The One Thing That Changed How I Teach

It's no surprise to any one of my friends how much BEING A MOM has changed me. Teaching is no exception. I knew having a kid would change my focus, I had no idea how wonderful and painful all at the same time that could be.

Things I had to do less of

1. Hang out with friends.
Pretty much I don't even get called anymore because my answer is depressingly the same. I can't. I never want to leave my kid at daycare a minute longer then necessary, call it mommy guilt, but somethings have to give.

2. Extra Activities. I had to give up a few extra things I was doing. I stopped writing for an art magazine, doing an after school gardening club, and just slumping and watching TV after work. Why? Because I need to focus on things that replenish me at the end of the day to avoid burnout.

3.  Sleeping. Before kid (I only have one) I religiously needed 8 hours of sleep to feel normal. It's an effort to stay in bed after 6 or 7.

4. Shopping. What three year old likes to shop? From grocery shopping to clothes shopping it's important to keep our trips short and sweet.

Things I did more of

1. Student Accountability. I simply could no longer stay at work until 7 or 8 pm anymore. I decided that I can't do everything for everybody. Now the kids are in charge of clean-up (really not just pretend clean-up and a pat on the back.) The older classes who have a little more "edge" have a student teacher, a student in the class who gives directions, picks people to pass supplies, takes attendance. This takes the pressure off of me to address every behavior. Truth be told if you met me you might think I'm "too nice" to teach effectively in an inner-city school.  I am nice, but that doesn't have anything to do with controlling a classroom. Being "nice" means fear as a form of control does not work for me. Placing the students in charge of monitoring each other in my tougher classes especially, really helps free me up to teach and makes my tough classes accountable to their peers.

2. Prioritize. Prioritizing DOES NOT mean ranking everything you are already doing in order of importance. I had to ask the question, does this activity/task/person make me feel better, does this feed my soul. Obviously if it was work, I had to do it anyways, but anything that didn't truly contribute to my well being outside of work had to go. That being said all the friends I had to hang out with less, I try to keep up with in different ways (a fb message or a little help here or there to show I really care and will be back at the end of this whirlwind of having a baby.)

3. Follow my Passion. So when you have a kid you eliminate a lot, but sometimes you add. My focus changed. You probably notice I don't post a lot of projects anymore, they just aren't what inspires me! I am more inspired by the little stories from the day, the impact that I see being made, projects are the backbone of the program but not what fuels me (so I simply don't post about them in my down time.) I also picked up a camera for the first time in 4 years after my child was born. After going to school for photography and pursuing filmmaking, I decided to give it all up to be a better teacher. I was exhausted and overwhelmed with teaching. When I starting to photograph my child, it helped me bond with her, and remember my first love for photography. I was inspired to take better pictures and be a better mom.

Do you have to have a child to increase student accountability, prioritize and follow your passion? ABSOLUTELY NOT! For me, I did. It was part of my journey. I was obsessed with my identity as a teacher. Finding a new identity as a mom helped open my mind to the possibility of loving something/someone  more than teaching. Whether you have a kid or not, I hope you do something in your life that throws you for a loop, scares you, takes courage, and makes you look at the world in a different way. I know you will because that to me is the definition of an artist.

1 Fish 100% Success! Easy Gyotaku.

Here's a project with a 100% guaranteed success!

To get inspired I told the students the history of the Gyotaku. Some classes watched this PREZI. Others I just told the story of the history of Japanese Gyotaku. My spiel goes something like this. . I asked the students if they have ever seen a picture of a person holding a fish, looking very proud of his or her catch (I acted out my best proud fisherman pose.) Most said they had. I asked WHY would the fisherman want a picture with their catch? Most said to remember the fish and size. What if we didn't have cameras? How would we remember or show others the fish we caught after we ate it, sold it or threw it back? I then showed them the Gyotaku process and explained that Gyotaku means print fish in Japanese. Now artists make Gyotaku for it's beauty and not to record the size of their catch!

Gyotaku on Prezi

First we created the background details with oil pastels. I had handouts and posters with undersea plants  for them to get inspiration from.

Next we did a watercolor wash of ocean colors. The paper was a little moist which worked great for the prints. I carried an old towel with me to dry papers that were too wet. 

Finally we printed our fish. We don't have a big budget so I only have two rubber fish!

Rubber Fish from Dick Blick art supplies
Your probably wondering how I got around to all the tables with ONE fish.
Actually I'm lying I have two but I only brought out one.
I found when I was in control of the fish it went a lot more smoothly!
I applied the ink and kids put their paper on the top and pressed down.
ONE SECOND AND DONE! NEEEEEXT!
I have one hour and some classes with 25 kids.
We did it! The students finished their backgrounds at different rates which helped and we discussed that when they finished they were ONLY printing the fish if their behavior was PERFECTION.
So guess what? Their behavior was perfection, even the most challenging ones!

MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER ADVICE!
Have students put the paper on the fish, NOT the fish on the paper.
This means no ink will get on their hands.
If students put the fish on the paper you are in for a long line at the sink!

Very smart! Have students write vocabulary word on the back of their paper!
This way they are more likely to remember it.

Initial Reaction

When I asked my Kindergarteners if they knew what their initials were you can imagine their reaction. They stared at me blankly. I needed the Kinders to know how to write their initials for upcoming clay lessons so I decided use initials as inspiration for a mosaic art lesson.

Just as I taught them to write their names by tracing the yellow name I wrote on their paper, I taught them to make their initial(s). First I wrote their initial big with a yellow marker. I held up each of the letters for the class and they guessed whose initial it could be. "J is for John!" "My name starts with a J, Jose!"


Next students cut bright pieces of foam into smaller pieces and glued them on their initial. Finally they created a black background. I showed pictures of beautiful mosaics from all around the world and we talked about how the artists put the tiles closely together but never overlap them. I think their initial mosaics are really beautiful! The best part is they will all be able to write their initials on their clay pieces!

Wire Sculpture

Wasn't sure if I was up to teaching one more class this week but this wire sculpture class was a big hit! I think I had as much fun as the students.

This dancer was made by a Kindergartener! This project was for ages 8 and up but she came with her brother and shocked us all! I guess that Picasso was right when he said "All children are artist the problem how to remain one once he grows up."

I got the wood donated from a carpentry shop. The twisteez wire was ordered from Dick Blick and was a little expensive $35.00 in all but a extremely safe for children. Everyone left with a whimsical wire person mounted and a new way of looking at sculpture.