Art Goals are a Win-Win

Since our lighthouse meeting at Jim's house, I've been more consistent in posting my art class goals on the white board for each art class. Instead of just telling my students what I want them to accomplish each class, I discuss it as the art goal and write it on my white board for the entire class to see. I really liked the way we posted all our ideas on the walls of Jim's house, and I remember discussing with Brian that's its a really good idea to post our student's class goals. Before our meeting I was writing the class goals on the board, but not consistently because of time constraints. Now, instead of worrying about the time constraints of getting each new goal on the board as classes switch, I approach it as a discusson in the beginning of class and write the goal as part of my intro. to the lesson. The students are really attentive as I write the class goal on the board, as if it was a mystery unfolding. I let them know that the goal is what I expect them to accomplish in class for that day. If they meet their goal they know that they've worked hard in class and were successful in the art task. At the end of class I ask all students who reached their goal to raise their hands and I applaud them for a job well done in accomplishing their goal. I inform all students that if they didn't reach their goal, maybe they were talking or fooling around too much when they should have been more focused on their artwork. Posting the goal in class is a great way for students to gauge themselves on how well they're working in class. If they reached their goal they know they've been successful in the art room that day. If they did not reach their goal, they can internalize what they need to improve upon so they can be successful the next time. It's a win-win for both student and teacher that class goals and expectations are clear and simply stated so that every student can succeed in the art classroom.

Service Learning in the Art Room

This year Art Club will be involved in a Service Learning project. I decided to start Art Club later in the year due to my last sememster at Buffalo State that ends next week (Yea!). Since September, I've been reminding the 6th grade students that only serious, dedicated, hard working artists should sign up for art club this year. Happily I had 22 students sign up, and they are the most diligent workers and best behaved students in the sixth grade. We started the first meeting with a brief slide show about the kids that need our help at Women and Children's Hospital. I explained to our students that as a Lighthouse School we need to reach out to the community and give back by serving others. This year our school chose to serve the community by helping other kids, and raise money for Women and Children's Hospital. I went on to explain how Variety Club works, and that the hospital can't survive without donations from the community. Kyle immediately spoke up to tell the story of how Children's Hospital saved his life. After listening to Kyle's story, the students really began to understand how vital this hospital is to our community. Then I posed the question, "What can an art club do to help the community?" Many students shared their ideas until we all agreed to make something we can sell. I reminded them that we had no budget, so whatever we made would come from the supplies we have in the art room. We decided to make a two column chart on the Promethean asking, What can we make, and How do we sell it. The students were very enthusiastic and we filled both sides of the chart with ideas through sharing and discussion. I told the students from the beginning that I had my own idea in mind, but I wanted to see what they thought we should do first. Funny thing is, my ideas ended up right in front of me on the Promethean board. On their list under the "To Make" column was paper mache sculpture, and under the "How to Sell" column was Chinese Auction. They came up with the same ideas I had, all on their own. We reviewed all the choices and as a group decided to make large Chihuly inspired bowls out of paper mache that we can sell by silent auction on Fine Arts Night. Even though I had this idea already planned, I needed the students to come up with their own ideas so they could take ownership of the entire process. I plan on having the students not only create the vessels, but also promote, display, sell and distribute the vessels after the auction. This should be an awesome year in art club, and I'm anxious to see how it all works out.

