I don’t know about you, but for me, time seems to slip through my fingers in the summer. All school year long, we watch the clock, counting down to the next class, maximizing the minutes in the current class, making judgments about when to start a countdown until clean up.
But, in summer, I’ll have to admit, that clock means nothing to me. Though the majority of the summer is over for teachers here, for most of us, sleeping in still has its own allure, right up until that first day of school!
So yes, I’ve indulged in certain guilty pleasures this summer, such as sleeping in and adamantly refusing to look at a clock. But luckily, I’ve still taken advantage of the peace and quiet to get ahead on plans for lessons- mostly only because my best ideas flow best during summer- when I can focus my ‘busy’ mind to let them evolve.
Just a sneek peek at what’s coming up for my Artists…
This year, most of my curriculum for Art in grades 1st- 4th will be based on Cultural Themes, one per month. We’ll cover Greek, Egyptian and Central/South American customs and traditions through art making explorations.
My little ones in PreK will be working on theme per month lessons, too, but these lessons will center more around “Big Ideas”, such as Transportation, Weather and Nutrition. I’ll be working on improving my skills with this age level, so follow me (or bear with me!) as I reflect on teaching the “Littles” throughout the school-year.
The older kids will be working through the Elements of Art through the development of Visual Journals. I’m loosely gathering inspiration from themes and prompts borrowed from some existing programs, and blending them with my students’ daily assignments which center around the Elements and Principles. We have a lot of content to catch up on with this group-should be exciting!
My Fifth/Sixth Grade class will be working on a Service Learning project this year called “Watershed Workshop”. It’s funded through a grant from a local foundation which teaches educators to establish memorable learning techniques through student service opportunities.
During Art Appreciation, I’ve assigned a class project per month. I’m looking for a blend of art content knowledge and artistic experimentation and expression. I pushed this group SO out of their comfort zone last year, and I’m hoping to rattle them up some more, in order to get them to surprise themselves even more!
With all this excitement, I’m SO happy to be starting the year.
I also must add that I’ll be taking a maternity leave in January through March of 2016! So, a lot of the lesson planning this summer has been in preparation for a new arrival, which is soon to be taking up all my planning zeal and productive energy, I’m sure!