Moments you teach for.....

It's been a while since I have put a blog entry out there, and I promise it's not because I don't want to.  My phone is filled with photos of projects that I say "I'm going to blog this!" and then, well, I'm still wondering where the time has gone!  But at last, here it is!

So, these are some things which have happened the past week or two that are truly those moments when you think to yourself about these moments that you've been working towards with students, and they are finally a reality.

Above is a Bancroft ROAR, but an Art Specific one.  Kindergarten did a printmaking lesson on castles, and we talked about some tough vocabulary like the term "arch".  I make sure theres some easy, medium, and tough vocab introduced, and typically upon the first introduction to a word, students can recall the easy and medium terms.  Alejandro on the other hand not only remembered the more difficult vocabulary term, but he connected it (without prompting!!) to our current unit on seascapes. Above you can see the Art ROAR I wrote him, he not only met expectations, he surpassed them and really made my week.  Now, if only I could figure out exactly what I did, or how I did it, to teach this term, and ake it stick!!  WAY TO GO ALEJANDRO!!!!

 The artist featured to the right, is a current Pre-K 4 student who took a project above and beyond.  We focused on self-portraits this week and watching our faces change in the mirrors.  While the prompt was to draw ourselves feeling a specific way(student choice) Juan let his imagination soar!  He explained to me that he wasn't just feeling serious and mad, he was able to tell me and show me in his art exactly why he felt that way.  And it made total sense!  Below is the caption of what he said which is written on the art:

      "This is me and my face, and I'm mad at someone because I'm a special agent and you can't see my eyes.  I have glasses on."

Juan proceeded to discuss freely that special agents get mad at the bad guys, and so he wasn't mad at me but in fact was protecting me.  He also let me know part of their "clothes they always have to wear" as he put it were the sunglasses.  Not only the creativity excited me, but the way the student boasted about his art.  He is proud of this.  When a student is invested in their work and truly feels proud of their creations, that's a moment I teach for and try to foster within the art room.

The moment to the left is simple, but HUGE progress.  Second grade is a big year for art.  I begin to prompt students to be more descriptive and informative when they discuss their art.  I'm always saying "tell me specific details, about why you do or do not like your art. " and "tell me one thing you really want to make better in this piece."

This week was the moment I realized, we are doing great with this.  I found second grade students already identifying and asking for help, on their first draft of their self-portrait.  Second graders are creating, reflecting, and seeking to better themselves as artists without my prompting!

Stay tuned for more proud moments in the Bancroft Art Room from the past month.  The next post will spotlight fifth grade artists who have been working hard creating a piece of visual poetry from their own written poems!