Think Win-Win with a visit to the Albright-Knox

The 6th grade field trip to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is quickly becoming my favorite annual Winchester activity. I am amazed at the reaction my students have to visiting the gallery for the first time. Some students have never been to a museum let alone a world class gallery like the Albright-Knox. The Gallery is committed to collecting and displaying contemporary works of art from some of the most cutting edge artists working today, along with original master works by Jackson Pollack (a Winchester favorite) Picasso, Monet and Warhol. The timing could not have been more perfect for the 6th grade class who just finished studying the figurative sculptures of Alberto Giacometti. The gallery collection includes the original "Walking Man" by Giacometti that the students just viewed and discussed in class. For our students to see this sculpture up close and personal was a memorable and powerful learning experience. Taking this field trip allowed our students to view original works in a magnificent setting that feels like a world away from West Seneca. I'm a believer in taking students out of the classroom environment and into the community to enhance learning, it is a win-win situation for everyone. The students win by discovering original works of art inside a world class museum environment, creating a lasting educational experience. It is a win-win situation for the Gallery, attracting as many young people to the Gallery as possible, increasing the chances that they will become life long patrons of the arts. It is a win-win for West Seneca Schools because there is no cost to the district, with busing being subsidized by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York. Finally, it is a win-win for meeting the educational goals of our district through the visual arts curriculum, that works to develop critical thinking skills in our students. What better way to encourage critical thinking than to visit our gallery that has an abundance of visual stimulation. I look forward to future trips outside our classroom walls and into the community where I can explore learning opportunities that create life long memories for our students.

P.S. Don't forget Gusto at the Gallery Friday nights, with FREE admission to the Gallery. For Sabres Fans (and I know you're out there) the current "Forty Years" hockey exhibit is highly recommended. Send me a post after your visit and let me know about your experience. Thank you Mrs. Mock and Mrs. Waite for the awesome thank you notes from your students, I love the drawings and heart felt thoughts about the trip.

Teaching Eachother to Be Proactive

I love to observe the students teaching eachother to be proactive in the art room. There's nothing more that prove's the Habits are working, than watching students in action correcting eachother's behavior. There are days when I have to wait an awful long time for some students to stop talking, before I can continue on with a lesson. I really enjoy seeing a student tell the rest of the class to be quiet and let them know that they're not being very proactive. I see this kind of behavior more and more every week, and it confirms that what we're doing is working. Some kids have a natural tendency to be leaders on their own, they have a confidence within them that other kids tend to respond to. These students are the ones who naturally speak up in class and tell others to be more proactive. Its positive peer preasure! Nothing matters more at this age than to be accepted by your peers, and when a fellow class mate tells you to be more proactive, I think it means more than the teacher saying it over and over. We are changing the behaviors of some of our students, over time that number will ultimately grow. It is hard work, it takes consistency and sometimes I even forget to apply the habits where I could have in a situation, because I am so busy. But its really rewarding to have a student remind you of that 7 Habit teaching/learning opportunity.

Sixth Grade Leader

Last Friday I used my planning period at the end of the day to help our students carve pumpkins in the cafeteria. My 3rd grade class ended early so I could get them to the cafeteria for their scheduled carving time. Since we were the last class of the day, it was okay to leave the student artwork and art materials on the tables in the art room, I'd just clean it up later. It was a real mess with everything spead all over the tables because we had to leave after just half a class. Unfortunately, I forgot that Mr. B. was going to use the art room that afternoon and I was reminded when someone came into the cafeteria to get my keys. As you all know plans change, and my art room wasn't needed that day after all.
After carving pumpkins I walked back to my art room and my sixth grade student Aria raced past me and said, "Mrs. Z, I put away all your artwork and cleaned-up your tables for you". I turned to thank her as she sped down the hallway. When I entered the art room I was pleasantly surprised. Not only were the tables clean, but all the artwork was collected and put in the proper class folder on the shelf, the pastels were put back in the boxes and put away in the cabinet, and there was nothing left for me to clean up. No one asked Aria to clean up the art room, even if she thought a meeting was going to take place she could have just put the art and materials on my desk and I would have put it away. But Aria chose to go above and beyond, putting forth the extra effort to help someone else. I realized later that she couldn't know how touched I was by her thoughtfulness. I will see her in art class today, and I will tell the entire class about Arias good deeds. Character is who we are when know one is watching. Aria showed us her character by her actions, without expectations of gratitude or reward, she is a true leader.

