I'm back from Cullowhee and NCCAT!

What do Cherokee gourd masks, a shotgun house, Indonesian shadow-puppets, woven Bolivian chuspas, the Rainbow Snake of Aboriginal stories, boomerangs and bark painting, and an authentic Southeast Asian gamelan have in common?

Well, if you read my previous entry, you can pretty much guess, but I'm just here tonight to say I am back home!! Yeay!

But I had such fun, and there is much to tell. I would have had pictures, but as I went to upload them from my camera, the message from the camera was "Need to charge batteries." So no pictures tonight, which is okay because it is late, and I need to go look at my lesson plans (that I wrote a week ago) so I'll know what to do tomorrow.

I look forward to sharing my photos, and the videos. I had to buy another memory card (2gb) just to hold it all. I hope it looks and sounds as good as I heard. I especially want to tell you about the gamelan because I had never heard of one of those... it's an orchestra of percussion instruments.... such a special treat to hear them play last night. I even got to play after their performance! I do have a photo of that.

So, over the next few days, I will show you what all those above-named things have in common, and hope I can do NCCAT justice.

Thanks for hanging with me, and for your patience. I'll be visiting each of you very soon as well over the next seven days.

 

 

NCCAT Seminar/Vacation

I'm going on a vacation this week. Right in the middle of the school week.

Well, not really, but it will feel like one.

It's a five day professional development seminar for teachers, compliments of NCCAT, that is North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teachers. I had heard about it back in early July, and had applied to it right away. They sent me a letter in early August welcoming me to the Culowhee center. It is a privilege to go, and teachers can go once every three years (unless they are National Board Certified, in which case they can go every year, but I'm not NBC).

Not only is this a highly professional teacher seminar, which is at no charge to myself, but they also pay for my substitute teacher, mileage, and take care of room and board during those days. Most seminars are not free to teachers, and they don't offer to pay for the substitutes we need to cover our classes while we are away. This is truly a wonderful opportunity for any teacher grades K-12 (or school psychologist, school social worker, school nurse, school counselor, or media specialist).

Best of all, the topic of the seminar is perfectly related to the nature of my position as art teacher. It's called "Celebrating Diversity through Art." There will be an Indonesian Shadow puppet making session one day, and we'll be learning how to script an Indonesian folktale into a play... something we can do with our students in the classroom.

Then, we'll look at the textile traditions and weavings of Central and South America, as well as learn how to weave on a simple loom... I'll be making a Bolivian chuspa (that's a small bag to carry cocoa leaves if I lived in Bolivia, but I can use it to carry money here in the States!).

I think the highlight for me will be when we learn about Cherokee history, and make a Cherokee Gourd Mask. I'll be able to bring it back to my classroom, show the kids, and who knows what inspiration may spring off from there? I can imagine.

Another favorite workshop for me will be the one that features Aboriginal art... I'll learn about Aboriginal Bark painting and boomerangs. I'm going 'Down Under' without leaving North Carolina!!

One morning will be used exploring the Mountain Heritage Day Festival, featuring authentic Southern Appalachian folk arts.  And then an afternoon viewing a selection of visual arts from Africa.... I'll be crafting my own sculpture using my own cultural heritage as a starting point.

All of these things and more are on my itinerary. It just about takes my breath away, that I am being given this time away from the classroom... so I can be a student again. All the teachers I've known who have already gone to an NCCAT seminar have come back completely rejuvenated and inspired to do more in their classroom, to be a more improved teacher. It has renewed their vision of teaching. I'm sure it will do the same for me.

Don't worry, my kids are in good hands. I've got a great sub and she came highly recommended. I'm writing my plans for her tonight. She will have fun being the art teacher while I am away, and the kids already know her.

So I'll likely come back with lots of pictures and a few stories to tell. And certainly I'll have a plethora of ideas to bring into the classroom... our students will benefit.

