Reflection Paper
Shawna Boles

The Arts Academy has made a difference in my own life, my classroom and my school. I once heard someone say, “Whatever we spend our time on, we will be good at.” It has been invaluable to spend my time this year to study, validate, and energize through the arts.
Personally, I believe one of the most valid lessons I will take from this class is the deeper appreciation I have gained for others, their talents and strengths. I now look at life with different glasses on. Instead of getting frustrated with others who don’t see solutions as quickly as I do, I can see that they are looking at life differently than me due to their strengths, which are a weakness for me. When I have those same few students that come running up to me for a hug, I now say to myself, “here comes my little blue-child” and I allow a good hug rather than being too on task to validate that feeling. Rather than always cutting to the quick of things and getting in and out, I can stand back and let those with different colors take the lead and I can learn from them. I have also received great enjoyment by understanding what different people need and then being able to give it to them. It has helped many relationships in my own family, children and others that I know and work with.
Through the Arts Academy I have learned how to use music, art, dance and drama to enrich the lives of the students I teach. I’m not just talking about their education; I am talking about their lives. Instead of doing art just for art, we are now doing art in a way that is personalized to them and allows for their own individual creativity to shine through. If we are doing a particular music game, we do an art lesson that goes along with it, we use the vocabulary of the arts, and we integrate dance and drama into the lesson. It has been a most rewarding experience for both the students and myself. I know they are connecting to what they are learning and having fun at the same time.
Lastly, it has been rewarding to see the impact this class has had on my school. I was invited to share on some of our Professional Development Days and we all enjoyed rich conversation on how to make learning more meaningful, longer lasting and more enjoyable through using the arts. I especially enjoyed one comment by a teacher of 22 years as she said, “I have been pondering on how I teach and realize that I may not be meeting the needs of all the students.”
Thanks SO much Arts Academy – and for years to come!!!

I have to tell you about our “Dancing” in the Music Lab.  It has become a favorite!  We do not have enough computers and keyboards to facilitate all the students in one classroom, so we have incorporated dance for another way to learn about music.  While group one is on keyboards, group two is on computers, this group makes bamboo streamers to use while performing for the class.  They choose the music from a famous composer such as Bach or Handel, then they practice making their dance “look-like” the music.  They use all kinds of dance words to describe their production such as high, low, curved, zigzag, backward, forward to name a few.  After their streamers are made from bamboo sticks, masking tape, and crepe paper, they choose their song, and begin creating their dance.  This takes a great deal of team effort, patience and listening skills.  Once everything is practiced, then they perform their mini-dance right then at the end of class for all their peers.  The audience of peers have loved it and are wonderful to add their support through appropriate clapping and smiles.  These are 6th grade students and they were a bit apprehensive at first, but once the idea took hold, everyone can’t wait for their turn!  As you can see by their faces, the smiles, laughing and fun are making this exercise a truly enjoyable experience.  Thank you B.Y.U. ARTS class for inspiring us with using dance to teach!

I would like to add a blog about our Dance section of our Music Lab.  We do not have enough keyboards or computers to facilitate a class of 30 to 34 students.  We created a new group that chooses a piece of music from a famous composer such as Beethoven, or Handel.  Each student makes their own bamboo stick and streamer prop.  They practice to the music and make their dance steps, bodies, and movement match the music.  Then they perform their dance for the class.  It has been SO enjoyable!  The students were hesitant at first, because of the word “dance,” but have LOVED dancing and performing for their peers.  It has loosened them up and given them a great sense of themselves along with the study of great musicians and their music.

Today I would like to tell about our Drama class in our Music Lab. Our Music Lab consists of 15 keyboards and about 10 working computers. The computers use a program called “Music Ace” to teach the students about music. As the computers die, they are not being replaced, so with classes of 30 to 34, it created a need for something to do with those who would not be able to be on a keyboard or computer. While taking the B.Y.U. ARTS class, we were giving opportunities to create costumes out of newspaper and perform. It gave me the idea that we could use this with a Drama Class in our lab. This group of students choose a famous composer’s life such as Beethoven or Bach, and then act out his life for the class. Each student is to have a part and a costume. It has been so fun! The students absolutely love it! They can’t wait for their chance to perform. They are gaining in confidence to be in front of their peers and perform, while also putting into long term memory the life of these great composers.

Hi! I am really excited to write about the experience that I recently had in my music class. I am over a keyboard lab of 15 keyboards. The other side of the lab used to have 15 computers loaded with a Music Ace software program. As the computers are very old, the district has decided to get rid of these computers and not keep fixing them. Well, this year I only have 8 working computers. So, 15 keyboards plus 8 computers only facilitates a class size of 23. Right! Like we have such small classes! Anyway, I average 33 students in the five 5th and 6th grade classes that I now teach. That left me with 10 extra students who had nothing to do. I have heard of them setting up a listening station and having them build things out of legos and such. But it didn’t sit right with me first of all because I don’t have any expensive legos, secondly because I didn’t think it matched up with the Standards too well. I then began a random search for recorders that we were supposed to still have – no luck – although I did find a bunch of ukuleles. Having taught ukuleles before, I knew what I was in for in teaching the tuning, fingering, chords, singing, etc. and knew that it would be intense and that I would need to be with them every second, yet at the same time I would need to be available to help those on the keyboards. It just couldn’t work in that setting. Then I had a brain wave! I remembered in our BYU A.R.T.S. class that we had made our own costumes out of newspaper and masking tape. I went through my files and typed up a brief biography of a few famous composers like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Handel. I made a third group called the “Acting Group” who were to study the life of the composer of the day, design a costume for each actor or actress, and perform the life of the composer for the class – all within a 25 minute time frame. These students were SOOOOOO energized! They have LOVED it and can’t wait until their turn to perform for the class. An additional bonus that I didn’t plan on was that some students on the keyboards found songs from these composers and began practicing them so that they could play them for the class. On the next rotation for the acting group, I am going to have them choose one of the composer’s songs and perform a dance that represents the mood of the song. Not only have the plays been entertaining, they have made some outstanding costumes and even added a little humor as one group put paper hearing aides on Beethoven. I am amazed at each acting group’s varied talent, creativity, motivation, enthusiasm, and good nature as they have carried out their assignment. Bravo! It has really stirred my thinking process along with the chapters in our “Arts Integration” book as to how I can use more of the arts to energize the students in all areas of the Core. Thank you BYU A.R.T.S.!

