Passport to Art

My first two weeks of student teaching have gone pretty well, I think. The hardest part for me so far is getting used to the schedule and getting up so early. Going from a stay-at-home mom to basically working a full-time job will need some getting used to, I guess. The first three days of school were pretty easy. The kids were just coming back from Christmas break and my co-op wanted to keep things somewhat mellow for them to ease back into the swing of things. Most of the kids watched a video on Chinese New Year - which they loved - and 2nd grade worked a little on their Kachina dolls since they were getting a bit behind on them. So I basically just tried to get accustomed to the schedule and typical routines while I helped out in the classroom.

At the end of my first week, I taught my first lesson to Kindergarten and 1st grade. It was a really easy, introductory lesson based on an idea I got from my Methods professor - an Art Passport. I had made a bunch of little booklets at home out of construction and copy paper before my student teaching assignment and the kids seemed pretty excited to be "visiting" other countries to learn about their art. We did the writing part together and I had them make a self-portrait on the inside. I really love how they turned out! The kids are really eager to have their passports stamped for their next lessons, too.

I really am having a lot of fun student teaching. It is a lot of work though and sometimes I have a hard time managing my time effectively. That'll take some practice. But I think I've finalized in my mind - and some of it on paper - what I'm going to do with all the grade levels. I'm pretty excited and I can't wait to see how it all turns out.