I don't have a laptop, so I won't be blogging, but then I don't think there will be much time left over at the end of the day for anything except retiring and sleeping. I'll check in here when I get back. Love to all!  Bea

Tags: NCCAT, integrating the arts with curriculum

First week... Joyful! Joyful!

She entered the classroom eagerly. They had all been so excited about their CSI class. It was to be their first art class of the year.

The teacher asked the student her name, and told her to lead the other students into the room. She heard the words "We're going to make a big circle in my room, so follow the line leader and come on in."

Wow! Look at the things on the walls. The teacher's voice spoke invitingly "Look high on the walls, look low... look on the bookshelves... look for works of art!" Then she put on some music. Many of the students' eyes lit up in recognition.... one of them said "I have that one at home."

Another said "I have that movie at home too!"

The smallest one raised her hand and said "That's the Lion King!" They danced around and circled the classroom listening to the words of 'Circle of Life' as they searched for all kinds of art.

The girl saw black and white pictures she had never seen before. When she asked about them, the teacher explained "I'm glad you noticed those prints.... those were done by a very famous artist named M.C. Escher. We'll be learning about his artwork this year."

                                                    

A little boy asked about the picture of the ice castle. The teacher told him it looked like it was made of ice, but look closer. She took the poster print down and let all the kids get a closer look.

                                                      

"Hey!" one boy exclaimed. "There's people there. That looks like Disney Land."

Another boy said no, it wasn't Disneyland... it was a big building, a castle or something.

"It looks like it's wrapped in shiny silver paper," he added.

The teacher told them he was right... two artists named Christo and Jean-Claude wrapped this building in Berlin, Germany. She said it took them 24 years to wrap it, and when it was done, they left it up for ten days. Then they took it down.

The teacher asked them  "Why do you think anyone would want to do such a thing? Why wrap a huge building like that, and take 24 years to do it?" The students thought about it and raised their hands.

"I think they just wanted to get rich and famous."

"Maybe they wanted to protect the building. Maybe there is a surprise inside."

"So that all the people will come to see it?"

"I think it's a stupid idea because it would cost a lot of money to do that."

She told them that they were all right, except the part about it being a stupid idea because in the end, the old building was made new again.

Then she asked them "Is this wrapped building a work of art?" They had to think long and hard about that one because it wasn't like a painting, and it wasn't like a statue. And it wasn't even about the building getting built. It was just a wrapped building, like a big present. Some of the kids thought it was art, and some of them didn't.

They talked about respecting each other's work, and not making fun of eachother's work, that each one of then is an artist and they each have their own way of expressing their feelings and ideas through art. Kind of like when you write about what you think, except art uses a different kind of language.

Art is a language.

Other students raised their hands and pointed to art on the walls, asking questions like "What is that?" or "Who did that?" They talked about one painting, a mother cat and her two kittens, noticing that the artist must have really loved cats to paint them like that. And those Indian masks way up high on the wall. "Are we going to make them this year?" No, that was a fourth grade project. Someday they would be fourth graders!

There were books with pictures on the cover, and clay sculptures. They were all interested in the insect collection. Were they real? Were they alive?

One kid asked "Are we going to paint in here?"

"Yes, but not today." A few kids clapped their hands, and their quick glances at each other assured the teacher that they couldn't wait to get started.

But alas, it was only their first week, and they had already used up 15 minutes of their 35 minute class time. There were only fifteen minutes left so she let them draw with markers, color pencils, and crayons for ten minutes while she made a seating chart... with seven hundred students, she would need some way to keep up with each class.

            _________________________________________

That's somewhat a picture of how one typical class went this week. The kids were all so excited... they remembered CSI from last year. Most asked about Mrs. S... some kids told me they knew why she wasn't here. "She's retired!"one child said knowingly. I explained their former teacher's new position far away in another school. They wanted me to tell her they missed her and hoped she likes where she is. They love her very much. I'll probably email her some pictures soon.