Leaders One Child at a Time

We have a student in kindergarten that needs extra attention to learn our rules and procedures and his name is Terrance. The other students in his class are constantly focusing on what he does wrong, and reports these behaviors to me as they enter the art room and throughout the class. "Please do not tell me what a student is doing wrong unless it directly involves you" I told them, "focus on your own behavior and make good choices". I looked at the student that they were focusing on, told him to be a good leader, take his seat and remember to keep your hands to yourself. The class went on as usual as I demonstrated how to use oil pastels. Terrance literally squealed in delight as he used oil pastels for the first time. The other kids laughed and told me to tell Terrance to stop screaming. "He's not screaming," I said, "he's squealing with delight because he's enjoying what he is doing." I told him he was doing a great job working with the pastels, but he had to remember to work quietly. It was almost time to clean-up and a girl cried "Terrance hurt Maria very badly". I immediately went to the table just steps away, and asked what happened. Maria didn't say, but two other girls said he pressed his hand on her cheek. "Maria are you hurt?" I asked, and she said no. Her face was not red and she was not upset, so I took Terrance by the hand as I reminded him to keep his hands to himself, and asked him if he'd help me by the sink. It was now the end of class and the students had to wash their hands. I asked Terrance if he would hand a paper towel to each student to dry their hands, and he agreed. Kindergarten students need to use the stool by the sink or they can't reach, so as they get down they place one hand on the sink while stepping down to get a paper towel from the tray. Terrance handed each of them a paper towel as they got down. Each student said thank you, as he gently handed them their towels. You could see the pride in his face as he carefully did his job. He even held his hand out to help students off the stool as they reached for their paper towel. One boy said "thank you for helping me Terrance". Then as if someone flicked on a light switch, you could feel the children's attitude change toward Terrance. They started thanking Terrance for his help and treated him with respect. The children lined up without further incidence, and I let Miss Schmidt know what a good leader Terrance was in art class.
We teach much more than our curriculum as teachers, and our younger students especially look to us to model decent behavior. I tried something different with a child today that needs our patience, attention and guidance and it worked. I hope I can succeed on some level with this boy every week, no matter how small the gain, I know I'll be moving in the right direction.

2nd Grade Art Student Leads the Way

It was very rewarding to see our kindergarden through second grade leaders address their parents and relatives last night at Open House. Its hard enough for us adults to talk to a large crowd, but to see our youngest students do it so well made the evening a huge success. As parents and students were leaving to say goodnight, a new second grade student came up to me and asked if she could show her parents the art room. As we walked down the hall, she chatted away about how much she loves art, and her parents told me that she couldn't wait to show them the art room. When we walked inside she immediately started to explain how the tables are divided by color, and she demonstrated to her parents in detail EXACTLY how to use the drying rack, pretending to put a wet painting inside the correct slot. Then she directed them to the sink where she showed them how to scrub quickly while singing the art clean-up song "One, two, three, A, B, C, drop the scrubbie!" Then she told her mom "You have to carefully hold the counter top with one hand, while stepping down to take only one paper towel to dry your hands". I was truly amazed at how I didn't have to say a word while my young art student continued with her tour of the art room. She asked if I could show her parents what she is currently working on, and of course I couldn't wait to show them her beautiful drawing. She beamed with pride as she explained the "Reflections" project and theme, telling her parents how she completed the "Together We Can..." statement. Her idea is "Together We Can Change the Planet" and she explained how she first had to think of pictures that go along with her idea, and use those pictures to create a composition. As I watched and listened to this amazing girl, I realized just how much we really do influence our students everyday. She reminded me of a gallery docent, repeating everything I have taught my students in class to perfection. Unfortunatley, we can never truly know the impact that we have on our students, but it was amazing for me to witness my second grade art student lead a thorough tour of the art room for her proud parents.

