Spring Art Faire, or "what I could do"

I set goals for every teaching year.
These are broadly lumped into a few things that walk within my day I try to stick to, seeing if I can see them through to something that I can watch, reflect on, and learn from. Children know my goals, usually- if practical, and I try to set goals with them as well.
It seems to me something that we must actually do- mutually set goals-if we want kids to do the same-and model as teachers. This year I was recovering from back surgery, and accepting a severe neurological decline while trying to maintain walking and better health practices. Anyway. So I set the goal of improvement in ALL areas over the past three years, to just be better at what I do as a 1st grade teacher. They say we can have no excuses and cannot "whine" Rather a broad thought.

We've done that improvement so far, as evidenced by the pieces I've been examining doing our report cards and looking over at my class-seeing all these amazing beings progressing. I've got short term goals now for this next trimester that grew out of looking closely at a mountain of data Ive been keeping. Stunning growth though so far.

I got it in my mind this year to regularly do art projects that supported our themes, laminate and mat the pieces, as well as really organize the work in darn good portfolios, focus on standards and curriculum through this, and to present it in a Spring Art Faire. I did not know that my administrator would welcome this. But I gently approached her at the start of the year. And approached the staff to consider trying for the art faire this year. I did not know that I'd again be offered the opportunity to teach art lesson after school-or it seems have that extended into even more teaching art-as has been offered. I just had some kind of zen around it all-attend to the day, seek out my happiness in the doing, trust things to come together. Trust.

So many funny things helped me along the way this year. I asked for help-donations at year's start. Friends sent many things..And this made a real difference. It mattered to get those supplies, mattered a lot. And parents have been so supportive as well.








I just marvel at how really about two to three weeks ago the Principal asked me to help with an outside mural, and inside Art Faire to get us ready for Spring Open House. Since then most days I've worked til 6PM and slept very little getting things done or thinking about what I'm doing. We are in a Performance Review this coming week, and having Open House. I have many, many projects that need to be initiated for Open House.
I don't know that she thought I had it in me...I don't know if things just came from my own inner state of being in a flow...but I did manage ...I do know I just put up a rather marvelous show.
Met my goal.











My daughter Sylvia, in one of the many pieces coming together, just happened to come home at this exact moment to help me do this and share the pride in both doing lessons for it, and seeing it into form. She laughingly called it "our installation."
Most all of the art I taught in this particular exhibit. So it kind of stands up to talk to me about my working with the children.
We got to listen to kids all day react to our transformation of the school today.
This was so interesting.
That was worth a lot. I saw the children in their spaces differently for sure as they ate, looked at a sudden dramatic change in their spaces. Teachers should be allowed to sit through the lunch-it's very easy if hanging art. I learned a lot.
They are quite eager to talk about their art. And it was cheerful for them to look at art and talk about "favorites."
When at is taken from schools in narrowing among the losses are the things that bring us cheer.











One of the nicest things- two 5th grade boys, not connected to each other, stopped me and thanked me for what I'd done. They each said pretty much the same thing-"thank you for doing this for us." It was absolutely charming. You had to be inside me to understand perhaps. Neither child wanted attention, they wanted me to know they saw me from this- as admirable.
I'm very lucky for the work I've been allowed to do.
There are very good children at our school.









I loved how a group of children reached out to rub the chalk drawings on the wall-not for their doing that-but because these drawings made me have those impulses as well. They pulled on my natural kinetic learning style. I've always known that mine is a doing/touching impulse. I had to tell them to stop-but I also was able to verify that the drawings were amazingly good at making us want to feel them.

Well here's to the show staying up on the walls a few weeks-I worry about the adhesion.
Each piece was hung with a bazillion peel and press stick-ems. I had to peel, peel, peel....it was amazingly frustrating. Sylvia beat me at it by three to one ratios. Another cost of a spinal issue. Lost my dexterity...and fine motor. But...still kickin a little.
Happy Spring....