Monay's Garden

Most students do a good job in the art room.  Some, not so much.  That's understandable.  Not everyone has a strong interest in the visual arts.  A few, however, are amazing.  I could throw any assignment at them and they would blow me away every time.  Conner is like this.  He remembers the exact firing temperature for the kiln, creates color wheels in his free time, understands the concepts of light and shadow in a drawing, and he's 6 1/2.

This week, my primary students were introduced to Monet.  We looked at his work, talked about his pink house, and watched a video.  After the video, he gave me this drawing:

He has the highway that runs through the middle of the garden, the tunnel to get to the pond, and a few "fun facts."  This wasn't the assignment, it was just some free-draw paper that I gave the class to draw on during the video.

On days that I help a kid blow their nose, wipe paint off their mouth, and call kids down for saying "the 'P' word" (poop), students like Conner give me hope!

Why Life Stinks According to a Nine-Year-Old Girl

I teach over 530 children.  One of my students (age 9) wrote a list of why life stinks.  She didn't show it to anyone, but her mom found it.  Luckily, her mother appreciated her perspective and shared it with me.  I've changed the name to protect the guilty, but the spelling is exactly as she wrote it.  I'm not sure what the x's are for number 12, but it raises even more questions.

Lisa’s Resens Life Stinks

1.    Vegies

2.    School

3.    Annoying siblings

4.    Uncomfortable seats

5.    Math

6.    Robbers

7.    Talking

8.    Brustle sprouts

9.    People being mean

10.  No pool

11.  Not allowed voting for kids

12.  No xxxxxx for president

13.  Mom’s nagging you

14.  Chewed up toys

15.  Being slobbered on

16.  Itchy seat belts

17.  Having to share

18.  No day dreaming in school

19.  Not getting to use imagination

20.  devision

21.  Not being able to drive

22.  Not picking your clothes out

23.  Not picking your nose

24.  Being emberrised

25.  No getting your own money out of your bank account

26.  Do not feed the animals

27.  No free pets

28.  No free food

29.  Having to have an adult with you every second of the day

30.  Not going into store alone

31.  Not allowed to TP someones house

32.  No water ballones

33.  No doing your own hair

34.  Not allowed to be a kid

It is official

This week, my students are coming back from winter break.  My K-1 classes (I teach at a multi-age school) have been busy in art making basic paper sculptures of cardinals.  It is basically some cutting, sliding the wing shape through the slot in the body, and adding tape.  The kids add the "black mask" around the eyes and then make the wings flap by moving the body up and down.


It is a simple project, but remember these are kindergartners and 1st graders.  We talked about migration, which tied into what they've been learning back in their "regular" classroom.


One little boy (who rarely speaks and always looks paralyzed with fear) suddenly lit up when he saw what we were making.  I've never seen him so excited.  When he was finishing up and I was walking around helping with the tape, he looked up and yelled, "Haaaaa!  You're AWESOME!"


So, folks, it is official!