Teaching Artist Practicum:
Placement #1: Urban Arts Academy, Preschool, Wednesday 1:15 - 4:00 (2.75 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, March 27th 1:15 - 4:00 ( 2.75 Hours)
On March 27th, I attended Urban Arts Academy again.. this time, Mr. Roman was out sick so I spent the entirety of my time with the children in room 211! I started by cleaning up a few things in the room so that the kids could start their art stations. Students had stations where they could created patterns in clay with pine cones, paint a large paper mache pot the class had made prior, or make animals out of model magic. I sat with the kids making animals. Once I made one animal with one student, EVERYONE wanted me to make them different animals. I tried telling the students they should make their own, and I would walk them through the process of how I would make it, so that they could learn and have their own unique creation. This didn’t last long, there was a lot of tears because they didn’t think theirs turned out right, or some students were upset because others were “reading their mind” and copying their choice of animal. There was many many tears throughout the whole day, and I didn’t realize making animals with the kids could cause so much sadness. I was hoping it was going to be really enjoyable for them, but they set their little hearts on certain things and when they don’t go as planned it’s really easy for them to get upset, which is something to keep in mind I believe. After art stations, we went outside and I played with and monitored the kids with Miss Hannah. It was one of the tougher days where kids didn’t want to listen, but we managed to get there and back, and I still had a good time with the students.
Tamar had found me during my time in the classroom and told me that this weekend they are having the Urban Arts Academy Annual Gala at St. Mary’s. I had told her I’d be super interested in volunteering for this event on the very first day I met Tamar, so I was glad she got in touch again about it. It is taking place Saturday 4:30 to 9:00. This is something I am super interested in, I am still hoping to make it work, but not sure if I can attend 100% with my fast approaching deadlines.
Whittier International Elementary - Kindergarten
Monday, March 25th, 12:00 - 3:00 (3 Hours)
On Monday, March 25th I arrived early and completed my first Arts Integrated Lesson Plan! Ms. Laurie, an aid, was kind enough to jump in and help me with my lesson as well as Susan, so all three of us were able to assist together. I believe that overall the lesson went well, and Susan and another Kindergarten teacher were really excited about it. After completing the lesson, I made sure to string the pennants so that they could be hung up in the hallways for other students, staff, and family would see them.
When it came to designs that the students came up with, I was pleasantly surprised with how thoughtful and articulate the students were. They were very engaged, and I had students pick celebrations ranging from Christmas, Halloween, Birthday, Easter, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, and many versions of Valentine’s Day. After the pennants were complete, I was also very pleased with the quality of the student’s work physically. They placed their symbols with the shape of the pennant in mind and some even cut the glitter card stock on their own. I think the felt really enhanced the overall project. I’m very glad I took time to make all the pennants individually, It was a lot of work, and the lesson plan was just a lot of work in general, but I was very happy to do it for the students and for myself as part of my teaching artist practice. I think I am even going to try and start making and sewing my own pennants with my own designs to sell because of experimenting with felt in this project.
I think that the kids really enjoyed the lesson and had fun using new materials. When I talked with them individually there was excitement when we were trying to come up with symbol ideas together. I even had one student at the very end personally thank me for the project, which was great. As explained in my evaluation, there were a few minor things I could change to improve this lesson, but with the energy the students had and the short amount of time I believe it was a really good lesson and integrated the social studies and culture aspect of the classroom curriculum pretty well. It was a great day spent with the kids, and I personally left knowing even more about celebrations and more about each student as an individual, which is great.
Minneapolis Institute of Art - Open Studio Day Shadowing
No Shadowing Opportunity This Week
Personal Update
For my personal update this week I am very happy to announce that I received a Merit Scholarship from the Design Department for my display!!! I was so happy to hear this news, and it really started my week on a positive note. Next up is PitchFest next Friday, so I am hoping the good news continues, and I’m excited to share my idea, Project Courtside, with the students, staff, and other individuals at MCAD!