Art Class Newsletter

In my classrooms, I facilitate a "choice-based" learning environment (where the students have more agency over their projects) than a "discipline based art education" model (where the teacher explicitly guides students through matching, step-by-step "cookie cutter" projects) . Instead of teaching the kids what to make, I teach a more "TAB" (Teaching for Artistic Behaviors) style classroom. I teach “artist actions”, or how to THINK and MAKE like an "artist"(...or creative thinker). Students have choice over their materials, content, and planning strategies, which is more inclusive of diverse learning styles and more conducive to personal ownership of their art.

I use the Studio Habits of Mind (SHoM) as a frame-work for helping students explore art in a personalized way where each individual communicates ideas connected to self, making their own visual choices to do so. The SHoM are life-long habits that help an individual ideate, problem-solve, and create, that are not just for "artists". In my art classrooms we use art making to develop life long creative thinking and problem solving habits.

Art to Remember (ATR) is an opportunity for families to order precious keepsakes with their own students' art on them AND and opportunity to help keep our art room stocked with more than just the very basic art supplies that our school budget can afford. We start each year with ATR. With the funding from ATR we have been able to buy enough clay each year for every grade to make a clay project, have 6 different choices of materials to color with, not just markers and crayons, and 3 types of paint to explore. We have also bee able to stock a Fiber Arts and a Construction Center with materials to expand our creativity beyond just drawing, painting and paper arts!

Art to Remember Order forms will be sent home at the end of October. 25% of proceeds from all orders go directly to amping up our art budget to keep our studio stocked with diverse choices for our creative endeavors, so please do consider ordering!

In the last few years, budgets have been scaled back and costs have risen exponentially. However, the more things we have the more creative we can be!

If you might like to help out, here are some things you could donate…

Things we can use that are “free:”

• Toilet paper tubes and paper towel tubs

• Flat, clean, pieces of cut cardboard (8”x8” or smaller)

• Odd cardboard packing piece shapes, such as corner protectors (6" or smaller)

• Plastic bottle caps

Things that we enjoy using greatly, and would love to have more of:

• Sharpies, colored fine tip and ultra-fine tip

• Acrylic POSCA Markers

• Craft glue ("Tacky Glue")

• Fuzzy sticks (aka “pipe cleaners”), Pompoms and other crafting doo-dads

• Felt fabric pieces, 6"x6"

Ready to clean out your own arts and craft space? We can make use of most assorted craft supplies!

Our 4th and 5th graders get to use hot glue to make 3D creations. If you would like to support our constructive creativity, click the link below to see Mrs. Sandelin's Construction Center wish list and consider ordering one of the items to add to our center!

Check out the CDEs Success Guides for the Arts and Humanities to learn how to better support your student's passion for the arts. Get guidance on how to talk to your kids about their art and how to help encourage their passion for the arts at home.