Wow Wednesday! Camp Crafts: Brainstorming

Hi

Here's my WOW Wednesday update...
WOW It's already going to be June in a week! That means I have to pay rent, electric bills... gah! This summer is dragging and flying at the same time.. kind of like a turkey. Or something.

Anyway, for the past couple of days I have been gathering resources for projects and craft ideas for camp. One thing I realized that made my job a bit easier.. many of the campers are 'graduating' to different camps, meaning I can re-use many of the projects I did last year. I was getting my nails down a couple days ago and went through the camp posts on here. I broke down each camp and figured out which crafts I did with which groups. Here goes...

Senior High:

1. weaving
2. leather wrap bracelets
3. wire-wrapped nail crosses
4. pop tab bracelets not successful 
5. embroidery floss friendship bracelets
6. melted bead sun catchers
7. soup can luminaries (for banquet)

Science Camp: This camp actually had crafts organized by the deans which included mobiles, kites, rocket kits (complete with awesome launch!) and yo-yos

Elementary Mini Camp:

1. paper snakes
2. fuse beads - this craft lasted for the majority of the time mini campers were here
3. sun catchers

Teddy Bear Camp: This camp actually had crafts organized by the deans. Crafts were for age 4 - 2nd graders and were centered around the stories in the Bible. Parents were required to help and participate as well, but the deans encouraged the kids to do most of the work. I helped to organize crafts and created name tags with campers.

Summer Games Camp:

• Painted Crosses (Let the New Man Live) I helped the campers decorate wooden crosses with beads, moss, paint, glitter (shudder), and gems. 

Junior High Camp:

1. Shrinky dinks
2. weaving
3. free drawing
4. make decorations for banquet
5. sun catchers
6. leather wrap bracelets
7. Gods Eyes
8. faith (macrame) bracelets
9. papermaking
10. bead animals

Elementary Camp:

1. name tags
2. rockets (supplied by a counselor)
3. faith bracelets (macrame)
4. dragon marionettes
5. free drawing
6. weaving
7. graffiti/name art
8. gimping
9. shrinky dinks

Family Camp:

1. gimp
2. leather stamped crosses
3. string art (boards, string, designs)
4. play dough faces
5. free drawing
6. fuse beads
7. weaving
8. gods eyes
9. salt dough ornaments (whole camp craft)
10. folded paper wallet
11. leather wrap bracelets

As you can see... each camp had a LOT of activities. I am trying to mix it up and use some of the other supplies in the craft cabin to do new projects. Senior High campers are the first to arrive and they want to do more involved crafts every time they walk in the door so I am going to switch some of my 'staple projects' around and mix in some other new ideas, too! One problem with my SH camp projects is that I will be gone for half the days the kids are there - I have a friend's wedding to go to and I have already checked out the schedule for that... So I need to find something they could work on with a 'sub craft lady' or on their own time.

Senior High Project Options:

String Art

String art projects were a HUGE hit with the family campers. They made original designs and had a lot of fun creating and picking out string colors etc. We also spray painted the boards they used for extra 'flair'.

Concrete Stepping Stones

The camp director wants each camp to make one of these - so some kids will be assigned to work on designs and finishing the stone.

I want to be sure campers will be autonomous and able to do the crafts on their own/organize projects. So here are the "Sub Plans" for Senior High:

Old standby - Shrinky Dinks!

Gimping 

Though I would really have to make sure someone could sell/distribute the gimp fairly so I would have some left over for the other camps!!

Melted bead jewelry/sun catchers

These were a big hit last year - I recently found a page that has an artist who wraps the melted beads with wire to create designs and jewelry. Pretty cool addition to an already cool project.

Worst case scenario the campers will not have crafts or the person who they are going to instead of me will have their own projects. I'll be returning just in time for... SCIENCE CAMP. :)

Elementary Mini Camp occurs mid-week during Science Camp and they are in grades 3 - 5. These campers were crazy wild but learned quickly about my classroom (cabin) management procedures in order to get to work. I have a couple new crafts for them..

