After School Art Mentorship – Part 6
5:27 pm in EAL/LA by K. Ryan Henisey
[Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five]
Spring break is over. The teachers and students have all returned to the last quarter with bright eyes. Schools across the country are gearing up for testing, but our small art mentorship program is making sure we take a break from all those test taking strategies. Last week, my students and I once again dipped our feet into the refreshing coolness of watercolors.
For this week’s program, I wanted the students to explore primary colors. I was very pleased that the majority had remembered red, yellow, and blue were primary from our color wheel lesson. I gave the students two mini lessons, one on primary colors and another on watercolor as a medium. After the lessons, I released the students to their art. I allowed them to paint any subject they wanted but required that they stay within the primary colors, without mixing too much. They don’t know it, but this lesson and practice was designed to set up our next lesson on Inuit Art.
Class went well. I love talking with the students. I’ve found that the extra one-on-one time they get with me has an encouraging effect on all of them. It even has one on me. We often find ourselves joking around, singing, and laughing at ourselves through the art class. Sometimes, they start to tease each other but I always stop that. “Mr. Henisey doesn’t like that,” one of the girls called out when a bout of Your Momma Jokes started up. She was right. I’m fine with playing, but I insist on an atmosphere of kindness and positivity. I’m proud of the students for monitoring themselves. I never had to ask them to stop. Group consensus did all of the work.
During the off week, I’ve been setting up the remainder of the program. NASA and the local Museum are almost set. I still have a bit more coordinating to do with them. Our field trip in May is ready to go; it is approved by both the museum and the school board. I also have all the materials we should need for our final project (which will take up the bulk of our May sessions).
Stay tuned for more.
This post appears simultaneously at LifeasGood.com.
I love this series! It gives me hope for teachers doing good no matter the obstacles. And I love their art!!! Thank you for keeping us informed.
Thank you, Tara! I think all we EALers are driven to overcome obstacles. It’s what makes us go.