Eachday I've pondered the upcoming weeks, the future projects, the numbers of students, the supplies I'll be using up. There is a lot to do, but I love being the one to do it! I've come across some things I hadn't thought about before... like keeping all those colored pencils sharpened. I don't like it when the kids sharpen their own pencils... they break them too easily. I gave them a lesson on proper use of pencils and erasers... but I did a lot of sharpening this first week.

My greatest challenge has been getting one class out and being ready for the next class to come in... with five minutes or less in between the transitions. I will definitely need to plan activities that use similar materials across grade levels to help reduce the preparation time between classes.

The first week went well... I learned how to 'doggy paddle' this week.

I will learn some new strokes, so to speak, next week. It will be like entering a swim meet. The pace will change. I'm up for it.

I've got my flippers on and I'm diving in!

The animal I am most like is.....

From By The Way:

                  Weekend Assignment #182: You're an Animal

"Ready for some funky self-introspection? Then here is the week's Weekend Assignment:

Weekend Assignment #182: Compare yourself to the animal whose best-known traits are most like your own personality.

Note this isn't "what animal would you like to be?" but is instead "what animal is most like you?" Also, don't be too worried if your identification is not totally biologically exact; listing your similarities based on the general cultural impression of the animal is fine, too. We're not doing science here, after all; we've doing end-of-the-week diversions.

Extra credit: Would you want to own the animal you identify with?"

I considered the eagle, elephant, fish, ant, and the bee, all creatures I identify with for various reasons, but they are animals whose characteristics I would like to possess. And the assignment clearly asks for us to consider the animal whose best known traits are most like my own personality.

Considering that, when threatened, I withdraw, and that everything I need is inside of me, I think I identify with the turtle more than the other animals I named above.

Hang with me for a moment.

Turtles are relatively slower in their movement than other animals. I am a slow thinker. I get where I'm going, but might get there a little later than others.

Turtles have a hard shell to protect them from predators and the elements. I have a sort of hard "shell"... things don't get me upset. Problems cannot penetrate my resolve to solve them.

Turtles are built close to the ground, for stability. I am short... probably not for stability, but it works.

Turtles carry their home on their back. I can make myself at home anywhere I go. Spiritually speaking, I am at home.

Turtles blend in with their environment... they don't stand out as a threat to other wildlife. I don't stand out in my environments either. I kind of blend in with whatever is going on in any given situation. I am there, I contribute, but I don't take the spotlight... don't like being on stage like that. Except in the classroom.

Turtles are generally silent, not making many noises. I am the silent type when in unusual circumstances. I am one to observe what's going on before I'll speak up. I don't dive right into a situation like an eagle would, and I don't use my power and strength, like an elephant, to intimidate others.

Turtles seem comfortable to live alone once they leave their nest as a hatchling, except for mating purposes. They are very independent. I am independent. I am married, and enjoy being married, but I am independent in all other ways. I contribute to the "colony" like ants and bees do, but am very comfortable in moments when I am away from the rest of the colonists.

Turtles don't seem to have a sense of humor, but I think they do. I have one, but it's taken me a lifetime to develop it!!  I said I was slow.

The turtle is recognized in myth and lore as being patient, moving steadily through life. That's me to a T! T for turtle!

When a turtle is moving fast, it sticks its neck out... that's how it makes progress. Sometimes Istick my neck out, and when I do, I make progress.

The most famous turtle (in lore) is probably the one who raced the rabbit. We all know how that race turned out, and the lesson learned is a valuable one. Slow and steady wins the race.

One turtle I greatly admire is Koopa. He is an artist, 27 years old, and lives with his housemate, Kira, also an artist.

                                        

Here is a link to Koopa's and Kira's website. The only reason I found them was because I was looking for some pictures of turtles for this entry. I had no idea I'd find an artist turtle like Koopa!

Watch this video to see another trick he does. It's lengthy, at three minutes, but I didn't know turtles could do this. Kira is as very patient as the turtle is. She told me in an email that he does it often, and can do it for longer periods of time.