Elementary Mini Camp Project Options:

Plastic Lid Monsters

I found this craft while browsing Pinterest. We have BOXES AND BOXES of plastic lids and frankly I love googly eyes so... it's a win-win in my book :) This would be a 1-day craft.

Bubble art

Campers would be coloring bubble mix with food coloring and blowing bubbles onto paper! It creates cool abstract designs and is cheap, simple, and amusing. AND kids could do it outside or inside the craft cabin. Another one-day project.

pop tab snakes!

Last year the first craft I did with the Mini campers was a paper spiral snake that they decorated. Well, I am going to keep with that theme since my own little snake will be joining me again at camp, and have them make a different snake craft. This one is made out of felt and pop tabs with GOOGLY EYES. It's all about the googly eyes...

Crayon Explosion Lantern

Another cool project I found on Pinterest - uses popsicle sticks, crayons, wax paper, and some ingenuity with designs :) This would probably round off the week and I think it could be fun. Kids could make one each and possibly draw or write on them as well. This would be a multiple day project.

The camp director wants each camp to make a cement stepping stone - so kids will be assigned to work on designs and finishing the stone during the last two meetings with me.

Summer Games Camp:

 I am not sure this camp will want to do a craft this year or not.. working on contacting the deans of a few camps, actually, to see if they want to work on projects during their camps.

Junior High Camp Project Options:

This camp was full of energy and creative ideas, but they also wanted NEW EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. Family Camp and Junior High did the most crafts of all the camps and I had to have lots of options for both. But first, Junior High...

magazine/newspaper woven baskets

This would be a big BIG project that I would encourage campers to work on in groups/pairs. We have huge bins of magazines and clippings and there would be more than enough to create multiple baskets using this method.

sand candles

This craft was suggested and encouraged by the new camp director - I think it would be fun to try! We definitely have wax, shells, and SAND to spare! I would just need to pick up some wicks and campers would have to seek out other objects for the inside of the candles.

Beaded loom bracelets

We have about 8 bead looms in the craft cabin and I know some of the campers would be more than interested in trying them out! It would be quite the task to set up each loom but kids could work on them all week and, hopefully, complete a bracelet by Saturday when they leave.

Paracord bracelets

We have lots of paracord sitting in the craft cabin, unused...waiting. The knots are very similar to the knots they use for gimp bracelets so it would be easy to translate the process into a new, uh, string? And I want to make one! They're cool :)

The camp director wants each camp to make a cement stepping stone - so kids will be assigned to work on designs and finishing the stone during the last two meetings with me.

One of the last options would be creating decorations for the Junior High banquet. Kids spent quite a bit of time working on streamers, coils, ribbons, etc. to fill the dining hall for banquet. It was nice because kids were always working on something! On to the next camp!

Elementary Camp Project Options:

The first craft we make is name tags when the kids arrive for camp. I had to receive campers, create their name tags, and then send them off for registration paperwork and cabin assignments. Too cute.

I will have to look and see what I have by way of supplies.. I know we have some birch tags and I might have some of the paper tags left... last year I created driftwood and paper luggage tag name tag necklaces. 

another option for name tags - would be tricky to do with so many campers!

Popsicle stick canoes!

The new director wants more camp-specific crafts, so I thought this would be a fun option! We have boating and water games at camp and this could be an ornament, magnet, or pin.

plastic bottle lantern

These could be fun! :) The kids like to have night lights and trail guides to go to and from their cabins. This only needs tissue paper, a plastic bottle, and a battery-operated candle.

huichol yarn paintings!

This is the big "If I have time" craft I want to try! The campers in this group are grades 4-6, which can be a trying transitional time for me and them! Giving older campers the option to work on a more involved project while having the younger kids either fall back onto more simple projects or work all week on a large project will create balance and hopefully keep the kids engaged. It's a pretty cool process; I was able to make one in my Art Education class this semester!

