Marilyn Berrett had us create intersecting lines with rolled up newspaper. I couldn’t think of how to integrate this into my classroom until someone mentioned during one of our seminars, that first grade could do this, only making shapes. So I tried it and the kids loved it. It took a lot of guidance at first since the boys wanted to sword fight each other, but overall it was a success!

I was so excited last year when my new principal emailed the staff asking for someone who would be interested in attending the Arts Academy. Her email said, first come first serve. I emailed her back quickly, hoping I wasn’t too late. When she responded saying that I was in, I was ecstatic. I never prepared myself for what I was about to embark on.

The staff and the guests that they invited, were all phenomenal. Everyone knew their stuff. And not only was their knowledge of the subject exceptional, but their love for the arts, absolutely inspiring.

When I decided to go into teaching, and started attending classes and seminars, I quickly learned that it was not a place to be shy. That has been an obstacle for me always. I love to watch people and am impressed when I see them having fun and letting go of any fear. Being a part of the BYU Arts Academy exposed me to many excited, fearless professionals who simply love the arts. It required me to come out of my shell.

I took many things with me each time I left a session. Handouts, CD’s, lessons, ideas. But most important, I left with the confidence that I could apply these things in my classroom, and the confidence to truly make a difference. I thank Cally, all who instructed and helped, all of the participants for inspiring, and BYU for the opportunity. Thank you!

I do the brain dance everyday with my class. The kids will even point out that the class is not focusing and that maybe its time to do the brain dance. They have a great time doing it, and it truly does get their focus back. The kids have it down now, and I will sometimes choose someone to lead the class. They love being the leader.

When we began attending the Arts Academy, George did an activity with us involving numbers. We taped numbers onto our clothes and ran around finding people to create an equation or a sum. At the time I thought, there is no way I could do this with my first grade class. One day during some down time, I decided to give it a try. To my surprise, it went extremely well! The kids were so creative and worked well together, and the whole thing was a success. I had to share with my team, and have learned that they have had a great success with it as well.