I'm super excited about INKTOBER this year! I have tried to participate every year as much as I possibly can. Some years I start of strong for the first week but then get super busy and forget to create an artwork each day. This year I created a SHAREABLE GOOGLE CALENDAR that has ALL the inktober prompts to help give me reminders for each day and what to draw. I really want to use these prompts to help me be more productive in creating a cohesive body of work. I was thinking I might do all digital sketches but now I am thinking I might do a mix of both depending on the day. I also hope to create works on canvas based on my sketches. I AM STOKED. :) I just need to decide on a theme. Self portraits? Hmmm .... Universe? Magic? I just can't decide. But SHARING IS CARING so here is the the link to google INKTOBER calendar that you can add to your own google calendar! calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=0lq2b7qd0pi3o9l4h6gi5frmjc%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FChicago
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Happy St. Patrick's Day 2021 everyone! I decided that I wanted to do a fun online virtual party with my students on Zoom. So I gathered some super fun St. Patricks day resources and put them together in a google slide to share with my students. The reference information came from an AWESOME website called Twinkl. They have so many awesome classroom lessons and resources that I went ahead and paid for a subscription! https://www.twinkl.com/www.twinkl.com/ Then I found a fun site that had ideas for St Patrick's online party since so many people are still trying to follow social distancing protocol for Covid. Here is the site :https://teambuildingteambuilding.com/blog/virtual-st-patricks-day.com/blog/virtual-st-patricks-day . It is full of awesome ideas- like taking a VIRTUAL tour of Ireland. It was awesome! I also like to send my students ecards during the holidays and I found a GREAT one that had a fun virtual picture hunt game. Here is the link- I played it like 4 times it was so much fun :https://www.americangreetings.com/detail/ecards/st-patricks-day/st-patricks-day-hidden-objects-game-ecard/pn/prod3519462 So even though St. Patrick's day is over- you can still have a blast with all the fun ideas! YAY This is more of a stay at home mom post than an art teacher post but I guess we are kind of ALL stay at home parents now thanks to the COVID-19 quarantine and stay at home order. It is May 6th, as I am writing this and it seems like the closures may be coming to an end soon as some things are reopening (at least it seems that way in Florida) So this post is about a chore chart that I just made and plan on implementing with my 9 year old son. It is Minecraft themed because as an art teacher- I just can't use some plain old chore chart! LOL I started looking up some on google - which led me to pinterest which then led me to Microsoft word and then finally POWERPOINT ! Is it just me or evertime you find a FREE PRINTABLE chore chart- it just isnt cutomizebable!? I know every kid and parent have specific chores/tasks that they ask expect so it is just too broad of a range to have a one size fits all chore chart. There were some good ones on microsoft word but the formatting is SO specific and rigid that I just couldn't fit in the things I needed or wanted. So finally after finding a picture of a minecraft one I really liked (on this site http://cassiescreativecrafts.blogspot.com/2014/09/free-minecraft-chore-chart-award-system.html ) I set out to re create it on Powerpoint so I could customize it. AND here is the result! I am going to try to laminate it - (to save on printer ink) but it is good to keep track of progress . My son had a weekly behavior check list when he was in ABA therapy and it was good to have all the data tracked and recorded. That is why I added the behavior element - it really should be recorded by the day/ time but honestly- I need this to be easy or I know I won't keep up with it. And that is the real test- if its not easy or manageable , then most people will not be able to maintain conistency with its use. So I am going to try this and see if it helps!! WISH ME LUCK ! LOL This is the jpeg but I will try to put the actual powerpoint file on my weebly so you can save it and customize it yourself!