I might allow the kids to work with Fuse Beads if they prove they can clean up and work productively. I always find about 9000 beads on the floor of the craft cabin regardless!

The camp director wants each camp to make a cement stepping stone - so kids will be assigned to work on designs and finishing the stone during the last two meetings with me.

playing with popsicle sticks

So.. back when I was a camper we were given 'craft time' and popsicle sticks were always the first thing to go. I made all sorts of boxes, trays, frames, and other knick knacks that are still scattered around the houses of my family members. Popsicle sticks offer kids the chance to think outside of traditional building tools and the results can be pretty impressive!

"kindergarten" craft, my foot!

So Family camp has its own set of challenges. The kids are of varying ages, sometimes the parents want to participate, and often I am left to my own devices with the kids who come and go as they please. My strategy for last year was to do two big crafts and then let the kids choose what they wanted to do from my activities in other camps. I think I'm going to stick with that since it worked out so well!

Cassette tape wallet/change purse

Paracord bracelets would be a good choice for this group as well - they could also work with gimp cording and friendship bracelets.

I might have each family (usually there are two) make a stepping stone as well. I will need to talk to the families and see what they want to do. Usually the kids run the show so that should be interesting!

Aaaand on that note I need to get to sleep! I'm leaving Illinois early tomorrow and heading back to Marquette to prepare for camp, unpack, and enjoy my NEW BEDROOM WINDOWS. So fancy. So nice.

Until next time, (Also, please please please do not say anything about the Blackhawks game. I am crying inside.)

Ms. Kanak (Crazy Craft Lady Returns!)

Sometimes I just have to write...about my work.

Summer is finally almost-kind-of-here and I am preparing in every way possible for camp and BUGS. Apparently.. the ticks are horrible this year. So I have that to look forward to! Lots of hats.. and maybe a haircut in the future?

In all seriousness there has been a LOT going on in this neck of the suburbs. I left Marquette for a family engagement. My dad had surgery earlier this week and is now home and on the mend. Which brings me to my next update: I know what I am going to do for my fall semester!

At NMU we have a class called Individual Art Review, or 303, for short. Each art student goes through this class which is basically a progress report for, oh, our entire concentration degree!? A board of Art and Design professors sits on a board to review a series or selection of work we have developed in the past year or semester. The work should explore our Art and Design structures: Physical Structure, Visual Structure, and Social Structure. I have a big idea for my work.

My concentration is Painting and Drawing and I want to go out on a limb. In the past few years my family, friends, and I have had a lot of health issues and big life changes. Family and friends have lived with and beat cancer and illnesses, addictions and personal struggles. As an artist, I want to find the beauty and some personal connection to my work - that's what makes me want to explore the media and compositions the most. I will be meeting with my advisers to discuss the work (12 pieces in all) and they highly encourage social structures and content...this is about as social and personal as it gets.
My plan is to create a breadth of work that explores each of these experiences (and sometimes traumas) that occurred to various people in my life. I have been gathering x-rays, MRI scans, test results, photographs, and personal correspondences with the figures involved to better recall and understand the issues we lived (or did not live) through.

Pursuing a Drawing and Painting certification definitely has its perks.. but one of the main downfalls I have discovered is the innate need and unspoken requirement to be a representational artist - grounded in the rules of proportion, realism, and fact. We are pushed to draw the human form, to paint the still life objects, or to duplicate surface textures. The reality of these personal situations was I did often not have clear and present answers. Much of the information I was given was hearsay, because I lived so far from my hometown and family. I felt very isolated and I became a spectator to the lives of my friends and family. And to myself, in some respects. My concept is to utilize these findings, these scans and photographs of ailments and results, in an abstract form of expression. I want to use the lines, shapes, colors, and possibly even the numbers to create abstract landscapes wrought with experience and story. Each line and brushstroke will contain days and hours of memory and thought. An x-ray of a damaged pelvic bone will be transformed into a winding and wandering tunnel or cave. A photograph of a foot-long blood clot found in the lungs (yes, this was a thing!) will be twisted and molded into something beautiful and sinewy with texture and life.

