Now that things are settling down, I can breathe again. Meaning, I have time to do the things that I love!

During a recent afternoon at Barnes N Noble, I decided to head over to the children's section, in search of some new books for the Kids Read and Rock Out portion of Teach With HeArt. I found several old favorites and skimmed through a few new literary companions.

I also sat down and read through three or four magazines, including an excellent creative writing journal that was bursting with prompts!

Finally, after contemplating the purchase of a make-your-own mandalas craft kit in the bargain area, I made my way to the art area, and settled on a new pack of oil pastels.

When I got home, I pulled out an old coloring book and announced to my better half, "I'm going to color one of these every night this week and post it on my blog." I immediately got to work with my Sharpies :)

The next morning, whilst catching up on my Daisy Yellow reading, I noticed a coincidental challenge. Tammy was linked to Leah, the author of Creative Every Day, who has challenged people to create something every day in November.

I have accepted the challenge, and will be posting a new piece of artwork every day in photo gallery "My heArt."

This morning's rain reminded me of one of my FAVORITE art projects, to do with my students...

Simply get some dried tempera paint. Allow the students to sprinkle differnt colors all over a large sheet of manilla paper.

Place the paper out in the rain, and watch the water work it's magic!

You'll see color mixing, and create great textures with no hands.

Once your cozy classroom environment has been created, you must get to know your students.

Why? Because, getting to know one's students is essential to managing the classroom, and modifying lesson plans to accomodate all cultural backgrounds and learning styles.

I say,of course, "Do it with heART!"

Many teacher-training manuals, offer worksheets that you may copy and pass out to your students. They ask questions like, "How many people live in your home? Who are they? Do you have any pets? and, What are your hobbies?" Students simply fill in answers.

Such worksheets are a great jumping-off point, however, they may present problems for children who cannot yet read, ELL students, and pupils who are visual or kinesthetic learners.

To avoid these road blocks, supplement the worksheet with art! Or, ask students to create a work of art alone. Colors, textures, photos and other visual representations allow you to see deep into a person's heart and mind, without the use of words. (And, it is effective @every grade level!)

REAL LIFE EXAMPLES:

In my "History of African American Women" course, at the University of North Texas, we were assigned a "Soul Project." We could paint, sculpt, write a poem, sing or dance. The objective was to represent ourselves in a manner not typical of the andro-centric/Euro-centric classroom. Inspired by my students at the Reggio Emilia preschool, I painted.  This was the FIRST canvass I ever had the guts to paint... at 23 years of age! (see above)

Tammy, the author of Daisy Yellow, asked her daughter to create an "All About Me" collage. I think this is a great way to get to know your elementary school students!

I am a list maker. I jot down the tasks I must accomplish during the day, grocery lists, and packing lists. I even compose lists of my ideas for Teach With heART! (SEE PIC ABOVE) 

I am currently reading a book about my obsession called, To Do List. This book by Sasha Cagen is a collection of lists that everyday people have written. At the bottom of each page, Ms. Cagen has included a fun "Do It Yourself List Idea."

I highly reccomend this book! It has made me realize that no matter how much you think other people have it together, they don't. We are all struggling to accomplish goals,and sometimes to simply make it through the day. And we all have our own, quirky little ways of organizing our world :)

What's Your Style?

Your classroom should not only reflect your personality and style, it should incorporate your students' as well. What better way to do this, than including student artwork!? My favorite pieces to display are students' paintings, photographs and bead-work.

There is usually a great deal of free time during the first few days of school, as you are teaching your rules and getting to know your students. UTILIZE this gift! Give each of your students some manila paper, washable paints, a paintbrush and let them go.  You will love the new colors and textures they create! Once the paintings are dry, choose a few to hang in black frames with white mattes. They will look very classy, and the children will know that their input is valuable :)

Another way to include the talents of your pupils in creating your visual classroom aesthetic, is to create a "Family Photo Collage." Send a disposable camera and a letter to parents, at the beginning of the year. Ask each student to take a few  pictures of his/her family. (The important thing here is that the child operate the camera) When the cameras are returned to school, have the film developed and create your collage. I have used a "Family Tree," and attached the photos to a large paper tree. A friend of mine hung hers on a fishing net with clothes pins, when her room had a tropical motif.

*Having family photos in early childhood classrooms is especially comforting for children embarking on their first year at school. In addition, the photos will spark social studies lessons as children begin to compare and contrast their family dynamics. I LOVE emergent curriculum!

** A variation of this activity for middle school and high school students, would be to have them photograph their friends and favorite activities. Peer acceptance and finding one's self become important in adolescence.

Finally... beading!!!! Work with your students to create long strands of beads. You can hang these in the window as curtains, create dividers for your centers or hang them from the ceiling to add depth to your room.