Art Leaders Care, Learn and Lead

After school for me is 2:40, which happens to be my planning period but I don't usually plan during this time. I use this time for 6th grade art leaders to come down to the art room and help me catch up on ongoing projects, prepare for next day lessons or just basic cleaning (work smarter, not harder). Today I have students synergizing to help complete our Goal Posters for Open House next week. All the squares have been painted by students in art class, but some squares still need to be glued and the center signs have to be painted. Not all of this work will be finished during class art time, so I need my art leaders to assist me in getting the posters completed in time for Open House. 6th grade students really enjoy coming down to my room late in the day to help with art projects and preparations. I count on these students for help because they know what I expect from them and I can trust that they will do a neat and efficient job and they genuinely want to help. Today I had three students synergize to paint the center signs for the posters, and glue some remaining squares. The posters look amazing, and the students are helping me while enjoying themselves in the process. Synergizing is my favorite habit because many hands make light work, and it's so rewarding to be a small part of something bigger and then see it all come together. I know these posters will look amazing in the classrooms and they have already succeeded in helping the students remember our school goal, We care, we learn, we lead. My art leaders live the school goal by example.

Start the year with Habit 3

As teachers we all start the year with Habit 3, to put first things first. The first week of school is filled with rules and procedures for starting the year on the right track, and in the art room there's no exception. As a third year teacher, I've improved upon clearly defining the rules in the beginning of the year, and reinforcing those same rules throughout the year. It's not that I didn't know to do that in my first year, but with experience you learn from your mistakes and see first hand how discipline and classroom management can go awry if you don't stay on top of it. I think often about something Kathy says when talking about procedures in the classroom... "What does that look like?" is the phrase that comes to mind. Yes, what DOES that LOOK like to the student? So my first week of school now shows them exactly what my procedures look like. We practice the clean-up routine with a model table actually getting out of their seats, pretending to put away wet paintings in the drying rack, going back to the tables to gather wet brushes, paint trays and water buckets and placing them on the carts. Next, my model students show everyone the proper way and time allocated for washing hands and going back to their seats where an art leader is allowed to clean their own table with a wet sponge. And last, the model table shows everyone how to line-up at the door for dismissal. The model students act like performers and the student audience loves this style of learning. We clap and thank the model students at the end of their presentation and allow for questions at the end of the class. The students really benefit from seeing exactly how art procedures work in the classroom, and I benefit too from all my students understanding the rules, so I can enforce them fairly all year long.

A Celebration of the Arts at Winchester

Fine Arts Night was a celebration of the artistic and musical talents of our Winchester students, a true win-win for us all. As our students entered with their parents and families, they beamed with pride as they led their families to locate their artwork. I told each student that it was like a treasure hunt, and you had to walk through the entire exhibit to find your work. At least two works of art (some students had three) were displayed for each Winchester student which totaled to approx. 700 pieces of art displayed. That's a lot of tape! (and thanks again to all the staff members who helped to hang much of the artwork - I love you guys!) As you know the tape did not hold up this year, and during the show I had tape rolls under the display table so I could add more tape to keep the artwork on the walls! Even if you could not attend the event, the halls were filled with colorful artistic expressions for all of us to enjoy. The students really benefit from seeing all their work on the walls of the school. They take pride in their accomplishments and enjoy the beauty and energy of all the colors, shapes and textures that surround them. Believe me when I tell you that they are diligent in their search to find all their artwork, and are quick to let me know if anything is misspelled, falling down or not positioned correctly. We as a staff are also the winners by being able to enjoy original artwork made by our own students hands. I never tire of viewing all their work, remembering the process and sometimes stuggle that they go through to get things just right. This creative, problem solving process is what art is all about, and what I believe our students will take with them as they go through school and on to their careers. Even if our students never paint or draw again as adults, having a creative mind and having the ability to think "outside the box" is what art class is meant to instill in our students. Being able to problem solve with a creative mind is a skill that will be necessary for our students to succeed in the 21st century.