Again, as an artist I have a need to find the beauty and value in situations that bring me pain and fear. But also joy and relief. Though not every found object or artifact used in this series leads to a happy end or story, the catharsis of creating the works will far outweigh the emotional effects and releases. This will be a series of healing and acceptance after months and years of denial and hurt. In a way the series will also be a tribute to those who were taken by these ailments and illnesses.

I will seek to remove the negative connotations from the artifacts and the very real hard science truths of the matter to make room for my visions and interpretations of emotion, memory, and response.. I want the viewer to become engaged with the work as an objective observer; they will not know my stories, the stories of those around me, unless I choose to share it with them through titles. That brings up another appealing aspect to the work! Creating a juxtaposition between the fact of the image and the abstraction/transformation will also remove the power from what once brought someone to their knees... can you tell I've been pondering this?

This series of 10-12 paintings will be my big project for fall semester and I have tentative plans for each composition. As more artifacts and findings come to me by mail or by hand, I begin sketching and planning images in my mind's eye and try to devise arrangements of space. I have very little to work with as of right now but I have put out the word to those involved and I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I have never attempted a series like this before. It's time to throw away the mannequins and fruit and really dig deep into what has hit me the hardest: the lives of others.

AND SO CONCLUDES another Ms. Kanak late-night rant! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. I will be posting updates on this series of work as I go.... Unfortunately I do not think I will be able to accomplish much of it over the summer seeing as I have been hired on again as the Arts and Crafts Director at Camp Michigamme. No complaints here! It's just very much a full-time job ;)

Happy weekend,
(!!!!GO BLACKHAWKS!!!)

Ms. Kanak

Observing in Wisconsin: Day 2

So Tuesday I was able to observe at a second school in the same district. This was a special case; the teacher has two different schools to report to during the day. His main art room is located in the high school and is pretty nice! Mr. K is a ceramicist and so his focus in the classroom and his curriculum is clay and functional pottery. Mr. K has a fairly large kiln room, extruders, throwing wheels, glaze posters... I was excited to learn from him! He has a great grasp on curriculum balance and working to his own strengths with students. They know he is credible and he makes himself available to help and answer questions.

Slab mugs with faces

One really awesome project students were working on was for the Solar Science Olympics. A group of students were putting together a stained glass project that concerned the effect of the sun on the environment. Working with a local artist, the students learned about stained glass and created the design for the sun. They also created a base/pedestal object for the piece. The box will be placed outside and the stained glass piece will sit on top of the box. With the sun shining through the stained glass, the colored light will change the colors of white, pretty drab, paper mache flowers inside the box. The idea being communicated is that the sun affects nature in beautiful ways. Such an awesome project! 

Mr. K showed me around the room, stopping at this project. He stated he wants to incorporate more core classes into his curriculum. He wants to create a "Core Class" and have students work on projects that relate to what they are learning in their Science, Math, Social Studies, etc. classes. VERY similar to the lessons I have been writing :) Off to a good start!

paper mache flowers for the project

stained glass sun

Wooden box to hold the stained glass piece

The first class of the day was ceramics and, as stated, this classroom is focused around ceramics! Students were working on various projects including wheel-thrown vessels, platters, and hand built teapots. Some students were catching up on other ceramics work like masks. The work REALLY impressive.. made me feel like I definitely need to spend more time with clay.

A really nice teapot

"elephant" teapot

Students were self-starters and independently working. The classroom was quiet and productive and Mr. K walked around helping anyone who needed questions answered. One of the most effective aspects of his classroom management was his clean up procedure. There are two clean up times: early, and late. Students can choose when to put away work and clean up their spaces - further increasing student independence and responsibility. The room is never left messy or unprepared for the next class. A great idea!

