Feeling Appreciated.

It's Teacher Appreciation Week and it has been as week full of thank you notes, hugs, and treats. LOTS of treats. I'm pretty sure I will have to be rolled out the door on Friday. Thank goodness for maternity pants. Elasticated waistbands are where it's at. And really, why aren't all pants made with elastic? Think of the problems it would solve. No more bending, stretching, and the deep "I'm tying my shoes" move to make pants fit. Or is that just me? It works, you should try it.

Anyway, as part of the eating frenzy, I received this gift from two of my students who obviously know me well. Yesterday I brought home possibly the best Teacher Appreciation Gift ever. It won't last long, clearly.

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Art for Japan

I stumbled upon the Paper Cranes for Japan project on the website Students Rebuild found here. For every paper crane made and sent in, the Bezos Family Foundation will donate $2 to Architecture for Humanity. The goal is to reach 100,000 paper cranes to be woven into an art installation to symbolize a gift from students around the world to the children of Japan. The effort is being virtually documented on Facebook. The website also has a helpful link to a video tutorial on how to make a paper crane. I know I will be watching this a few times. Following the little picture diagrams is not my style!

What a great idea for students! Children LOVE to do origami. Creating something three-dimensional from nothing always amazes them, and really, it is pretty amazing. This is a great way to teach about art from a different part of world while contributing to something bigger than ourselves. My after school art club will definitely be doing this, and I know they will be passionate about their contribution. Has anyone done this already? Or anyone know of any other service projects through art? We would love to get involved!

Off to acquire some origami paper, and some mad folding skills.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Fun in schools?

Dereek Braman says so in his article. He believes school should always be fun and teachers should have built in fun activities to reinforce learning. I feel that I have the priviledge of teaching a subject that is naturally fun. There are no tests, no grades, and generally no wrong answers. (I say generally because there is always the chance someone may stick a Sharpie up their nose...not quite the intended usage). But the opportunity students have when they come to art is the chance to try something and to have the feeling of "I made it." During art class, we are teaching our students there is more than one solution to a problem. Just as there is more than one way to view the world. What we give to students when we incorporate the creative arts into our schools is invaluable. They are learning an appreciation for others while also learning about themselves. And believe it or not, it's fun.


Speaking of having fun... Cats can, too! Here's Riley, celebrating her 5th Birthday. Notice the present already opened. Meow!

Benefits of Being "Connected"

Being connected is a great thing. Especially tonight. It is probably a miracle I even have a computer in front of me right now and not one on the floor in a million pieces...but I digress.

The question we are to answer tonight is, "Are you connected?"

The answer is, "I'm working on it."

As a self-proclaimed private person, I find it difficult to put myself out there on blogland. As my classmate says, "You don't have to put your whole life out there." Good point. A second article we read tonight discusses ways to improve our usage of social networking cites. The idea of mixing personal and professional makes a lot of sense. When I search blogs, I look for ideas to inspire creativity. This includes things at home and for my students. It is all about what we decide to share. I would like to have the kind of blog where people go to be inspired or to jump start ideas. If I don't want people to know what I am having for dinner, I won't tell people what I am having for dinner.


P.S. Spaghetti

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! First, a little about me. I am an elementary art teacher in Nebraska in my fourth year of teaching. Everyday is something new! Besides teaching, I also enjoy creating art for personal reasons, decorating, and dabbling in sewing. I am working towards earning credit post master's degree and am in the class Social Learning. In class, we learn new ways to use technology in our teaching and to develop our personal learning network. I am admittedly technologically challenged, though I do work to understand more and get frustrated less. This blog is inspired by the idea of the need to share with the world. I have been a blog reader, often generating many ideas from the sites of other, but this is my first step in sharing with everyone what ideas I have.

As part of our assignment, we also signed up for a Twitter account. The benefits of twitter is that it connects people with the same interests. By following others, it works to increase the people with whom we connect and to further develop our network of professionals.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for more!