Teaching Artist Practicum:
Placement #1: Urban Arts Academy, Teacher ‘Miss Betina’, Preschool, Wednesday 1:30 - 4:00
Placement #2: Whittier International Elementary School, Teachers Susan Buchholz and Angela Olson, Kindergarten, Monday 12:30 - 3:00
Shadowing: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Angela Olson, Friday 12:30 - 3:00
Urban Arts Academy - Preschool
Wednesday, February 6th 1:30 - 4:00 (2.5 Hours)
On Wednesday February 6th, after a week off, I attended Urban Arts Academy for my second time! Miss Betina was not there so I worked alongside Miss Julia most of the day. The day ran similarly to the first day I was there. The kids however, did participate in art stations this time around. There were stations with elements of collage, stencils, and oil pastels/stickers. These stations really got me thinking about what mediums the kids are familiar with and what new mediums would be new to them. While watching the children, I sat down with a few girls and did some stencil work with them. I remember how much I loved stencils as a kid and this has me thinking if I can integrate stencils into a project somehow. The very bottom picture I have attached is a drawing of me by one of the students. While I was there, students also played with play-doh, built with K-Nex, and played dress up. During my time in the classroom many students were misbehaving, so Miss Julia had me take one student to the office to try and discipline her myself, but, as expected, she didn’t listen to me at all. This was really frustrating, I want kids to enjoy their time in the classroom and have good experiences and associations with myself, but I’m glad I could help out Miss Julia. Overall, I just love the atmosphere that Urban Arts Provides. Many of the children are so kind, and love to get to know me. They are constantly drawing me pictures and giving me hugs. I hope to soon find a time to get in contact with both teachers and see what they would like me to integrate into their classroom, I’m really excited to teach these little ones!
Whittier International Elementary - Kindergarten
Monday, February 4th, 12:30 - 3:00 (2.5 Hours)
On Monday, February 4th, also after missing a week due to weather, I attended Whittier Elementary school. To my surprise, when I got there (my very first day on site) there was a substitute teacher. This kind of set the stage for the whole day. I was kind of disappointed because nobody knew who I was and I didn’t receive a warm welcome in the office or the classroom. The kids were also extremely confused as to why I was there, so I wish the sub would have introduced me.. but needless to say I made the best of it! During the day, the kids participated in reading a book as a class and then drawing images in their journal that described the beginning, middle, and end of the book. This helped them analyze sequence, and I think a lot of them thought really hard and would often ask me what I thought of their work. The story was about cats, and I heard a few students telling others, “That’s not what cats look like,” but I encouraged everyone that there is no one way to draw a cat. I think things like this really need to be enforced in this classroom and Beyond. After I told them this, they were all really open and curious to everyone’s version of a cat. The kids also had math stations set up which included measuring, pattern blocks, and dice rolling. I was intrigued by the possibility of approaching math through patterns because it is such a graphic design technique. Susan also showed interest in our very first meeting of finding a way to integrate art into math, so that is something I am going to continue to keep in mind. The rest of the time the kids were in the classroom they red books of their own or listened to the sub tell stories. A lot of them run off and don’t sit on the run, which may have been just because of the sub, but there are some students who don’t listen very well also. I’ve noticed two random things… First, many kids are intrigued by my hair; they ask a lot of questions and are constantly coming up behind me trying to braid it - haha. Second, A lot of the students were really curious about my family. Each student even has a framed picture on top of their cubby of family or their guardians or friends. I love this. I love bringing in personal aspects to the classroom and sharing the idea of support. Perhaps another learning avenue to explore through art. I am eager to meet Angela and continue to work with Susan and bring forth ideas, even collaborate during their prep time. I feel like what I can do in the classroom still isn’t quite evident, but I know they will be excited once we come up with a lesson!
Minneapolis Institute of Art - Open Studio Day Shadowing
Friday, February 8th, 12:30 - 3:00 (2.5 Hours)
On Friday, February 8th, I (sort of last minute) attended a shadowing opportunity at Mia with Angela! The program is relatively new, so there weren’t a ton of kids, but they are working on publicizing the event. Angela is a great role model and just really great in her position in general. We had only about ten kids attend, but the rest of the time Angela and I chatted and got to know one another. For this event, kids came in and made tissue paper flowers in hopes of an early spring. I loved this craft, and I loved seeing what kind of people come to the museum. I thought the event was a really good bonding technique because parents were also making! The kids were really engages and loved choosing their own colors and style of flower. Overall, it was a relaxed but very fun few hours in the studio. The studios at Mia are beautiful - I am in love with them. They are extremely inviting, organized, and bright. I think the museum has a wonderful set up and I can’t wait to see how other various events are ran at Mia. Tomorrow, (Sunday, Feb. 10th) I am going to stop by Family Day just to see what it is like for the future, they don’t need any more assistance but I’m excited to check it out!
Personal Update
I thought I would include a personal update about myself to keep things interesting and upbeat during all the cold temps! Below are four of my seven self portraits that I did for my Ideation and Process class. These are just some quick pieces I came up with. My schedule has gotten CRAZY busy within the last week, and I’m having a hard time keeping up, but looking forward to many projects including being accepted as part of the Arts Entrepreneurship Competition! I have a big book project due in two weeks so stay tuned. In the meantime… in my very minimal free time, I am going to start reading new book (I rarely ever read, but here’s to my new goal) and making chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day to cope with my stress!