Painting was the second class of the day and had many more students than Ceramics. Mr. K had developed a lesson to teach students about the work of Keith Haring: 

Mr. K with one of the Keith Haring paintings

this student liked horseback riding so she painted an image of riding 

1. Make a list of 3 personal themes or ideas that are important to you. Examples: climate, music, health, change 

2. Using black sharpie/charcoal, begin developing bold cartoon-like images that convey your personal message/theme/ideas

3. Tape poster paper to drawing board and paint it solid black.

4. Select the most interesting image from your drawings (communicates theme/idea)

5. Redraw your best sketch on the poster paper, using light-colored chalk. 

FILL THE PAPER

6. Paint wide lines over your chalk lines with white acrylic paint

- some shapes could be painted solid bright white or with one solid accent color.

Students took multiple approaches to the assignment but it was clear the pieces had a lot of personal meaning, which was so cool to see and talk about. Each student had a different story to tell and a different design to draw. One student had reared a bunch of curvilinear connecting lines that kind of looked like balloons. Another student drew a dreamcatcher with dollar bills underneath the feathers.. 

This student told me the meaning behind his work was "all paths lead to nowhere." ...kind of depressing but when prompted for further explanation he revealed he was really proud of his results. He had drawn his design and when he tried to clean up the lines there was paint residue from another student. The paint was applied in such a way that you could see every brushstroke and line. It looked so cool! So my reply to his explanation? "Looks like your path lead to this really awesome work." The student agreed and kept working on his project.. sometimes happy accidents happen!

The next project was similar but more complex: students had to create mythical creatures in the style of vinyl floor paintings. Students had to paint a large piece of canvas with black paint and, after creating several pre-drawings, recreated the drawing on the canvas with chalk. After that they had to paint the creature with black outlines and complementary color schemes. The background had to be the opposite of the foreground animal and it created a really excellent contrast! Local artists were also part of this project - and their work was scattered throughout the room to inspire the work.

teacher sample

flying snake!

bunny claw..foot thing

Students had to draw an original mythical creature but could use any references they wanted. It was kind of funny because students were looking up images on their phones and Mr. K was thrilled. That removed the bottleneck issue of using the computer to find references and allowed students to be more independent. Mr. K had to approve of their pre-drawings but after that they were completely self-motivated and really excited about the work. There was a great variety of designs and ideas throughout the room :)

The next class was 7th and 8th graders and the energy changed IMMEDIATELY. The class size increased again and the pace changed as well. These students needed much more structure and order to get to work. They went to pick up their pieces and set to work.. mostly. I have a theory that in every class... more often than not.. there is one student who just does NOT want to be there. In reaction to that they act up, out, and talk louder than everyone else. They strive for attention and recognition and once their actions are acknowledged it usually... escalates. As an observer I did not interfere with any disciplinary actions and instead walked around the room looking at student work - which was, again, SUPER impressive.

Mr. K had the students starting a new project about impressionist artists. Students looked at paintings by various impressionist artists and then had to find a landscape photograph and transfer it to a large piece of drawing paper. Starting with a pencil drawing students had to capture as many details as possible. 

Mr. K helping out a student

The next step was to cover their pencil lines and add more detail with markers. The colors are limited to browns and tans - Mr. K utilized the 'multicultural' colors of Crayola markers. The markers were starting to dry out so Mr. K's solution was to provide a cup of water and use the markers like watercolors. After markers students used pastels to add color and finally watercolors to create a resist effect across the entire composition.

table of diligent artists :)

Love the wet marker effects -
very cool and easy to accomplish

z


The other project students were working on was a cubist animal painting. Pablo Picasso's work was shown as inspiration and then students had to create drawings of real or imagined animals. Mr. K emphasized the use of minimalistic teacher samples - you want the students to find their own way to create and explore the assignment.

1. Students draw real/imagined animal.
2. Draw lines in all directions across animal (diagonals, up and down, must intersect with animal)
3. Use primary color as a base for a color scheme for animal (yellow would be paired with yellow orange, yellow green, etc)
4. The background should use a complementary color scheme as well - the scheme should be opposite to the figure.
5. Add black and white as accents
6. Add black outline (optional)

teacher sample - very simple and sets expectations

After 7th and 8th grade left Mr. K had a prep period where I helped him prepare work for the art show. The work coming out of his classroom is EXCELLENT.

