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Home : 2008 : February : 14

Vapa
By Lodi 3rd

We have a :s) music teacher:s) 1-3 for 35 minutes each week, 4-6 80 minutes each week. She also does the Winter Program for the entire school and a Spring show for with the 6th graders...Need I say she is AWESOME:D For art
we have had an art docent program in the past. This is with the county office of ed. A parent from each grade or class volunteers to be the docent. They go to a training and then set up a time each month to come to the classroom. There is a rotating kit that comes with art posters on a theme and a lesson about the style, technique, medium, etc. The students have an activity that corresponds.

They might do a still life or pointillism, whatever connects to the kit. We haven't had that recently. We have had artist in residence-once. This is where the school or PTA or a grant pays an artist to teach various strands of art to each class over the course of the month, semester, year-depending how costly/much money you have. This was not too successful because of the artist we had: she was more about "Look at all the wonderful things I have done" rather than "let me show you how to.." The best year I had was when one of my student's Aunt volunteered to be the docent. She lived about 100 miles away but she would come at least once a month with a piece of her art, explain the technique, how it connected to a theme, emotion,etc. And then the students would create their own piece. That year the class entered a contest with IMAX/disney to create Fantasia Art. Though we didn't win, we did go to see Fantasia 2000 at the IMAX and their art was in the lobby. That was a rare year. Now we use video instruction in my class, because the volunteers have dried up. I get the videos from the Dick Blick catalog. They are called Coyote Creek--there about 4 and cost about $45-80, can't remember. There is one on watercolor markers, colored pencils (this one is too mature for 3rd graders), watercolors, and ....I can't remember the 4th. But each one has 3-4 projects. The marker video does a sailboat, dinosaur, hot air balloons and a landscape. You can also get the supplies at a good price from the same catalog. I play the lesson through one time so the students listen, then hand out the materials, play through until they call pause, we keep doing this until they are done/finished. The lesson takes about 45 minutes most times--a few go longer. But the kids learn technique, style, blending, composition...It works for now.:s)