Teaching Artist Practicum:
Placement #1: Urban Arts Academy, Preschool, Wednesday 1:15 - 4:15 (3 Hours)
Placement #2: Whittier International Elementary School, Teachers Susan Buchholz and Angela Olson, Kindergarten, Monday 12:00 - 3:00 (3 Hours)
Shadowing: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Angela Olson, No Shadowing Opportunity This Week
Urban Arts Academy - Preschool
Wednesday, April 24th, 1:15 - 4:15 ( 3 Hours)
On Wednesday the 24th, I spent my afternoon with the kids of 208! When I got there, the students were finishing up their nap time, and I was warned by Mr. Nehemiah that they were off the wall crazy - and boy was he right. I found out that Mrs. Brown is now taking over as the Preschool teacher in 208 starting next week, and she was there observing. Hopefully she likes the position and ends up staying for awhile! I personally explained my part at Urban Arts Academy and described how I am supposed to teach an arts integrated lesson, and she has no problem with that. She also thinks that the traced body self=portraits would be a very cute idea! I told her if all the kids aren’t fully on board not everyone has to participate because the class sometimes has bad days, but we will just do our best and try to get them excited about it and have fun. She is totally supportive, and I mentioned how I’d come prepared with materials at well. I am shooting for April 8th, so I am going to start my PBM within the next few days!
As for the classroom today, the letter of the week was “G.” Mr.Nehemiah always has cute stations for the letters of the week. This time, students could make green grasshoppers, use chalk to draw green things and guess what each other’s are, or color grapes and practice tracing the letter G. The kids really enjoy the drawing and guessing game, so I sat with them for awhile, and we all had a lot of fun - or at least I did for sure! I thought the stations were really fun. Afterwards, students had snack time, a little bit of time for free play, and then we headed to the park to enjoy the really nice weather. Overall it was a good time, and I felt most “at home” today at Urban Arts than I have all semester, which is great. I definitely feel like I make a difference there, and everyone knows my name more so I really feel like part of the group. I look forward to completing my lesson and finishing up these last few weeks - it has been great! I plan to up my hours these last few times I attend as well.
Whittier International Elementary - Kindergarten
Monday, April 22nd, 12:00 - 3:00 (3 Hours)
I had the pleasure of attending Whittier Elementary on Earth Day!! 🌍🌏🌎
When I got there, I immediately helped Angela start setting up for the students’ Earth Day art project. Before the project began, the students sat down to get to know what Earth Day was. Angela read them a few short stories; they also had quiet time, read to self, and had a snack. When the students were not engaged in these things, they were sent over to me at a back table, and I personally helped each student complete their Earth marble painting! I was so happy that Angela trusted me and put me in charge of working with each kid to help create their paintings. I sat down and explained the project before each student began, and they were so amazed that they were using marbles (in this case we had to resort to beads) to paint. A lot of them questioned if they were finger painting or asked me where the brushes were. It was great to get them learning they can use many tools to paint, not just a brush! Most of the students were really engaged and dove right into the project. There were a few instances where some students were uncomfortable and I had to start shaking the tray for them first, and then they took over. I was amazed at the fact that although the project seemed pretty straightforward, there were some students who came up with their own process, their own way of shaking the lid. Some students ditched the lid altogether and couldn’t resist the urge to use their fingers, so their paint ended up blending, but I just let them go for it! Angela planned to cut out each student’s marble art in a circle towards the end of the week to make each student an Earth of their own. I spent my whole time at Whittier helping the kids paint, which I have no complaints about! It was very enjoyable and the day went crazy fast. I’m so glad Angela put me in charge of this project., and I wish I could see the final outcome - maybe next week!
I also noticed Angela and Susan made some additions to the Pennant Project while I was away!
Minneapolis Institute of Art - Open Studio Day Shadowing
No Shadowing Opportunity This Week
I have been in contact with Angela trying to find some additional opportunities for hours, her schedule has been crazy due to Art in Bloom!
Personal Update
🌺🌳 🌈🐋 Happy Earth Day! 🌞🐙🦋🍄