. They've only been up for about two hours but they seem to work a little better.




I'm a bit terrified to go away to school this summer and leave a sub in my class. I will try to leave as clear instructions as possible but I know I'm a little ridiculous about the schedule and routine of the classroom. We. Shall. See.

Week 3: Collage and Trial & Error

I'll start with the trial and error portion. Originally I was having the members do exit slips on the way out the door on a large board. Many of the members were forgetting to do them/or just not doing them. I would have to count them out and record them on my own personal sheet to track them. This simply became overwhelming for both parties. So what I devised was a simple table I created in word that had space for all the same weekly information such as the center they used and what they did that day. I had them glue this rectangle on to their portfolios because everyone has one and when I walk by I can glance at the portfolio and see what they've been up to. This was the first week and I devised it in the middle of the week so 4 classes have missed this but I will make up for it next week. I know my Monday classes need it and my Wednesday afternoon needs it since I left sick yesterday. [stupid migraines]

So on to collage. Many of the members took to this and created some interesting pieces. Some even voluntarily shared their work [gasp]. As a middle schooler this can be terrifying but they did it and did it well. I was proud and they received a character counts coupon for their bravery and sharing. I also hung their work in the gallery for a little extra recognition.

Many of the members who took their time on portfolios reverted to the pastels that they didn't have a chance to try. It was nice to see them go back and practice something new and have other options as well. Some took my example and created their own [what a relief, they didn't copy] But they used a mixed media approach by creating a pastel background and then using the collage center to add their pieces. Many of them are just in the scribble phase and dont know what their artwork means so when we talk I try and point out the elements and principles. One girl's was so symmetrical and so we talked about what that means.

Overall mostly everyone has been hard at work. The ones who attempt to finish early I push to do something else or deepen their current work. Some are stuck and thats ok, thats when I lead them to the library and find lots of different artwork for inspiration.

Many of the kids say they enjoy art better this way and I can see that they are getting better at sitting through the 5 minutes demos. Next week is printing and stamping. I'm going to show them to make monoprints for which I have made amazing tempra paint glue bottles to cut down on waste and mess. I'm going to show them the process and then limit it to 5 people at a table. The stamping table will be open to 7. That takes care of almost an entire class and hopefully that starts to spread them out more. I have drawing supplies at all the tables so that I can send them to different tables when it gets too crowded or they need some time apart from their friends to get their work done.

I mentioned I went home sick and someone took my classes. When I returned this morning my room was a mess. This only makes me cringe because I'll be gone for two weeks later in the summer. I hope I dont come back to a hot mess, but I've already been told to expect it.

Really looking forward to next week. When I'll also be doing random portfolio checks.

Oh and P.S- I'm FINALLY getting a kiln. I have been waiting three years for this. [insert excited art teacher squeals]

-Alexa

Week Two- Recap

I started out the week with an attempt at collage and pastels. I should have known better but it was an experiment. I only managed to get through that with one class and the rest were all intro'd to pastels in the drawing center. This worked better and many of the members took to the pastels and created some really wonderful pieces. I loved seeing so many different works in the making. No two looked alike! I will call this a success. In the last post I mentioned how I was allowing some name drawing since this was their comfort zone. After speaking to my committee chair he let me in on a little secret line he used to use with his middle schoolers. "What is the most boring way we could do this? We don't want to be boring, so lets think of something else to do!" What that turned into was me telling them that if they couldn't think of anything to do but their name to take the letters of their name and start thinking of things that began with those letters. For example, my name, Alexa. It starts with an A so I could draw an apple, or the letter L and draw a leaf, or the letter E and draw an elephant. The kids laughed and took to the idea and after that I didn't see any more name drawings. Amen for that.

Many of the members were determined to spend more time on their portfolios and thats ok. I keep reminding them that there isn't really a time frame because artists work at their own pace. They REALLY liked that idea. One girl said, "Thank goodness, my school art teacher makes us all do the same thing in the same color and finish at the same time. Thats boring!" Yes, little artist, it absolutely is.

It has been a good second week and they members are asking what's next. I've got them hooked, lets see what next week brings. I have included some of the pastel works that are coming along nicely. They have already learned about fixative and always ask to have their's sprayed so next week it wont be ruined. They are just as on top of it as I am. It makes me proud and excited.

On another note, I have received full IRB approval! So onward with my research project that I am looking forward to soooo much.

Week Two- Introducing Pastel & attempting Collage

So my first thought is that I'm trying to fit too much into one day. Many of these members have been attending for years and I thought that they could handle the multiple materials and that this would be a good way to spread them out in the room.

For the first Block of the day I tried both. The second block was a MUCH rowdier group so I only introduced them to pastel. The members seems to take to it well. I demonstrated the way to blend and

create layers. I also showed them how to use a kneaded eraser to remove some of the smudges. At the end they learned about fixative so that their images wouldn't smudge in their portfolios. This went well and many of the members tried it out.

Some of the members went directly to their comfort zone of drawing their name. I let it slide because of what I read in the TAB group. This was their comfort and I wanted to praise them and show them it was ok until they found inspiration otherwise.

Some continued to work on their portfolios using the markers and colored pencils from the past week. This was ok with me because it told me they wanted to put some honest effort into their portfolio.

One member went ahead starting a comic book because he said when he grew up he wanted to write comics. I encouraged him to start now. By the end he had come up with the main characters. This pleased me. He built on an interest.

The first block was mainly old members so I felt comfortable showing them collage, complete with fancy scissors and shape cutters. They did a good job until it came to clean up. They rushed a little but I caught them and we went through the paper again to salvage the good pieces. I let them know that the more conservative they were the longer they would be able to use it. It went well overall.

The "learned it" post it was difficult for many of them but this was the first week. I reminded them and gave
them examples. They didn't do too bad. It is just getting used to the new routine. Overall, after some talks with the second group, order was restored.

I'm finding this way of teaching a lot more fun but a lot of work- which isn't a bad thing. During the school year I dont see nearly as many members and I know it will ease up a bit. Also many of them are in lazy mode because it is the summer. I keep encouraging and after a few pushes they seem to do well. I ALWAYS tell them "you are smart, you are capable, there is nothing here that you cant do, if you think it is bad then work to make it better" I remind them that we are here to make them "productive, caring, responsible citizens." I love my challenging kids, they remind me why I do what I do.

Art with a Heart
-Ms. Alexa