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 (0 Hours)
Shadowing: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Angela Olson, No Shadowing Opportunity This Week
Urban Arts Academy - Preschool
Wednesday, April 3rd 1:15 - 4:00 ( 2.75 Hours)
On Wednesday, I arrived at Urban Arts Academy and was placed in room 208! When I got there, I was greeted by a substitute teacher, and she was super kind. It was really interesting to see how she taught compared to the usual teachers at Urban Arts; I liked seeing a unique, different style of teaching. The kids were pretty calm the entire day - it was a smaller group, and everyone seemed to have a good time… no tears! I did the usually, helped out around the classroom, sat down and did some projects one on one including building castles out of block and reminding students how to share, and then towards the end of the day we tackled painting at the round tables. All the students worked really well during this time and concentrated on what was in front of them. It was fun hearing them share with the people next to them what colors they could make out of the paint, they got super excited about mixing colors - perhaps something they don’t do often!I enjoyed helping them get more paint and just observing them in their oversized painting t-shirts, which brought back childhood memories that I totally forgot I had! Especially ones of wearing my dad’s old t-shirts while working on various art projects at the kitchen table. The kids were very concerned about getting their pieces put on the drying rack to take home, which showed they enjoyed it and it was something they wanted to keep. Afterwards, we made our way to the park and enjoyed the nicer weather. There were other classes and students from the Boys and Girls Club so watching all the kids was a bit stressful, but everything turned out okay. I’ve realizing that’s one of the scariest parts of teaching small children - sometimes they like to wander off or get distracted and there’s always so many of them to keep track of, especially while trying to conquer an art project or tackle/address an issue at the same time. I’m looking forward to solidifying a project with the head teacher hopefully within the next few weeks!! I think it will be a good last few weeks, especially since things are greening up, the sun is shining, and everyone’s moods are brightening. This painting activity I assisted in the other day really gave me ideas on how to approach my own lesson, and how it should be set up in the classroom - I’m excited, I loved having students create work!
Whittier International Elementary - Kindergarten
Monday, March 25th, 12:15 - 3:00 (0 Hours)
I did not attend Whittier Elementary on Monday the 1st of April because the students had Spring Break.
Minneapolis Institute of Art - Open Studio Day Shadowing
No Shadowing Opportunity This Week
Personal Update
Unfortunately, didn’t have any luck at PitchFest this weekend, but with each public event I get better and better at public speaking and enjoy it more than I already do, so it was a great learning experience! However, I might have truly won because when I got home this weekend, my family got a puppy and I was able to spend time celebrating my Merit Scholarship win by going out to eat - it was a great time. I can’t wait to see what this last month and a half of school holds!