Making Students Responsible in the Art Room

I don't think any classroom in the school gets as dirty and unorganized as mine does in one day. I guess I'd describe myself as neat and somewhat anal about the way our art supplies should be kept organized. You would never know that fact by looking at my art room. It's impossible to keep it clean and orderly without extra help. I knew a long time ago that I needed my students to take part in that effort everyday. The 7 Habits have helped me a great deal with clean-up time. Near the end of class I ask my students to synergize and work to clean-up the art room. I will say that the 6th grade class is still a bit sluggish in this effort. Some like to sit and watch while others do most of the clean-up. These students don't sit for long as I make sure everyone is part of the clean-up experience. On the opposite end of the spectrum are my kindergarteners, clean-up is their favorite time. They like nothing better than to synergize and wash 'n dry my tables. In fact, I had to delegate wash and dry jobs to specific students because everyone in the room was scrubbing one day with wet paper towels. Can you imagine 29 kindergarten students washing my tables at once? It's a beautiful thing. Synergizing is working well in the art room and getting better all the time. I'm proud to say that I really see the 7 Habits working as my art students synergize to help clean-up the art room.

Synergizing for Leadership Day

Our first annual Winchester Leadership Day is soon approaching and you can feel the buzz of the entire staff as we synergize to arrange every last detail. There have been logos, banners and bookmarks to design, placemats for students to decorate, songs for children to learn and sing, hallways to adorn with Leadership themed work and presentations to be made perfect. There is food to prepare, schedules to make, invitations to send out, packages to be organized and so much more not even mentioned here. Walk into the staff room at any time and the conversation is a buzz with Leadership Day talk and preparation.

I cannot imagine what it takes to organize such an event and remember every last detail so the day will be as perfect as it can be. It obviously takes much more than one person, but one person is really responsible for bringing the "The Leader in Me" to Winchester. We owe such vision, patience, dedication and love to our principal Kathy Brachmann, who was inspired by reading "The Leader in Me", saw all of us and our students in it, and led the way for her Leadership vision to become reality. I am proud to be a member of the Winchester staff whose dedication and passion for our students is second to none. I will be beaming with pride on that day as we watch our students confidently lead the way toward Winchester Elementary's future.

Students Are Speaking the 7 Habits

My sixth grade students love to come to the art room at the end of the day to work on projects, help clean up or sometimes just play with art materials. Friday in particular is clean-up day, and for some odd reason many students want to come down to my room and CLEAN! I'm sure their parents would be surprised to know this, even the students that tell me they don't clean their rooms will clean my art room. On one particular Friday, four girls wanted to splatter paint like Jackson Pollack. Now this style of painting can get very messy, so I told them they could as long as they prepared the tables for painting, and cleaned up the entire mess when they were finished. They agreed and started to prep the room. When they finally finished painting, I looked at my room and it was a disaster! I wondered if they would clean it all up in the manner I was expecting. To my surprise they began the task of putting the papers in the drying rack, collecting the newspaper and putting it in the recycle bin, and finally washing the tables, cleaning the brushes and putting all the paint away in the cabinets. One girl joked "hey, we're synergizing" and I replied "yes, you are and it's awesome!" I laughed to myself and was really excited that this student used the language that we've been teaching them since September. It's only a matter of time that our students fully adopt the 7 Habits, and use the language in their every day conversations.

Sharpening the Saw Sculpture

My second grade art students are working on Hip-hop Haring figures based on the artist Keith Haring. The figures are simplified bodies that are in a dancing motion. The students started the lesson by dancing to get the motions just right. They drew and cut out a large, dancing paper figure, traced it, and cut out a second. The two figures are joined together by staples, adding a little bit of stuffing inside to make it look like a flat pillow. We glued a rulter at the base so the figures looks like a giant dancing lollipop. The students are now busy painting these figures with colorful patterns and shapes. We hope to make these figures into a "Sharpening the Saw" sculpture to display in the school building for Leadership Day. I'm thinking of creating a wire tower that the figures can be placed into using the stick to hold it in place. That idea is in the planning stage... stay tuned.