                                  

 

Bonus Question/Answer: If I were living on my own, I might have a turtle for a pet. And I'd teach it to do tricks like Kira did for her Koopa!

Thank you to Kira for giving me permission to use her Koopa on my page, and for letting me link to her website.

 

                                                                  http://www.turtlekiss.com/

 

 

Tags: turtle, the animal I most identify with, Koopa, painting turtles, turtlekiss.com

Autumn, school, and the Golden Rule

               

Officially, fall will be here in a couple of weeks, but for now, it still feels like summer in these parts of North Carolina. I even saw some people swimming in their apartment complex pool while driving through Durham (to visit my son). Yes, it was hot enough for that.

We took him out for lunch, and enjoyed a chat of catching-up with each other's lives while putting away a plate of barbecue, cole-slaw, fries, and hush puppies. My husband and I shared a plate, not because it's cheaper that way, but because our appetites seem to be shrinking. We don't eat as much as we used to, which is a good thing since our metabolisms are obviously slowing down to keep up with the smaller meals. You just can't win! I can see why seniors are given a discount when they eat out. They do eat smaller meals.

It was a very nice visit. We laughed, talked about family stuff, school, work... very nice. Sometimes when I call him and ask him if he would like to go out for lunch or dinner, he already has other plans (between school, work, and a social life). But there are times when I call and he's free... and the two of us hop into the car to meet with him. He is doing well, and I was happy to spend some time with him, even if it was only two hours. They were two exceptional hours during which I delighted in hearing his voice, watching his face, and listening to his side of the discussion.

School went well this week. My replacement teacher arrives Monday! I called her Thursday evening to welcome her to our school and ask her if she needed anything to help her get moved in, but she assured me that all was taken care of. She is looking forward to teaching in our school, and excited about meeting the students. I've been talking it up with the students, too, to build up their anticipation of her arrival. I didn't want any of the younger ones to put on an act when they realize I'm not going to be teaching them every day. No pouting or acting stubborn, you know?

One of my younger students, a first grader, had a great idea on how to make her feel welcome and loved right away. He thinks I should buy some flowers and have them in my room before she arrives. He also suggested I buy them just before I get to school so they'll be fresh. What a thoughtful kid! I think I'll do just that.

Well, we did spend some time Friday painting a seven foot long banner that says "Welcome Ms. _______!" I decided to forego the usual reading and writing lessons and told them we were going to paint the banner and they were going to write her a welcome letter to make her feel good about being here. Each student (1st and 2nd graders only) in my class wrote their letters (with a little help with spelling), and then they painted (I drew in the large letters, they painted them in and decorated with flowers, bugs, animals, and their names). At the end of the day, I hung it across one wall of the classroom... it looks spectacular.

How could she not feel welcome? I'll spend the day with her on Monday, and then on Tuesday, I'm off to prepare for my art integration classes, which will begin on Wednesday... I cannot believe it's happening. Will someone pinch me, please?

If I walked into a strange, new classroom and saw that huge colorful, student-made banner with my name splashed across it hanging on the wall like that, I think I would feel like this school really wants me, and the kids like me already, right from the start. That's how I want her to feel. I've never met her before, but that doesn't matter. It's just the Golden Rule in action.

Well, I'm off to read my Sunday School materials. All this excitement about teaching art full-time has me pumped!

Oh, and I'll be thinking about the Weekend Assignment: what animal am I like? Will write about that tomorrow, probably.

Have a great weekend!

bea

and thanks to Donna (nightmaremom) for that lovely graphic. If you want one just like it, you can snag it here, or go to Donna's website and snag it there. I think you should go to her website first, if you have never visited her before. She has some great graphics for your journal.

Tags: school, nightmaremom's graphics, autumn,

Monday Photo Shoot: Expression

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Present a picture that clearly shows a particular emotion. Happy, sad, thrilled, bummed, anything in between.

I think this is the look of happy and content!