Even though I am a teacher of 14 years, I have never attempted to homeschool my own children because it has always been a struggle to get them to listen learn and work like my other students. For some reason, my role as mom just supersedes a teacher role and in their eyes, I am just an imposter who knows nothing about 'teaching'. Now because of this Covid 19 pandemic and social distancing, most if not all parents are having to assume the role of teacher, even if the kids are getting some of their lessons virtually. My 9 year old son Rudy attends a private school for Autism and his teacher has given us a weekly lesson plan, schedule and access to Moby Max. While I am EXTREMELY grateful for that (because I tried planning and accumulating my own lessons, units ,etc based on the third grade standards using CPALMS and other free resources and I got QUICKLY overwhelmed!) I am still pretty much monitoring, assigning, enforcing and assessing his work. Honestly, Rudy is A WONDERFUL boy in EVERY SINGLE way and I don't say that just because he is my son. He really is a kind, smart, loving, not so little for long guy- but some days can be a REAL struggle! His high functioning autism will sometimes manifest itself with fixations on things and an inability to transition to new activities (especially not preferred activites like work!). So if he wakes up fixated on a video game or a certain LEGO design, it is REALLY hard to get him to focus on writing (which is usually what we do for morning work) Before all this pandemic we were considering trying a medication for his ADHD to help with his focus but now we have decided to wait until he returns to the physical school setting since his learning can be more flexible for now. The BEST therapy and treatment for autism is ABA therapy, which stands for Applied Behavior Analysis. The premise is that behaviors can be taught and learned through a system of rewards and consequences. Rudy was in ABA therapy for over a year until last summer when we changed insurance and it became too expensive. Through BCBS we had to meet a deductible and then the therapy was completely covered. When we switched to United, the deductible tripled and even after the deductible we still would have had a copay. It was insane- we calculated the cost to be almost $500 a month. I would like to eventually find a way to get him back into the therapy maybe with a different company or plan but for right now I feel fortunate that he at least got to benefit from the time he had in therapy. Part of the program is also training the parents so I got to know some of the basic techniques and structures. It is A LOT of data collecting and keeping track of behaviors and trying to correct/ reward or apply a consequence to the behavior the moment is happening. I say all this just to explain that teaching for parents can be a struggle and one that I am intimately familiar with. Even if your child does not have autism, they would probably appreciate getting to have fun while the actually are learning content. Or even better- they might learn AND NOT EVEN REALIZE it was work! If you can turn a learning experience into a fun game, then you have created an authentic learning opportunity that your child will benefit even more from because they are motivated to do MORE of it and they are having fun while DOING it! So how do we achieve this MIRACLE?! Well I think one way is by PLAYING MINECRAFT! I was never a huge fan of the game. As much as I tried, I was never really able to figure the game out and every time I tried to play it with my kids, I would get disoriented and not know what buttons to push, how to walk, move around or basically do anything! Then a friend posted a news article that because of quarantine, Minecraft was releasing their Education Edition FOR free until summer! Rudy got the game back in February for our PS4 and had been having a lot of fun playing it and building cool worlds so I thought- WHY NOT give it a try. The first time I tried finding it, Rudy was out with his Dad and it was a frustrating EPIC fail. It took me 30 minutes just to find where the Minecraft Store was- (it is embedded in the game) . As a mom I am such a gamer NEWB. Most people probably can easily find the Education Edition and download it but I thought- if there are any other moms out there like me, they might appreciate a little help. Especially since, I probably wouldn't have given up on Minecraft long ago if someone had showed me how to do it! This will especially help if you have a Playstation! But I am assuming it is a similar process for the computer version, and Xbox, phone etc. We have the actually PS4 Minecraft disc- so I loaded that into the PS4. The education editions can be downloaded from the Minecraft store that you can find on the homepage after you start the game. There are many AWESOME Education worlds available from the Human Eye, Space Station, Mount Olympus and more but I really wanted to try the Marine Biology edition first. So I downloaded it and clicked "CREATE" to start exploring the world. Well it was a LEARNING EXPERIENCE! It probably took me 10 minutes to figure out how to open a door! But I didnt give up. Once you enter the SeaFoam Marine Center, you meet Brooke- your boss. She gives you scanner and tells you to practice by scanning a tropical fish. Where the heck was the fish, I wondered! LOL Minecraft world looks different than the real world. I found the fish in a tank to the right of us, managed to scan it and then went back to Brooke. After you find and scan an animal, you get a data card which has to be taken to the GIANT blue screen computer to the left of the room. I entered the fish data and then I was ready to start a real MISSION! I was so excited and it was so fun! After the practice scan, you go see Lee who gives you scuba gear to put on. I am actually scuba certified and LOVE diving so I was so excited to get to do it virtually . I let Rudy take over at that point. We were able to find and scan the starfish and we also figured out /realized that even with the gear on, you have to swim to the surface to get air or you will 'die'. Dying only means that you have to respawn- or start over (but with all the data and progress you have made being saved) I am so excited to play again and find all the other animals on the list. Rudy has already played the Space Station on his own and loved it. There is so much information embedded in the worlds that kids learn so much while having a blast doing it. Check out the video and GOOD LUCK with you home learning adventures! GUNG HAY FAT CHOY! What’s the safest way to explore #China without worrying about the #coronavirus ?? With a fun #artproject! This #Chinesenewyear #mingvase #artlesson is one that I did with my #elementary students that always turned out great! #gunghayfatchoy ! The video is on my @youtube channel and here are the powerpoint slides that I put together. I chose to draw the FORBIDDEN city on my vase. This city, located in Beijing, the capital of China, was the cultural center of China during the Ming Dynasty. I love teaching about history and culture through fun hands on art projects and this one is kid tested and student approved!