This project was in response to Chuck Close's paintings. Students chose an image, created a grid, transferred the image, and used pastel resist with watercolors. Students learned about creating complementary color schemes, secondary colors, and breaking down images. I was really impressed! Also... Sherlock looked awesome.

SERIOUSLY. SHERLOCK.

This student had explained the rationale of his Keith Haring painting as
something he did 'because [he] was bored' WELL he must have been really bored to create this!

The high school is grades 7 - 12 and the work reaches far beyond that. Students explore their projects fairly extensively and make the work very personal without it feeling contrived.

this was called "School Struggles"

Um... I had to put this in here. It was called "Harmony"

Mr. K is also a very talented painter and encourages his students to explore as many media as they can. These paintings are acrylic landscapes/portraits/wildlife portraits. There were quite a few students who created fan art-type pieces which were interesting. Mr. K encourages students to use acrylics just like oils - fat over lean and as many layers as possible. The results are stunning and Mr. K even has the paintings framed for display. Pretty cool.

This was titled "Locked".... so. Good.

Lots of ceramics work that spanned from platters and cups to teapots and vases

After a fortunate break for lunch (because seriously.. I need to eat or I get scary cranky) we were off to the elementary school. The school is k-6 and we had a break from the kindergarteners for the day since they were on a field trip. This gave us extra time to prep for the two periods of the day, 1st grade and 6th grade.

1st grade was a really really REALLY energetic group of little ones who were all over the place in terms of their focus and interest in art. Mr. K has a sort of 'rec room' as an art room which is big but also very closed-in and restrictive... I had to stop myself from organizing the construction paper by color. I swear, being an Art Teacher has given me OCD. All jokes aside, Mr. K had a pretty cool lesson idea for the students.

Banners!
View banners in motion and discuss how banners work/move/appear. We looked at a youtube video of a flag blowing in the wind.. and immediately after that video was over there were previews for the next videos. Minecraft was IMMEDIATELY pointed out by one of the students, so the connection was made: Minecraft is an okay subject for this project. Oh boy.

Mr. K wanted students to create banners with patterns that "move" - aka how the banner moves in the wind or hangs on the wall determines how the pattern/designs will appear. Mr. K uses grade-level textbooks to introduce new lessons and ideas. This creates student interest because they have to follow along to know what comes next.

Students were given a long piece of paper on which to glue shapes and pieces of paper. Mr. K went over different ways to fold the papers into shapes, how to create arrangements, and limited the color scheme to two sheets of construction paper - hopefully in different colors.
Students had to arrange their paper pieces on the large sheets and then Mr. K came around to check the work and progress of each student.

Students soon learned that they could partially fold shapes to create different arrangements and effects - such as the student below:

her shapes were more abstract than the squares and triangles of her peers' work

a pretty strong arrangement, I think

Students had to glue down their shapes onto the banners and then they were done. Of course, we had to make sure our names were on the papers, too! There were a few students who were really distracted and struggled with the project - and then Minecraft happened. One student began creating Minecraft characters with his squares/shapes and then half of his table followed suit, and another few students at the table next to theirs! Though this was definitely not the application Mr. K wanted to demonstrate and teach.. at least the students were gluing and cutting things down/out? The main problem was the lesson was meant to explore abstract shape arrangements and pull students away from representational ideas -- Minecraft is kind of a huge deal with elementary kids.