                                            

Misty is happy because she is outside, and she loves nothing better than to be outside. I want to keep her inside because she can stay cleaner longer, plus I know where she is, but ever since we got her as a pup, she has wanted to spend more time outdoors than indoors... except when it is raining. That is about the only thing that will keep her from fleeing when we open the door. So you can imagine that during this dry spell, she has pretty much lived outside, in the shadier parts of the yard of course... but outside just the same. Sometimes she stays out until after midnight .... our other dog, Max, he's a homebody... loves to stay home. I never lose any sleep over him. Except that time he ate a chocolate candy bar I left in a bag on the floor one Christmas season.... fortunately, the peroxide treatment caused him to throw it all up. The vet prescribed it, I followed it. It was a horrible, painful waiting experience. For him and for me.

"See how easy it is? Now, your turn. Snap that picture or find one in your archives (we've done a Photo Shoot before with a similar theme, so no recycling!), and post it online and come back here to leave a link."               from ByTheWay

What this means, for you first timers who want to participate is to do your entry like I've done mine, then leave me a comment, of course, with your link if you'd like! But you need to click on the hyperlink above, or click here, to also leave your link with John Scalzi's Photo Shoot assignment, since he started this assignment.

He's got an adorable example of what bored looks like ... his dog, Kodi, is so photogenic!

Tags: Monday Photo Shoot, Expression, Misty,

Sharing some of my thoughts about art; revealing the lie!

So because this is the internet, I cannot show the bulletin board (the one I mentioned in the previous entry) in its entirety because my school name is plastered all over it! I had forgotten about that little detail.

                                              

  What I've done is edited them to get just two of the corners. I apologize for having to chop it up so.

                             

These are showing the dragonfly and butterfly taking flight from the paint brushes. I was striving for the concept of creation, that we are creators when we let our imaginations soar.

The card with a brief explanation of the bulletin board is posted beside the board in the lobby:

"Is knowledge more important than imagination? Albert Einstein didn't think so. This bulletin board expresses the commitment of Our Elementary School to nurture hearts as well as the minds of Our Elementary School's students. Through daily integration of art and music with academic subjects, we will meet high academic standards and raise caring, responsible citizens."

Imagination IS more important than knowledge.   Albert Einstein

The one who holds the pencil, pen, crayon, marker, or paintbrush is the creator of the image, creator of the story, creator of the life and truth that follows it. If it is born from the truth of the maker, then it will have a life of its own. Sometimes art transforms the artist, sometimes it transforms the receiver of the art, the one who views it and finds in it one's own interpretation, one's own meaning, based on what one has experienced in life, and based on what one believes in his heart.

Sometimes it makes us laugh, and sometimes it gives us the shivers. Sometimes we are confounded by it, shocked, pleased, and even angered by a work of art, but seldom are we indifferent to it.

I believe that we are co-creators in this world.

Whether one believes that God had His hand in this marvelous work or not, surely one believes that we (as a human race, collectively and individually) have a hand in its continued creation, ...its care, ...its continued transformation through building, strengthening, preserving, protecting, and growth. Or we can be the destructors of life through ... pollution of the waters and atmosphere, ... causing the extinction of plant life and animal habitats, ... or depleting Earth's natural resources.

We are creators or destructors.

And I'm not even talking about our responsibilities and obligations to care for each other ... a whole 'nuther topic.

Week End Assignment:

The truth is revealed... or rather, the lie:

In answer to the question about which fact was the lie, most of you know me so well!!! Yes, #3 was the lie. I do like bugs. They don't scare me, although there are a couple I abhor (roaches, ticks, fleas, those kind), but in general, insects fascinate me. I hate meatloaf... well, not hate... I dislike it, for all that I said about it (sorry Marie!), and everyone knows I love my dogs, and wouldtake them everywhere I go if I could.

Thanks for participating in that one!

And thank you for taking the time to visit and leave comments this week. One more week and I'll be integrating art in my CSI classroom!

 

Tags: bulletin boards, answer to three facts about me, artists and art, creation, blogplugs