Two into one..

Tuesday was a project that was created by having a partner. The objective was to create the drawing of a person.
Each student was paired and given a sheet of paper that was then cut vertically in half.

A bit confused at first, the student's were guided by the YMCA art teacher as I clarified the directions.
The student's each worked in their own color so they can see who drew what side. What I found particularly interesting is how they wanted both sides to fit and make one person in the best possible way.

The picture that is attached was created by two 4th grde students. One said,"Look thats us, we like pizza."
The student's were girls, and they choice to draw a male pizza delievery man.
Where these two girls just going with the stereotypical believe that just boys deliver pizza? Why did they draw a male and not a female? Why did she say "that's us"? is it a reflection of themselves in a way?
Whatever the answers may be.. and whatever questions I would of had loved to ask...it was just to late for it was time to clean up..

Till next time,

A Thanksgiving Event!

Yesterday was a half day for the students. So, 21st Century had a Thanksgiving event for the students and their parents.
One room had the food, including things like pumpkin pie, noodles, pudding and so forth. The other two had arts and crafts activities that were being conducted.
One room, we made flowers out of gift paper, pipe cleaner,and green construction paper. What was just so cute is that the younger students (kindergarten thru 2nd would take the time to sniff the flower once it was completed.)
Directions:
1. Pick three colors of gift paper that was cut into a rectangle about 10 by 5 inches.

2. Stack them on top of each other according to desired order.

3. Pinch the center of the stacked gift wrap, this makes it look like a bow.

4. Take a pipe cleaner (whatever color is desired) and wrap one end around the center of the "bow" gift paper in order to keep it together in this position.

5. Now, pull apart the different layers of the gift paper, by taking apart the layers it creats the look of different petals for the bloom.

6. Once that is complete, take a piece of construction paper and cut out two leaves. ( in this case, the leaves were already cut out for the students so that they didn't have to mess with scissors) and a whole was punched near the steam of the leave so that the pipe cleaner can just be pulled thru. ( From self-discover, it was easier just to that the end of the pipe cleaner which is the steam of the flower and to poke a hole in the paper leave with the pipe cleaner end. That way, the wire in the pipe cleaner can just be pulled thru the paper leave and it's not to big of a hole.)

Once the flowers where complete, I wrapped the steam around some of the girls hair bands to make it a hair accessory.


The other room: We offered the student's the opportunity to make feathers out of construction paper. On these feathers, the student's wrote what they are thankful for. These were than given as a thank you gift to the parent's for joining the students for the Thanksgiving event.

-Well, of to join the family!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Till next time, Miss Tanja

Plaster fun!

Tuesday,, Tuesday,, Tuesday.. What a rainy day it was!
The gentleman from the YMCA conducted a project with the program that I assisted with. He brought in a box of "Plast'r craft modeling material." The mission: Finger puppets.
After filling a few styrofoam cups with water, the magic was waiting to happen. At least that's how one student looked at it...
After cutting a sheet of plaster material into multiple strips, the student's would dip the strips into the water. Swipe of the access water and wrap the strip around their finger. The plaster would than start to harden, which is the "magic" part.
The student's,Kindergarden to seventh grade, made one for each member of their family. One student, a fourth grader, wrapped the strip around two fingers. When he realized that the other students wrapped the strips on each individual finger, he looked at me and said, "I did it wrong." I thought about an article that I had read about "Happy accidents," which means that if a mistake or an accident happens in art just to create something new out of it. "No, it's your mom and dad." I replied, "Look, they are hanging out together." He nodded and just smiled at me. Not much longer, I heard him explain to another student, " look, it's my mom and Dad, they are hanging out." The girl exclaimed," Yes, I see it!"
Sadly, we ran out of time so next Tuesday will be the day that the student's get to decorate them. =)

patients.. I'm braiding!

Hello! Hello!
I come across a huge bag full of different colored yarns about two weeks ago and had an "ahh ha!" moment. I had 4th and 5th graders last week Tuesday.. I figured "why not teach them how to braid?" I gave them the choice of a necklace or a bracelet.
Well, it took a lot of patients... Turns out only a few kids knew how! But boy, oh boy! They sure were willing to learn. I would let the student select what six colors they wanted and tied the strings together. Had them choice what two colors they wanted to pair so we had a set of three (this helped build autonomy, since they had a choice). From then, it was all about teaching them the technique. The student’s helped each other; one would hold on to the end, while the other one would follow step by step on how to go thru the motions of braiding. I loved how excited they would get once they saw the pattern emerge and the moment they caught on. For example, a 4th grade girl actually said “hold on, I mess up,” and when ahead fixed her own mistake. This illustrated that she was paying attention to detail, as well as the directions.
This week, I had some 3rd graders come up to me during they activity hour and ask if I can show them how to braid because they wanted to also make a bracelet. She was very patient as well. She made a few more mistakes than the boy did the week before, but due to her being younger than him, she was also working on her fine motor skills. ( For her, I also held the end of the string, I would hold the middle string and I would have her bring in the outer string to the middle, than I would hold the middle string, move it to the side and have her take the opposite sides outer string to the middle, and continue on.)
It took quite a while to finish up the bracelets, but the sense of accomplishment that the student’s felt was well worth the time.
Till I find the time to post the next art session,
Miss Tanja

Figured out how to put pictures!

