Miss Art of Teaching

Wow... time flies! It is already the LAST day of Term 2. Students were eager to 'paint' and help in my classroom. I had more than half the class stay back during lunch to paint my classroom. Some students did smaller jobs, like decorating the classroom fans with contact and I even had two students who made me a personal speaker! I LOVE it. The speaker is made from an empty can of Pringle and two paper cups. Check out the photos below. Now...it is time to enjoy the two weeks holidays! I will be trying to balance work with leisure time. First activity tonight is having a family dinner at a dumpling house before heading to the drive-through cinema with my partner and Shih Tzu.

This morning I asked my students to help me rearrange my classroom furniture into a group layout. I have around 6 groups in my classroom right now. I changed my room layout so that my elective art students can easily collaborate when they partake in their Project Based Learning project. Since 2016, I have been part of the Project Based Learning Action team at my high school. This means I develop program and writing assessments with a focused on hypothetical real life situations. Last year, I invited an artist to come in to talk about the process of mural painting and encouraged students to work collaboratively to create two murals for dance and drama. This year students are working in groups to investigate street art and learn how artworks can serve a purpose in the community. Students must: Submit the completion of the 6 D worksheets. This takes students through the process of defining, discovering, dreaming, designing, delivering and debriefing of the project. Create an i...

Today, I decided to check out both Kmart and Target. Both played around with rose gold and had a similar pricing point.  Target focused on a marble x rose gold fusion. It is part of their Victorian rose gold collection. Price points started from $3-$10 Aud. The pricing seems quite fair and reminds me of the Aldi back to school sale earlier in the year. Aldi had staplers and tape dispenser around the same price point $8-10 Aud. They also had rose gold magazine dividers and pen holders. Kmart's rose gold collection played more with polka dots and the brown bag look. I quite like the folder except the material isn't suitable for wear and tear. It will get dirty quite easily. I love the long notepad that is designed to be placed beneath the keyboard. It retails for $3 Aud and it is a weekly planner. Overall, I think Target's marble x rose gold theme looks more sophisticated.  Although Kmart was a bit weak with their rose gold stationary selection, it made up f...

I've been teaching my junior classes about the four frames, conceptual framework and art practice. Today, I decided to talk about 'careers' in art and why art is important in our everyday lives. Art is in the clothes that they wear, the gadgets that they play with, the furniture that they sit on and even the signs on the road.  We spent time looking at the Australian Government art careers chart. The chart divides the art professions into four levels. We looked at how some of these professions required a university degree, such as being an art teacher. I also spoke about how some jobs have died down especially more traditional forms of art making. At the same time, there are new avenues for artists. Today's lesson helped students consider what they may want to do after school, why certain art professions require Tafe certificates or university degrees. We also acknowledged that it is not always necessary to do further studies in art but the main importance was to...

Recently an ex student asked me to be his referee. I'm glad to see that I am still a teacher that he can approach to ask for assistance. Sometimes students find it awkward to talk to their ex teacher once they leave the classroom. Others love stopping to have a chat. This ex student worked really hard throughout his time in my Year 8 Visual Arts class. He struggled with critical writing and always showed me his work a few weeks before it was due. I was able to give him feedback and he was able to make the changes before the submission date. I asked my executives if it was fine to share my personal details with him as he needs to put down my contact details for his job applications. Once I was given the green flag, I also proof read his resume. While reading his resume, I noticed that he did not explain what he could offer and why he is the best candidate for the job. The task of helping my ex student reminded me that my resume needs improvements. I also need people who I can t...

1) Sorting out pencil supplies There is something about sorting things out that makes everything seem therapeutic. I had students begging me today to stay back at recess and lunch just to sort out my pencils. At the same time, I have students who hate repetitive tasks. Usually, students who complete detentions for me are asked to tidy the room and to sharpen pencils. I just have to wave a cup of pencils around and you will see them switching their focus back onto their art making activity. I may have a bit of OCD. I want my pencils in different piles and colour coordinated. The piles include 'dull' and 'sharp' pencils. 2) Having a borrowing system I realised I needed a borrowing system and found the following idea from one of the art teachers on my Instagram account. I was unable to locate an old library box but did manage to find a letter holder from Daiso for $2.80 Aud. I have made individual cards for my Elective and Senior classes. If they ...

For today's blog entry, I decided to share a newsletter article that I compiled with teacher and students' feedback on Vivo (virtual points reward system) prizes. The school's 'Vivo' reward system works by having accounts set up for both the teacher and student. The cost of running the 'Vivo Miles' program depends on the number of students at your school. Teachers can reward students based on how well they are meeting the school's values of being a respectful, engaged and an active learner. Students can look up their virtual points and the messages that go along with it on their computer/mobile app and trade their points in for prizes of their own choice i.e. tangible prize or a teacher service prize.  To get a bit of a background about Vivo, please read the following post on: Ways to get donations/prizes Love my classes Newsletter article: A BIG thank you to all the teachers and staff who have donated their time providing these amazing Vivo T...