Distance Learning Videos to Share!

Here's a sneak peek of my "In the Art Room" videos created for distance learning! 

Please use them to share ideas, adopt a lesson to make it your own, or to show to your own students. You can see all of the videos created so far right here:

My Adventures in Positive Space on YouTube

You have all been so helpful to me, and I want to return the favor.

Teachers are amazing. Especially art teachers! As things are unfolding in the world, we are adjusting to creating ways to connect with our students as we are thrust into the world of distance learning. Social media is now in the forefront as we reach out to each other and share ideas for lessons, advocacy, and communication with each other and our students. Thank you for all of your inspiration!

A few weeks ago here in New Jersey, my colleagues and I were given notice to write lessons to post for online learning, and were given very little time. My first lessons were written instructions, and focused on utilizing the home environment. I needed to make sure that lessons were manageable and that all students would be able to accomplish their projects with a variety of circumstances and art supplies at home.

As time away from my students began to expand, and homeroom teachers branched out to things like Zoom and Flipgrid for meeting with and conducting their classes, I thought about how I could connect with my students. I needed to be able to explain things visually and wanted my students to see and connect with me. I was also warned that every teacher could not schedule classes to meet virtually, so as not to overwhelm the learning from home schedule. So I set to work setting up my studio area to create video lessons.

And, kudos to all of the art teacher rock stars out there who already create videos! It is hard work. I fumbled over my words, smacked my lips, said "ummmm" I don't know how many times. Lighting is hard! Editing is hard! Needless to say I had quite a learning curve, and things aren't perfect, but I am virtually available to my students, and have given them ways to create art with choices for recycled materials or whatever art supplies they have at home. I hope these lessons are helpful to you all. 

Be well and safe!

New Year, New Studio

New classes, new opportunities, and new students are getting 2011 off to a great start. A couple of new year resolutions seemed to be in order as well. I've started to finish up the final stages of completing the studio I teach in— with lots of help from my husband. I will finally have my utility sink back, hurray! There are now shelves to hold supplies on hand like brushes, water jars and such, which frees up my counter space. We are replacing the wall to wall carpet (warm and comfy, but not good for dropped paint brushes and spills) with a more durable floor. A final cabinet was ordered, and there are a few last places to paint. I also started an art corner with art related books, puzzles and games.

The best part about the studio is it being full of children to teach!
I am so thankful for this Positive Space.

A World of Art

Last year I hung up a world map to use in class, and told myself I would start posting pictures and locations for things we studied in class. Well, that project never came to fruition, although I did point at the map a whole lot! So I made a New Year's resolution to finally map out a world of art projects.
In retrospect I think it was more successful to complete this project all at once, rather than a couple of images every now and then. I planned out a color coded design and was mindful of including male and female artists, different time periods, native and/or cultural art, different materials etc.
The kids loved it! They got a chance to reflect on past projects, recall names and styles of art, and were curious about projects they haven't worked on yet. I can't wait for my opportunity to share with hundreds of children, instead of just dozens. I know my teaching job is out there somewhere,  but until then I'm happy to share with all who learn and create at my studio.

Intro Class

I felt ready to take on a bigger challenge and introduce my art lessons to a larger audience, so my daughters were able to each invite two friends for a sample art class. The girls were excited to act as students and assistants as they shared what they learned in helping me prepare for class. Nothing beats a full table of kids chanting, with brushes in hand—"We want art! We want art!" I let them get it out of their system and we then learned about the process of monoprints. Each child created a series and gained confidence with the materials. It's kind of a magical process, peeling away your paper from the painted plate to reveal how your image's color and brushstrokes melded into the final project. Then we painted a sea life scene after listening to a piece of classical music paired with a painting in the book "Can you Hear It?" by Dr. William Lach. I chose these lessons to accommodate all ages and abilities, and because they were fun, allowed for a lot of freedom, and gave satisfying results.

The layout of supplies was taken from an incredible book titled "Doing Art Together" by Muriel Silberstein-Storfer. Muffin tins hold the paints which prevent spills and give them accessibility to multiple students—BRILLIANT! A small dish with a sponge gives a place for children to dry out their brushes after washing them out in the water jars—no waste, like paper towels.

This first class could not have gone better. The kids were all lovely—eager, attentive, and we all enjoyed ourselves as we learned to make art together.