I am writing this the FRIDAY before the Walt Disney Marathon in Orlando Florida on January 12, 2020. I am BEYOND excited and am finally starting to feel ready for this epic race. Since having my youngest daughter, Emerson, in December 2018, I have been working hard to get back in peak running form. While my training has been less than ideal or consistent, I finally feel like I am close to being where I once was physically when I qualified for Boston in 2016. While i am not sure if this will be a BQ for me, I am going to run my hardest and best. Of course, I also want to have fun and enjoy the experience which is why I wanted to have a fun costume to wear. My costume is based on several things- first the hype around the most adorable charater , Baby Yoda, made me want to incorporate his cuteness into my look. I also am a BIG star wars fan and when I try to envision what type of Disney Princess I would be, I just do not really signify with any EXCEPT maybe princess Leia. So I started scouring the internet to find inspiration. I found a lot of ideas around her white robe look so I went with white and silver! Here is the vlog I put together that talks more about each part of the outfit in detail. I also customized my shirt using heat transfer vinyl and the cameo silhouette. So I am adding those files in case anyone is interested in using them! ENJOY and may the force be with you!
I can not believe that it has been almost a year since I have gotten the opportunity to stay home with my youngest daughter, Emerson after being in the classroom as an art teacher for over a decade! I thought I would be so productive and get SO many projects and things accomplished but I completely underestimated the tremendous about of time , attention and focus that caring for a baby full time requires! Now that she is older (10 months at the present time) I have been able to figure out a predictable schedule and can work around her needs and requirements. So I have trying to think of what is the best use of my time in regards to creating and sharing. I have a passion for not just making art but also developing art curriculum and lessons. Honestly it is fun and I am pretty sure that I will be back in the classroom eventually so it helps to have a wealth of engaging lessons and resources at hand that I will be able to use. When I first began teaching art, I was not given or had access to any type of curriculum. Through being involved with PLCS professional learning communities, organizations like the Florida Art Education Association and simply trial and error, I was able to develop a successful art curriculum that led to becoming teacher of the year TWICE! All my lessons had to be flexible, engaging and tied to literature or cross curricular subject areas like math and science. If the lesson was a flop, wasn't developmentally appropriate or engaging- it was dropped! My last teaching position was with Florida Virtual School and I fell in LOVE with the virtual learning environment. I strongly believe in the power of technology in the evolution of our educational system. The online environment allows flexibility and accessibility like never before. That is why I am hoping to offer my own online art lessons, via Skype. I am currently going through all my resources, lessons and presentations to update and organize them to get them ready to offer to parents, other teachers and students. One thing I try to incorporate in ALL my lessons are the growth mindset and how to THINK like an artist. This is introduced at the beginning of ALL my lessons because it is crucial to the artistic process. So I made this little slide to add to most of my lessons. There is also a great youtube video I found that covers the main concepts. Basically, I tell students- the goal is not for them to create something beautiful- but just to CHANGE the way they think. As an artist- I have to constantly remind myself of these things as well! The first step is RESEARCH- what are you trying to draw or create. Is it a leaf? Well then you have to get on the computer or phone and find a picture of leaf and learn about leaves. Even better- you can go outside and find an interesting leaf to look at. Second- you BRAINSTORM! What is most interesting to you about this leaf? Does it have color, texture or shape that you like? What makes this leaf something you would find beautiful or want to emphasize? Close your eyes and picture it in your head. It doesn't necessarily have to look the way it does in real life- you can alter it with your imagination. Third, get ready to TAKE A RISK- start trying to sketch your leaf or the picture from your head of the leaf onto paper. It might LOOK AWFUL but that is okay. Fourth- if you can get feedback- ask someone what they think of the sketch - if not go on to set 5. Five- make mistakes- its OKAY. If you hate your drawing- crumple it up and if you are mad enough you can even stomp on it - (although don't throw it away- you might un-crumple it and see that the change has made it look cool!) And finally- THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP- don't give up! KEEP TRYING! I have had to step away from many paintings and drawings and do something else. But I don't give up on them. I go back - and try again! That is what is beautiful about the process- not giving up until your work is something YOU enjoy looking at. Then you have SUCCEEDED as an artist |
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