*Not only are beads beautiful, they enhance eye-hand coordination and promote early math skills, as children develop their own patterns.

**Hanging beads in the window might also be a chance for emergent science lessons, as the sun shines through the beads and creates a rainbow on your floor!

Stretch funky fabrics from IKEA over different sized canvasses, and create a collage on one of your walls.

Use sheer Indian saris as curtains.

Hang photographs in nice frames of you, your family, pets, places you've traveled,etc.

STEP ONE: FIND INSPIRATION

Whilst wandering in Michael's one day looking for scrapbook paper, I stumbled upon a collection of embellishment paper, by Making Memories. I loved the colors and patterns, and decided to purchase. This stack of funky paper became the inspiration for decorating my classroom!

STEP TWO: DECIDE WHAT YOU NEED, AND CREATE!

My first project was to create a calendar, for my circle time area.

To begin, I cut the days of the week from a cheap teacher's calendar I bought at Dollar Tree. Next, I cut 2 inch squares out of the embellishment papers, using my Cricut. Then, I punched out 1 inch white paper squares and adhered them to the 2 inch squares, using Mod Podge. Once the squares were dry, I used a teal Sharpie to write the numbers 1-31. Finally, I laminated all the numbers. I used velcro to attach the days of the weeks and the numbers to the black poster board, allowing me to move them around as the months changed.

For my next project, I decorated a bulletin board using the same embellishment paper, and hung it using a black crafting boa.

I also created a Jackson Polluck- inspired painting to hang in my room. First, I painted a piece of white poster board completely black. Next I mixed paints to create the fuschia, teal and gold colors found in my embellishment stack. I splattered the fuschia, teal and gold paint all over the board, then trimmed it with a black crafting boa.

I used some African fabric with the same color tones to create a curtain around a storage shelf, and displayed a few of my random doodles above the calendar.

STEP THREE: HANG IT UP AND WATCH IT WORK!

My students frequently touched the feather boas, commenting on the texture. They also re-created circle time, using the "pretty" calendar.Some of them even noticed the pattern I used when creating it! (an early math skill)

In my last blog, I shared a bit about how I became inspired and began creating art myself.

In this blog, I will tell you how art became such a BIG part of my teaching style.

While working on my BA in social servivces, I got a part-time job as a teacher's assistant, at a Reggio Emilia inspired preschool. I had NEVER witnessed this type of school environment or teaching approach before, and I was in awe! The children were allowed to literally roll in the sand, catch bugs, paint with their hands, make a mess, and ask questions. They did these "projects" where all academics were taught, by using a topic THEY were currently interested in, not what the teachers thought they SHOULD be interested in. There were NO WORKSHEETS, and there were NO CRAFTS!

I worked at this amazing school for two years.

After I graduated, I went to work in the social services field for six months. Then, I decided to go for my master's degree in Sociology. When my current employer would not work with my school schedule, I called the preschool back, this time seeking a full time position! They welcomed me back with open arms, and I began my days as Master Teacher of the Fours.

As a full time teacher, I got to be much more engaged in the project work and the student assessments. Rather than performing standardized testing as the only measure of student progress, we kept portfolios. It was so neat to see the progression of the children's art work from age 2-5!

I began using art to extend almost every lesson! SCIENCE, MATH, ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS, SOCIAL STUDIES! In addition to enhancing core academics, art is an excellent way to refine young children's motor skills.

After deciding to take an indefinite break on pursuing my master's degree in Sociology, I began an Alternative Teacher Certification Course. I knew at this point that although I loved the softer sciences, TEACHING IS MY DREAM!!!!!!!!

After teaching four years at the Reggio Emilia inspired school, I went to a new preschool...a fine arts preschool where I continued to extend my lessons with art. I would frequently display my student's artwork in frames or hang it from the ceiling in the hall. The children and parents loved this! It gave students a way to revisit what they had learned and fostered conversation with their parents about what they had learned in school that day, or that week.

Now I am a substitute teacher and have discovered something different about art. It can be used as a classroom management tool as well!

After working in a Reggio Emilia inspired preschool, however,I learned that art does NOT have to be perfect. It does not have to fit some cookie-cutter mold!

Watching children relax as they painted, cringe as they molded wet clay, and giggle as they piled hundreds of stickers onto a small sheet of paper made me begin to look at art in a whole different way.

Seeing the textures that were created by applying way too much paint to cheap construction paper, and listening as children explained their works of art to me, truly inspired me to create my own art!

Now I know that art is an expression of self. It is an opportunity to experiement and make a mess. To try and try again. To create...textures, new colors, bold patterns...

Art allows us to say all the things we cannot express with words, by visually representing the harmony and dissonance we encounter on a daily basis.