A new year, a new room.

Got started cleaning up the mess of art supplies and furniture that were dumped in my new classroom end of last May and it feels great to have a new room with a wall of windows.  The light is spectacular with just enough shade from a tree outside the windows.  It also feels like I am making this room my own instead of inheriting another teacher's history.  There is much sorting to do but it's a good chance to inventory supplies and to brainstorm lessons to do with the materials I come across that have been boxed up and unused.  My creative juices are flowing and I'm excited to create a clean and organized space where kids can choose their own materials and lots of different kinds of materials are reachable.  There is no storage area so I will have to make everything neat and presentable on shelving--there is one storage cabinet but all other furniture is shelving of all kinds.  This school operates out of a commercial business building so there is nothing built in--just an open room with carpeting and walls.  It's a fun challenge to create an inspiring space for art to take place.  And with the right materials and stimulation art can happen.  Sure is nice to feel this optimism.

Dog days of Summer and a gentle rant

A few weeks left of summer break and I am starting to think about lessons and students and how to arrange the classroom now that I have relocated to a new room.  It will be a fresh start with more time before the "gate opens".  Last school year I had 2 days before school started to get prepared! (a late hire)  Cleaning up after the last year's teacher's chaos was disheartening.  Why does anyone leave a terrible mess whether or not they know if they're coming back?  Teaching art is a messy business and requires so much time to stay on top of the mess!  Sometimes I think of myself as a waitress who takes orders, cooks, serves and cleans up after 150 kids a day.  Anyone want this job?  No one really knows what the drill is unless they've done it.  It's fun but can be grueling.   I like to keep it a bit spontaneous so it doesn't get stale and too routine.  I thrive in a bit of chaos where there's excitement about the process and kids are so engaged that we all lose track of time. On the flip side, my job is to watch the clock, fire up their brains, provide stimulation, cover them up, invite them to work, reteach if needed, assist, encourage, discipline, and then help them cleanup, wash up, line up and head out!  All this in a  35 minute window. Wait a minute.  Who came up with this schedule????  I don't think it was an art educator. 

I am very pleased with my new classroom that has a wall of windows facing north.  My old classroom had no windows...you deal with it but there is nothing like natural light to inspire.  There's also a tree right outside the windows where we can look out into it's branches--we're on the 2nd floor so we can see into the tree!  It's the little things.   Drawing is so much more of a pleasure if you have natural light to play with. 

I will try to load some more pictures of artwork on this page and hopefully learn some more about doing this...still challenged by the process but know I will have a  breakthrough eventually.  Time to start checking in with other art blogs to get inspired by all the brilliant teaching out there.  Blogs are awesome!  Art Teachers are awesome!   The creative process is a miracle to witness.  Yeah ART!

3/20/2011

Spring is here!!!!!  Garden awaits me but I wanted to make a little progress on growing my blog site.  I'm stuck on trying to add more pages.  I haven't figured out the tab/link function but I'm hoping the answer will reveal itself after playing around some more.  Tricky stuff but I'm persistent.  So many more images to upload so I'm motivated.  It's like running a gallery online...and I know I want a new name for my site.  Soon.

Spring break is a week away....like an oasis in the desert!  Already making plans for delicious self care and retreat--a massage, yoga, getting the veggie plot ready,  lunch with friends, shopping for some new clothes!  Thanks goodness teaching is rewarded with wonderful time off to recoup.  I'm remembering to balance work this time around and not overdo it.  It's so important to avoid the hazard of "burn-out", something I know a lot about.

I think blogging will improve my writing skills so I'm happy to have this opportunity even though I don't have followers, yet.  The goal for my site is to offer beautiful, inspiring images and text to help other teachers and to be a witness to the genius of children.  Their creative expression is a wonder and it's a privilege to facilitate it.  


That's all for now!

3/13/2011

Day 1.  It's exciting to start a blog!  And not as hard as I thought it would be.  My purpose is to proudly display the work of my students and perhaps inspire other art teachers. I am in my 9th year of teaching art and I'm currently at a K-8 charter school in Frederick, Colorado.  Some challenges I have faced this year include not having a sink in my classroom, 35 minute art class periods for K-5, 27 classes per week, Kindergarten classes with 28 kids (!) and not having a budget per child to work with.   So far, I have overcome all challenges and have adapted to the work load and lack of plumbing.  The kids are great and my peers are lovely to work with.  That said, I'm pooped!