I'm sure the art coming home these first 5 weeks of school may not seem like what you would expect to see coming out of art class. My artists are creating genuine kids' art that shows their individual developmental levels and interests and are meeting the two standard goals we have been working on: 1) I can use and take care of art materials 2) I can create my OWN art.
Last week, my choice to switch to Choice-Based Art was justified yet again. As I made the gradual switch to Choice-Based Art last year, many of my artists would freeze with the goal "I can create my own art that has directional lines (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) using the drawing, paint, or collage center." As I gave that goal to my second graders this last week, nobody was paralyzed by the goal. They all had original ideas that met the goal. They had confidence in their abilities, shared in each others excitement and were inspired to create art by simply looking at how other artists have used line. Below are images from just one class so you can see the variety in ideas. And you should know that as I went around and asked them where they have lines showing direction, I not only was told the name of the directional line but so much more information about the choices they were making or how their ideas changed as they worked. Amazing - and another reason why I love my job! :)
Last week, my choice to switch to Choice-Based Art was justified yet again. As I made the gradual switch to Choice-Based Art last year, many of my artists would freeze with the goal "I can create my own art that has directional lines (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) using the drawing, paint, or collage center." As I gave that goal to my second graders this last week, nobody was paralyzed by the goal. They all had original ideas that met the goal. They had confidence in their abilities, shared in each others excitement and were inspired to create art by simply looking at how other artists have used line. Below are images from just one class so you can see the variety in ideas. And you should know that as I went around and asked them where they have lines showing direction, I not only was told the name of the directional line but so much more information about the choices they were making or how their ideas changed as they worked. Amazing - and another reason why I love my job! :)