Hi again!  I just had to tell you what a riot I had making salt-dough Turkey toothpick holders for Thanksgiving!  What I really never thought about was how the “color” (blue, gold, orange or green) of the student can really show up when given a little freedom of choice.  I often give choice, and yet never thought about it being a personality that came through in the project.  I suppose that I just thought they were being “creative.”  Once we made our turkeys out of clay and I cooked them, we began the painting process.  In the picture I am submitting with this, I have lined up 4 turkeys.  See if you can decide which “color” the student is before you read my answers.  It was a  really fun project, but did require a bit of overtime as the dough had to be cooked in the school oven, etc. In the end, it was well worth the squeals and delight that the students had when they topped off their painted turkeys with red waddles, google eyes and toothpicks.  Our real purpose for this assignment was to mold something in 3-D and learn about paints (acrylic) and how they mix to make a different color so they have to be careful when they paint. (Answers below second picture…)

(#1 – High Orange – Painted with a design, no “regular” person would even think of!!!  It was the very most popular and creative by far.)

(#2 – High Gold – Painted to the “exact” detail and design a turkey “should” look like.  Was admired for the beautiful colors.)

(#3 – Orange/Blue – Painted without any solid lines.  All colors “blended” or “faded” into each other.  It represented a wild turkey.)

(#4 – Blue – Painted to be SO cute!  Everyone loved the brown with the brightly colored accents on the feet, beak and tail feathers.  Voted most “friendly.”)

Hello Everyone!  I just had to write and tell you that I did the gigantic Halloween Monsters (on 18×24 inch paper) that were shown to us at our Park City workshop.  I did them with both 1st and 2nd Graders and they turned out FABULOUS!  They were a real hit and I even ran a “winners” first place round and displayed over 25 of them in the hallways for Halloween.  When the parents and grandparents came to the Halloween parade, they LOVED them!  It was the biggest drawing these young children have EVER made in their short little lives!  I put a large poster paper up and drew in front of the class, while they made theirs on their papers.   I had the papers prefolded in 2 places, so they could have a better idea of “space” and where things should be on the paper as this is very hard for this age group.  That gave them a spot for the head, body and feet.  We drew them in pencil, then traced in black marker, then I let them use chalk and WOW were they impressed!  We cut-out the monsters and glued curly, crunchy paper on for hair.  We cut out a yellow moon and a black bat (folded and drawn to show symmetry when opened) to glue onto the black background.  It was a  HUGE success!  Thanks so much!  Here is a picture of one of the first grade monsters.  (Sorry about being side-ways…..

Halloween Monster by 1st Grader

Hi Everyone!  I so enjoyed our classes at Park City!  What a wonderful retreat!  I have used several of the principles I learned from the Arts Academy in my classroom already.  One of the most interesting to me was a “personality type” or color of a student which didn’t match the personality of a classroom aid.  I have worked with him before, he is a twin, although his twin is much easier to work with.  This one is very strong willed and was rebelling against an aid that was coming into my classroom to help.  This aid is one of the hearing impaired ladies and this student was driving her personality crazy.  She would be all over him if he didn’t line up right, or walk straight, etc.  He was going crazy himself and would get angry, not come into my class, or sit under his desk, or not participate.   Finally, one day it hit a crisis and the aid left my room.   I didn’t know where she went – bathroom for all I knew.  Anyway the core teacher came marching in, obviously upset, and took him out of the classroom.  I guess the aid “told” on him.  Well, it was nuts for me because I know his personality and he has worked fine for me in the past, but with this aid it was impossible to reach him he was so defiant.  After coming to the “crisis,” I asked the aid to let me work with him and just don’t worry about it.  She was willing.  While he was under his desk, I told him that I knew what an amazing artist he was and that it was too bad to sit under this desk and be so bored. So, I said, “Hey, I have a really cool idea.”  Since you are such a good artist, you can do this assignment anyway you want, except I just need you to have some worm tunnels in it so that we can put a worm on it for texture.  It was SO COOL!  I was watching his eyes and as soon as I said that, a “light” just turned on and you could see his mind start working.  I said, “I’ll just put this paper on your desk and when you get a great idea you can start.  I also mentioned that the aid was going to not work with him anymore and he could just work with me.  It was only a matter of moments that he emerged from the floor and began his artwork.  After that, and with the aid and he not clashing (she even had to stop bringing them in from outside as she just couldn’t figure out how to work with him), he is doing great!  Even the aid is coming around!  It was just amazing for me to watch as I could see that they simply were not the same COLOR!  She was very, very, very, very, gold and could only see one way to do something.  He is probably very, very, very, orange although I haven’t tested him.  It was fun to be able to know “why” something works with a personality and why something doesn’t – rather than just knowing with the gut.  I like working with a student with their personality.  It makes so much sense!  Well, I have to go, but will write another experience another day!  Shawna