I finally figured out how to put up pictures and since I have some from last month, I thought I'd add them!

This is the pizza that I had mentioned in September was made out of play dough.

This one was made a week ago. A fourth grader had read a book about valcanos.

This one was made by a third grader.

Fall Tree's

now..now...
Since I got class on Tuesday and have to leave early, my supervisor decided to have an Art specialist come in from the YMCA. Today, the specialist had us work on "Fall Tree's" with the students. This gentlemen illustrated how to draw the trunk of the tree and it's branches with oil pastels. The student's happily followed along. Then, instead of drawing on the leafs, he had them glue on real leaves. With a swirls of glue here, a dap of glue there, and a little bit of glue on a few branches, it was time to crumble up the leaves. The student's crumbled the leafs over the glue, that way the pieces would stick in place.They certainly got excited being able to break the leafs apart.

Each picture came out a little differently. Some student's added scenary around the tree such as adding people, fruits, etc. The best part was, after they were done, they didn't mind having to clean up! =)
Thank you Mr. YMCA for joining us today!

story time =)

So, I'm a little behind (again.)

Let me back track... on Friday, I had the k-2^nd grade. I chose to read them a story called “Mr. B.B Wolf goes to the library.” It’s all about how the Big Bad Wolf gets invited to go to a tea party at the library. His friend, the crocodile, teaches him “proper tea etiquette,” before he goes to the party. There he runs into the three little pigs, little red riding hood, and the Gingerbread boy. At the end, the librarian speaks of how nice the wolf is in comparison to the other stories he had participated in. Seems that the moral states not to judge people by the stories you heard, but to take a chance to get to know them.

Once the story was done, I asked them to write me a story and to illustrate it. I folded two piece of paper in four sections, labeled each section with the numbers 1-8. Once they finished their story and pictures, I then had them cut the paper into four, put the pages in order and stapled them. They then had created a little story book that went into envelopes that they decorated themselves. Many addressed their envelopes to their moms. One first grade boy wrote me a story about a bunny and his friends, who try to crawl into a small hole in the wall. The body of the bunnies took on the shape of the letter “H.” This particular student is also very shy and very much attached to his mom. When I mentioned the story he wrote to his mom, she stated that he reminds her of a little bunny. From observation, he is always trying to squeeze himself into her arms.  

Another student, a kindergartner, wrote me a story about cats and dogs. Nothing on these pages looked like actual words, but the way she told her story was wonderful. Each page, according to her, stated another part of the story that fit the illustrations. She was extremely excited to read it to anyone who would listen.

Doing this project, I feel, allowed the students to express themselves. It also lifted their self-esteem because, not only did they feel they had accomplished something, they were able to share something they created with others. Seeing how much joy it brought to the students to be able to give mom something they created themselves definitely made the mess I had to clean up after worth it.

Enjoy your weekend!

-Miss Tanja  

"Number" Art

Today, I had the kinder gardeners, the first graders, and the second graders.  

I asked the students to choose their favorite number. Write it on a large piece of construction paper and then incorporate their chosen number into a picture. Giving them a challenge and making them be creative was the purpose of this project. What they ended up creating also showed me a lot. For example, one student worked with the number seven. He actually turned the number seven into the side of a leaning house. While another used the number seven and imagined it as a slide, He used things that he knows like playgrounds and slides and saw the same shape. Also I had another student of mine changed the number three into letters in the alphabet such as “B”. On the other side of this project I had a student, a kindergartener who actually bent the rules a little.  When asked to use numbers, he decided to make judges’ score cards. He approached me with excitement every time he created another giant card. What I enjoyed the most is how hard these kids worked. These students were illustrating a lot in their images and were proud of their end results. Their active imagination (which is the method of assimilation of unconscious contents through their experimentation as fantasies in the wakeful state) according to Jung was being tapped into. They were making a connection between the shape of the number and what they are familiar with. An example is mentioned above: the girl who turned the seven into a slide or the boy who turned the seven into the side of a house. Overall, the project was successful. The only thing that was left to do was talk them into taking their art home ( many wanted to give it to me as a gift). However, I feel it’s important to also share their art work with their family.

-          So next time you look around, see what numbers you see in your world!

