Art Portfolios

The students in my school that I am student teaching at got to take home art portfolios the other day.  These were magnificent creations that the teacher supplied them.  It was just a big envelop that the students got to decorate however, they wanted that day and the art teacher gave them all of the art that they had done throughout the quarter.  The students had so much fun making these, I think you could easily incorporate this fun little project into any class for any subject.  Each envelope was different and it was a unique way to present art to their parents.  I don't think my field experience teacher for this class did that with her students.  To my knowledge she just handed their work back to them after she had displayed it in the hall for a while.  I like the portfolio idea better because then the students can show their parents and display it like a real art gallery, which is something you can incorporate into your teaching.  What an art gallery is, and why people do them, and how they are set up.

Snowman feet

Today in my field experience class for my other class the students got to paint their feet and make snowmen ornaments out of it.  This was a pretty interesting thing to watch.  The students loved to do it and you could see on their faces that they were having fun.  It was also a could way to teach the students that they can make anything into art.  The students were a little skeptical at first that this was not going to work but once they saw an example and started to make them they were on board.  This taught them that they can use whats around them, and to really use their imagination.  I think we stifle students imagination to much and they become bored with school.  If we spark their imagination with art I think that would change tremendously.

Music

Yesterday I went in and saw the 5th grade class music performance.  They did pretty well for just beginning with instruments and you could see it on their faces that they were excited to play for an audience.  You could tell that they had practiced hard to learn the songs like jingle bells and all those good ones.  The audience really enjoyed it too. It was a spur of the moment thing and I am really glad that I got to see them perform.  I wish I was able to see some of their practices to see how far they had come.  It did take me back to the days that I was starting in band.

Art

Yesterday I got to go in again and see the art class one more time.  This was especially fun to watch because 4th grade was working on their architecture projects which were pretty amazing to look at and see them create.  Some of them stuck with buildings they knew I don't know how many Mcdonald's and Chick Fil A's I saw on their papers, however, some of them were pretty creative.  They had different shaped colorful building and their names were pretty funny.  It was great to see all of the students really enjoying the lesson.  The 5th graders got to work with oil pastels.  They were making a window scene they had to draw a tree and decorate it and then add then window panes and snow to it.  They turned out really cool and made me want to sit down and join them.  I was really glad that I went in one more time to see them.

Incorporating Art and Music

I haven't had much time to go and visit the school. I have all my hours in but I have been busy with homework and my other field experience.  Therefore I will elaborate on some of the things that I wish my one classroom would be doing.  I like that my teacher has been doing multiple craft projects with my teacher however, I wish she would incorporate art and music more in the classroom.  I have seen her put on Pandora so I feel that the students are getting exposed to music but they aren't really learning about music like they could be.  In addition, I feel like she could add more art into her teaching as well, especially when teaching the students about different traditions.  You could find multiple art works that depict different holiday traditions to help with this concept.  I feel that my teacher is just missing so many different opportunities.

Art

My first visit to the art class was very educational.  In art class the students are working on Patriots day artwork.  The 3rd graders are drawing stars and then outlining them with red and blue crayons.  The 4th and 5th graders are working with wax resist with their projects.  A lot of the students thought it was so cool and I have to admit it was pretty cool to see it actually work.  I liked how the teacher stayed with one general concept and then adapted it to all of her other grades.