Arty On

As we get closer and closer to the start of another school year, a little voice begins to chime in to my personal thoughts and planning..."I will do this", "I will not do that".  I begin making tiny promises to myself about how I will approach the new school year to make it even more dynamic than the last.  After a summer of time spent rejuvenating and clearing my mind, this little voice wakes up to reflect and give some perspective.  It tells me what to stop doing and what to start doing in my teaching practice and it won't shut up.  So here are a few "beginnings" and "ends" I've settled on to guide my daily practice.  Simple changes in thinking, routines or habits that I believe will make a big difference in our art studio this year. For me, this school year will be the end of: Setting meaningless limits on students that stifle their creativity.  Making "yes" and "why not" a stronger part of my (and my studen...

When I first started teaching using the PYP framework, I didn't really know what I was getting into.  I was fortunate enough to be hired by a school who was willing to take a teacher with no experience in the PYP, support me with professional development and mentors, and surround me with knowledgeable colleagues to observe and learn from. I would say one of the best, but least talked about, advantages of teaching art using the PYP framework is the ability to focus on the emergent curriculum .  " Emergent curriculum is based on the premise that children are most successful at learning when curriculum experiences account for their interests, strengths, needs, and lived realities.   In emergent curriculum, both adults and children have initiative and make decisions. This power to impact curriculum decisions and directions means that sometimes curriculum is also negotiated between what interests children and what adults know is necessary for children’s education and ...