Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Unfortunately, mine is coming to a
close, and I am totally unprepared for tomorrow! I wanted to thank everyone
for their great holiday ideas. I have printed out many to use in the future. I
didn't have many supplies left, so in the end, most students had to just draw
on manila paper. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow, and not
knowing if I will have supplies is making that harder. I am thinking of an
origami project or something that requires little supplies. I also start with my
new batch of middle school students. For the last two groups, I went over
the rules on the first day and then had them do that name project (where they
make a mirror image and turn the name into a design). It works pretty well, but
I didn't know if any of you had any other ideas for the first day with middle
school.
I'm actually extremely anxious and kind of dreading this next half of the
year. I had such a rough time during the first half, and I'm so afraid that it
won't get better. I'm having so much trouble staying organized and on top of
things. I spent way too many nights working until 8pm last half. I really
don't want to keep that up because it has really affected my health and
well-being. It seems like there is so much for me to learn and figure out that it's
just overwhelming. I wish that I could attend the conference in Chicago, but I
have no money and am certain that the school would not pay for it. Getting
supplies has been hard enough.
Anyway, I did get approval to send home a supply list with my middle school
students because my students just don't take care of things, and all that is
left are some broken pastels and crayons. I had to throw out all of my
watercolor sets because they were destroyed. My room is so humid that it also melted
the paints, so they were just goop. This is why I think it's best for my
middle school students to bring their supplies in every day. Here's what I have
so far:
Each student should bring in the following supplies in a supply box or pouch:
1 pack of Crayola crayons (at least 16 colors)
1 box of colored pencils
2 ebony drawing pencils
2 Erasers (Gum erasers work well)
1 Sharpie fine point marker
1 fine point black pen
1 pencil sharpener with a container to catch shavings
1 watercolor set (Prang or Crayola are good)
1 glue stick
1 box of oil pastels
1 art binder (three ring binder with a pocket)
Should I include anything else?
I've heard so many wonderful ideas about how you guys set up your
curriculum...such as the passport idea. I'm still trying to figure out a solid
curriculum that will be most effective and still keep the students engaged. My last
group did a wonderful job on their still life drawings, but many of them became
bored and frustrated. I'm thinking that I need to come up with an easier way
to teach them shading techniques and perhaps a more exciting subject...or
simpler? I did an O'Keeffe project as their last project. Some of them came out
very nice, so I think I'll keep that project. I do want to try a mask project
this time...all I have is newspaper for papier mache. I'm thinking about a
group project as well, maybe a presentation on an artist? I would like my
curriculum to make more sense...like introduce an artist for every project. I did
Picasso, O'Keeffe, and Dali last time. I'd like to include a few more. I
have 9 weeks with them, so I need a nice compact plan.