            

Chain of names..

Surprise!! Art on a Friday!
Since my site supervisor was at a conference today, I had about an hour of art with the students. On Friday it's a little less than half the amount of students we normally have during the rest of the week. Well, I had the students create a paper "name" chain.  I ask the students if they could write a student’s name on each link and to decorate it. (It was just the girls in art today, so it was 8 students while the boys went to do an activity with another instructor.) The oldest girl cut different colors of construction paper into strips, while the younger girls wrote the students name on each link. When the girls noticed that the glue wasn't really working, a student suggested using a stapler. However, since they are between the ages 5-9, I took over the stapling process. Only one girl decided not to participate in creating the class chain. She also happens to have been the only girl who ever gave me a hard time. Could it be that she was being rebellious? While the other girls expressed excitement as the chain grew longer, that particular girl would grab the stapler out of my hands every chance she got and take off with the strips that the other girls would cut. I left it alone because I knew she was just trying to proof her independence. Also, the girls who cut the strips never confronted her about taking them. It was team project for the remaining girls and at that point her actions didn’t seem to bother them.  I realized that if I used Maslow’s model, “hierarchy of needs,” that many of these girls just want to belong. So, while working on this project I talked to the girls. This helped them to get to know each other a little more. Sadly, the boys didn’t get to work on their chain. However, that’s a different story for another day…
To a great weekend!
                   Miss. Tanja

beads.. oh beads!

I know I'm a little behind, so let me catch you all up!
Well....art is now moved to Tuesday... The kids had sports on Monday (nothing like a friendly game of dodge ball). Let me get back on topic... I had the younger students with me to make bead bracelets and necklaces, one boy actually made a "leg bracelet." While the girls made necklaces for themselves, the boys spoke of making one for their mom. The part that excited the students the most was being able to pick what type of beads they wanted to work with. The sense of having some human agency is extremely important. According to Erikson, the first four stages are about finding one self and decision making is surely a part of that. The kids did a wonderful job on creating the bead accessories. Many of the boys ended up making bracelets for themselves. One third grade boy created a matching set!

The only thing that the students really had any trouble with was trying to tie the knot so that the necklace/bracelet would be complete. Truth be told, even I had problems to tie the supplied string into a knot. The type of string used was a clear stretchy material. I wouldn’t be able to tie a knot with this type of string if my life depended on it! I must have taken at least a good five minutes trying to get the knot from coming undone. Many of the kids had to restart their bracelet because of this, but the kids stayed determined. Love just how flexible and patient some of these youngsters can be!

Side note: Humor always eases the situation, so when a project becomes a little difficult just laugh it off. Not only does it keep you from getting frustrated, it keeps the kids in good spirit as well.  =)

Distraction therapy and play dough!

Hello Hello!!
So a lot has happened since I started my new job as a Paraprofessional. I am now working the afterschool program at that school as well. After talking to my supervisor, I gained the opportunity to conduct an "Arts and Craft" class with the students every Monday and the chance to work with the students, who chose to do art, once they are done with their homework near the end of the day. This week, the students worked on a project that displays a "Fall" theme. Many chose to create pumpkins out of orange construction paper, while only one drew a witch! When I asked her who she was drawing, she said it’s “a girl I know, I gave her a hat.” Oh, forgot to mention, these students range from kindergarten to eighths grade. The student I talked to is in the third grade. What interested me the most is how she chose a black piece of construction paper, however I left her to finish as another student showed me her work. Near the end of the day, I allowed the students to pick their median. They chose play dough, which is similar to clay. The attention to detail astonished me! One fourth grade girl created a “pepperoni and mushroom pizza.” Since it’s late in the afternoon by this time, many of the students were hungry and creating pretend food seemed to have distracted them until their parent’s showed up. Watching this make me look up “distraction and therapy.” By creating the pretend foods, the students were able to deal with the anxiety of waiting for their parents, being hungry and tired after a long school day. Where a younger student may cry or start misbehaving (which has happened from time to time), the play dough distracted them just long enough for the rest of the program to do smoothly….
         Yay! To play dough!
Until next time,
                        Miss Tanja

Just testing if this works..

Hello, Fellow Art Therapists (to be) from WSU!  

As you can tell by the looks of my profile, I'm still very new at this whole blogging thing ( so I hope this turns out alright... fingers are crossed.) I created this blog for an assignment in my art therapy class to document my experiences at the Service Learning Site that I will be located at. Writing on things such as: what I'll be learning, what difficulties I will be facing ( I'm being realistic here..) , what techniques I will be using to assist at the work site and so forth. Of course, every day will be super exciting, so I have tons of “blogging” experience in my near future. I can't wait to find out just where I will be working!
- Have some paper work to complete, so until next time! =)