Paint with the End in Mind

Sometimes its hard for students to picture what an art project will look like in the end. Mrs. Vanderwerf's students are busy making paintings based on emotions. These paintings plus a cover design will eventually be made into a hand made-book that the students will bind themselves.

We began the project by looking at color field paintings by Mark Rothko which are very large paintings of subtle color washes. From afar they look like paintings of just one or two colors. They are meant to be looked at long enough so you can feel the colors wash over you, eventually getting an overwhelming sensation of a mood change just by starring at the colors.

My students are choosing colors for each emotion painting based on how a color makes them feel. They use their color choices to paint a small painting of emotions such as: happy, sad, mad, frustrated, proud, nervous, embarrassed, scared, loved and lonely. When all ten paintings are complete we will begin to put our feelings books together.

The boys in Mrs. Vanderwerf's class are so busy painting and experimenting with painting techniques, that they don't even think about what we're going to do with the pages in the end. I have to keep reminding them that we have to paint with the end in mind so we will have all our pages ready when we begin to bind our hand-made books.

7 Habits Survey Results

I'd like to be part of the discussion of the 7 Habits survey results, so I thought I would post my response to Kathy's questions here.
What stands out? After reading all the results I think what stands out is that we have been able to establish the framework and culture of the 7 Habits program at Winchester. I notice students using the language, and some of them really participating in the habits, but I think most of the students need the habits to become part of the fabric of their existence, they need to believe in the 7 Habits. In my opinion that hasn't happened yet, but it will come with time and more persistence on our parts.
Nothing really surprised me about the survey but I do have a concern. My concern is how do you overcome the anti-leadership culture that some students live with at home? In the survey most agree that kids come to school ready to learn, yet most would agree that last year's kids are not likely to be future leaders in the next year or beyond. Granted this program was not in place for those kids, but we do struggle with opposing lifestyles in some of our population. Its hard for a student to have one set of rules at home and one set of rules at school. Which one wins out? For most, I think its the rules at home. Now that we've established the 7 Habits here at Winchester I hope we see results that can break this anti-leadership cycle.
Where do we focus and how do we get better? I feel its just a matter of time and more repetition of the 7 Habits, telling the kids the right thing and leading by example. Maybe we could have assemblies for the kids in a "motivational speaker style", where we get them all really motivated and excited with cheering and celebrating. Maybe in this assembly kids could be recognized for their leadership qualitites above and beyond the norm. I just think we need to keep driving it home, with persistence and hard work we will get our students to change the way they think of themselves. Make them truly believe they are LEADERS... and not just talk the talk.

Mona Leader

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DaVinci is probably the most famous portrait in the world. I want our Winchester students to know and easily recognize her, but also have a little fun with her at the same time.
Many parodies have been created based on the Mona Lisa, where artists use her image but change the face or outfit to create a themed Mona of some kind. There's Marge Mona from the Simpsons, Pantene Mona to advertise shampoo, Miss Piggy Mona and even Mona Mr. Bean! The parody list goes on and on and there are even several web sites dedicated to Mona Lisa parodies and artworks.
I thought our 5th and 6th grade students would enjoy creating their own Mona Lisa parodies as an extra class activity when project work is completed early. I have printed copies of the Mona Lisa in silouette for students to trace on a blank sheet of paper. After they trace her silouette they use their imaginations to create a parody Mona Lisa of their own creation. So far I've seen Hippie Mona, Barbie Mona and Rapper Mona to name just a few. The students keep asking and asking to make more Monas and soon you will see a display of their Monas which will be titled "Mona Leader".
The Mona Lisa surely is the leader of the pack when it comes to famous portraits, and our 5th and 6th grade students are busy synergizing to create this upcoming "Mona Leader" display. I hope you'll enjoy viewing our Winchester students amusing imaginations!