Ah, kindergarten. There is nothing in teaching quite like having a group of kindergarteners for the first time. Everything is brand new. And exciting. And different. And there's so much to remember! We spend the first classes in the art room learning how to be artists. We learn how to use the room furniture, how the paper should look, the right way to use the supplies... the list goes on. Everything is new! One of my favorite first lessons is based on the book "Ish" by Peter H. Reynolds. You may have heard of his other book, "The Dot." That one is good. But this one is my favorite! The little boy in the story worries that his drawings don't look quite right, but then he discovers that they look "ish." We made creatures that didn't have to look perfect as long as they were "creature-ish" and gave them silly creature things like eyes and tongues and feet. There are so many different ability levels in kindergarten, and it's fun to be silly and use our imagination while I am learning about where the kids' abilities are. I love how different all our "ishes" turn out! 
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Thinking "Ish"ly in Kindergarten
Ah, kindergarten. There is nothing in teaching quite like having a group of kindergarteners for the first time. Everything is brand new. And exciting. And different. And there's so much to remember! We spend the first classes in the art room learning how to be artists. We learn how to use the room furniture, how the paper should look, the right way to use the supplies... the list goes on. Everything is new! One of my favorite first lessons is based on the book "Ish" by Peter H. Reynolds. You may have heard of his other book, "The Dot." That one is good. But this one is my favorite! The little boy in the story worries that his drawings don't look quite right, but then he discovers that they look "ish." We made creatures that didn't have to look perfect as long as they were "creature-ish" and gave them silly creature things like eyes and tongues and feet. There are so many different ability levels in kindergarten, and it's fun to be silly and use our imagination while I am learning about where the kids' abilities are. I love how different all our "ishes" turn out! 
Welcome Back!
Long time no see, blogosphere! I am back after a year-long hiatus from the blogging world. I was still teaching full time last year, but I was also up to my eyeballs in homework. Teachers never stop learning, either! Now I can officially add MEd to my professional title. I loved taking graduate classes to get a fresh new perspective on my students and my classroom, and to get to know other art teachers. Other teachers are my biggest source of new ideas! It was a busy year, though. Not only was I tackling finishing up my masters degree and writing a thesis, but I was also hosting a student teacher. I already miss having Miss Mayo in my classroom. I wish I could have kept her :) Last, but not least, I had a baby! Little Miss Rowan is the newest, tiniest, member of our family. We love all love her, but she loves her big brother most of all. With all the craziness going on last year, the blog fell by the wayside. But I'm glad to be back to share our art room stories!
I didn't make too many changes to the classroom this summer (ahem, new baby who doesn't like sleeping) but I did create a fun new rainbow theme to welcome students in! Along with the rainbow, I had students who came in to visit during back-to-school nightdecorate a raindrop. I also created a collaboration space for students to add drawings to during free-draw time. More on that later in the year!
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