6th grade was also working with paper craft, but in a much more methodical way. Students were creating paper mosaics of their own design. Mr. K established expectations with the students by saying "I am going to treat you like my 7th graders and teach you the next lesson before you finish the current one. You will need to decide when you are ready to move on and you will be self-motivated." Students also read a short excerpt from their textbook to give some background knowledge. Students were eager to get to work and the goals for project 1 were as follows:

To create an original design using paper shards of different colors
-- color scheme is encouraged but not required, from what I saw
To leave black space to simulate 'grout' between shards of paper
To FILL the paper space with colored shards
To leave a frame around the image for display

different types of paper shapes used to create space

I'm not 100% sure what this was but the student was pretty into it and it looks cool

flower with tribal colors

sassy cat

After students completed this project Mr. K demonstrated the next project, which was stained glass windows. If you've ever created paper snowflakes that was the first step of the project - folding and cutting. Students were learning about radial symmetry, pattern, line, shape, and cutting techniques.

1. Create 'snowflake' (aka wire frame of stained glass) using black construction paper
--use radial symmetry
2. Glue unfolded frame onto a sheet of tissue paper
3. Glue multicolored sheets of tissue paper onto the back to simulate colored glass patterns
4. Experiment with placement and layering of colors
5. Allow to dry

Mr. K had students using a watered down glue mixture to adhere the papers, which also changed the color of the paper slightly. Only two students made stained glass projects and the rest were working on their mosaics. Mr. K said one of the main challenges is differentiation: "One student could start and finish in a day and another could take a week." From what I saw he was pacing the group fairly well and everyone was working.

stained glass design, in foreground

These next few pictures are some of the lesson ideas Mr. K has explored with his k-6 students.

"Mechanimals" animals combined with machines 

How to show wind in art - check out that sideways house!

illustrating and painting insects

drawing crowds of people

Overall I had a great experience with Mr. K in his classrooms. At the end of the day we had one final prep period where students could come in and do independent or group work. Mr. K had students come in and help us finish preparing work for the art show - so much bubble wrap. So much. I learned a LOT from the organization of the art show pieces between Mr. K and Mr. S - holy moly, is that a big undertaking. But as I stated before, the work is amazing!

His students were friendly and asked lots of questions - they wanted to know about NMU, teaching, etc. And I of course wanted to know about their favorite lessons, media, and classes in school. I am a huge nerd, really... My big project after helping with the art show was letting my OCD tendencies out and about - I sorted through ALL of Mr. K's issues of Scholastic Art Magazine, and he graciously donated duplicate issues to me as thanks. So now I have a pretty good arsenal of ideas for lesson plans and activities both in school and at camp!

In the coming semester I am going to work extra hard to educate myself on the legal and academic changes coming to teachers because being able to observe in Wisconsin schools has changed my outlook on future teaching possibilities... I might try to become employed in Wisconsin in 2015/2016 after student teaching! I need to do more research on state reciprocity for my certification after graduating, but both of these teachers showed me that k-12 education is not the big scary beast teachers can make it out to be! In fact, it might just be the challenge I am looking for in my future career. Except maybe with some of the 1st graders... no, just kidding! They were great, too. I feel more ready than ever to conquer my student teaching semester and continue to be the powerhouse art educator I strive to be.

ON THAT NOTE: Mr. K actually invited me to come back and be his student teacher in the next few years! I was so ecstatic! His schools would be a great place to get my feet wet in teaching k-12 and learning the ropes of managing that many students.... I already do it at camp, to be honest. A classroom in each school would be a much more controlled and welcome environment to work in. I could finally establish classroom management procedures, solid rules, clean up procedures.. I am such a huge nerd about this stuff it's overwhelming sometimes. But really, I was and AM so excited! I made sure to pass on my information to Mr. K and assured him we would be in touch. I have so many ideas for his classes and students - especially for the "Core Class" he proposed. I mean.. I look at my own lessons and I'm like, "Yeah, I'm doing that already. BRING IT ON!" We will be in touch, most definitely, about those proceedings in the future. Until then I will continue to work on developing lesson ideas and resources for my future teaching/observation experiences.

And for now - I must sign off! I am a tired tired lady and I have lots to do tomorrow. But I'm glad I finally updated and finished this post :) It was a great couple of days and I will be returning to those schools this fall semester for more observations and hopefully to iron out the details of student teaching!

Okay. Time to get to sleep. I love sleep.. happy summer! Finally.

Ms. Kanak