My participation in ARTS Academy has enriched not only my teaching, but also my life.  You know how you often have to do those assignments where you have to find 3 items or objects that represent something unique about yourself? In order to do this, you have to look deep inside your soul and ask yourself those questions of truth… who am I? What do I truly believe? What am I passionate about?  What do I want to leave in this world?

The best thing about ARTS Academy is that aside from all the wonderful knowledge I have learned about The Arts and how they are necessary for “holistic” education, ARTS Academy has given me new avenues of self-discovery and enlightenment.  It’s hard to put a finger on all of it because it has come in small particles of light and truth as I have thought deeply about all the things I have learned.  It never ends, and I love it! This is the feeling I want my students to acquire while they are in my classroom; the desire to learn new things and expand their understanding of the world around them.

I’m still not proficient at teaching in the Nexus, but I am trying things, and in trying, I get better ideas on how to improve the idea as well as avenues into other Arts. It is very exciting!

At the beginning of the month (April), I had my class present their show for their parents.  We practiced dances, plays, songs and poetry readings.  It wasn’t a long show, but my students loved it!  Even the older students got into it.  Yes, it was a lot of extra work and effort, but I know that it will be something my students will remember.  The following morning they asked when we were going to put on the next one!  If it had not been for my participation in the ARTS Academy, my students would not have been able to have this wonderful experience.

I have lots of ideas brewing for my future teaching on how I can integrate all the mediums of art in my teaching.  It is absolutely exciting to brainstorm these ideas!  I can hardly wait to hear all of yours!

I have done the Brain Dance every morning, to music!  So fun!  On Friday I put on YMCA (okay, that really dates me), and the kids loved it; so much so that I had a little meltdown with one of my first-graders when on Monday we did it to Celebration instead of YMCA (sigh)… life can sometimes be so dramatic! I am a special ed teacher, so the eye tracking thing Marilyn did is very applicable with my students.  I have been having them track their thumb as they move.  Hope those little synapses are starting to get stronger!  I had one student suggest to me today that we should do Brain Dance after lunch too!  Why didn’t I think of that?

Another activity I did was have my 3rd graders make lines, rays, angles, points, line segments, parallel and intersecting lines with their bodies.  They loved it, and it helped them understand the concept a lot quicker!  Wow!  Life is good in THE NEXUS!!!! Now I better start finding some drums for my classroom. I have been clapping beats to get my kids attention, then having them echo it back.  It’s still a little messy but they are improving each day!

I KEPT THINKING I WAS GOING TO HAVE TIME TO WRITE MORE!  NEVER HAPPENED, SO I GUESS THIS WILL HAVE TO DO SO I GET SOMETHING IN BEFORE OUR NEXT SESSION!!  AAARGHH!

The last session of Academy was fantastic. I very much appreciated the activities that were modeled. Following last academy, I did several things in my classroom. With my 3^rd grade students, we had started working with multiplication. I was teaching them how multiplication is really a way of adding fast; so I was teaching them that 3 x 4 is telling us to “count by 3 four times.” To illustrate this concept, I cut some white pieces of square paper (5.5 inch square) and had each draw the number of dots as it appears on a dice. I thought it would be easy enough, but I was shocked to see that some of the student’s spatial relationships were off. So, it gave me an opportunity to talk about proportions.

Next, I wrote and read a multiplication fact. I told the students to show what this problem is telling us to do. So… for example 3 X 4, four students each picked up a square paper with 3 dots. We then proceeded to count by threes to get to 12. I also had them reverse the numbers and pick up 3 squares with 4 dots. This illustrated the commutative property.

This activity worked well and the students enjoyed the movement.

Another thing I did was make up a dance about why the earth has seasons. We were reading about the tilt of the earth and how and why it gives us the seasons. We made up a very short “dance” to this. The kids enjoyed this and it helped them remember why the earth has seasons!

Wow! That’s what I felt like after the opening session of A.R.T.S. Academy!

I have always been interested and involved in some way with “the arts.” I am not a great artist of any kind, but I have dabbled in them enough to know that they are something that makes a person “whole.” Especially now, since I have gone back to school to get a teaching license, I have learned so much about teaching, learning, the brain and body, and how they are all so interrelated and inseparable. I am amazed and awed at every new bit of information I get! A.R.T.S. Academy was a venue that did just that… it has introduced a new path of learning and inquiry that I am very excited to travel!

So… with the information overload I have acquired, I ask myself every day how I am going to change my teaching practices to integrate art. Though it seems pretty straightforward in some ways, the reality for me, is that I need to seriously think this through; which I find quite frustrating because I want to try so many things but am not quite sure how to best do it. However, I’m banking on the reflections that come from my just doing it, will lead to more enlightening avenues of learning, as well as teaching!

As I have reflected more and more about using the arts in teaching content, I am learning something about myself; I am afraid to let go and dare to try and do something new. This realization about myself has made me think that this is how my students must feel! They are in special education because they have some disability; something that isn’t “normal” as they see themselves amongst their peers. How can I help them “let go” and lose their fear too! Using the arts is the answer!

Being aware of the preference learning styles is very helpful too as I plan my lessons. I have been more tolerant of my “orange” students, and have been trying to think more along that color. So many things to think about so give hope and confidence to my students!

I have used, and continue to use, movement during my lessons. Brain Dance has been good! Amazing how uncoordinated many of my students are! This is going to help!