I LOVE This! Can you guess why?

Day 4 asks us to reflect on what we love most about teaching.

Below my answer is illustrated.

Student A

       Student B           

Now you may be thinking:

 "Of course... The Art Teacher loves her student's ART the most"

But you'd be wrong! 

Student A is Autistic and mentally handicapped. He spends part of the day in a regular classroom, and it is then when he comes to art. For the past few years when I would would give lessons, he would quietly create his own work of art. For example, one time we were making clay snowmen and he made a "camera".

The picture above is the first time he has tried really hard to create the same project we were working on. I was amazed! You'll notice he watched me drawing so closely that he also wrote in my name.

And that my fellow teachers... is why I LOVE teaching!

My Goals for This School Year

This is day 1 of the TeachThought 30-day Reflective Teaching Blog Challenge. Woohoo! Here we go. Today's prompt? Write your goals for the school year.

I found this GREAT illustration on a fitness blog and love how it breaks down SMART Goals. You can click to the blog below.

jinxyjen.wordpress.com

As many of you know, my Art Room theme this year is Sherlock! Yay! So excited. Besides just loving the show and Benedict Cumberbatch, there are other "Goal Related" reasons I picked this theme. For years I have been "Hiding the Veggies" in my Art Room. It's Educational name is STEAM. 

My Goals this year are very specific. 

• To make students think! 
• To re-engage their observational skills!! 
• I want them to think again, like they did when they were little. 
• I want them to explore and investigate and question!
• I want them to discover the answers by knowing what questions to ask.
• I want them to think not just in my classroom but in ALL their classrooms and in the world.

Is this Measurable? Heck yeah!

Is this Attainable? Heck yeah!

Is this Relevant? Heck yeah!

Is this Time-Bound? This is a two part question. 

• For me yes...My deadline is as long as I have them in school.
• For the students...No Way! The "Art of Thinking" is a goal that should always be changing and evolving. Like a work of art that can always be made better. 

And that my friends is my goal for this year. 

Hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day Weekend. Let's bring on the week!!

Beth

You will become Sherlocks, NOT Monkeys!

Week one is almost over! Eight classes to teach on this hot and muggy Friday morning and then it's the weekend! Woohoo!! This first week was packed with classes filled with new and old students. I was SO surprised to find out the majority of my students do not know who Sherlock Holmes is. Really?!

Although I have to say most of the students last year did not know who Doctor Who was either and I am pleased to report they are all hooked now. Actually most were a little bummed that my theme had changed from Doctor Who.

Last Year...

This Year...

One of my favorite additions to this year's class is the "You are Allowed TO Board". Inspired by Simon Sinek, I threw the rules out the window. We all know what the right thing to do is anyway. I added this board and the kids love it!

And the best laugh of the week came from this slide in my introductory presentation. You will become Detectives NOT Monkeys! They got a real kick out of that one, and it allowed us to discuss my expectations for class behavior in a fun an relaxed way.

To celebrate the end of the week, this Friday and every Friday, I will give away free lessons from my TPT store. This week I am giving away my 7 week unit: Elements of Art presentations/lessons. Click the link below to get your free lesson. You have till midnight to get it free.

Elementary Art Lesson: Elements of Art for Upper Elementary & Marzano DQ

Elementary Art Lesson: Elements of Art for Lower Elementary & Marzano DQ

I hope you all had a great week! Enjoy your weekend and relax...haha. Like that will happen. ;-p

Jingo - Artist's Bingo Fun and Educational!

It's the week before our much anticipated 2 week winter break. My students started their own mental vacation at the beginning of this week, and I must admit my mind has been trying to mentally check out as well. I usually run my lesson plans straight through the school year and celebrate all the hard work with a special art party during the last week of school. This year I thought I'd mix it up a bit. Instead of struggling through the week attempting to keep my "can't wait for break" students focused, I decided we'd play Jingo.

Jingo is a great Art related bingo game I picked up a few years ago. I have two versions. One features famous artists and the other features items related to the artist's studio. It's a fun game for the students because bonus points are given for each game's winners. I sneak some education in there by quizzing the students as we go for double bonus points.

Here's an example: I read the description of either an artist or the item listed on the card. Students raise their hand when they think they know the answer. I remind students they are not to guess...I tell them that if I am reading them the description it must mean that we learned about this in class. It's wonderful when my students are able to access information they learned in previous years and apply it.