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We keep you informed throughout the year with poignant posts and informative articles.
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BLOG
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We keep you informed throughout the year with poignant posts and informative articles.
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Get ideas and learn how to make your own self-portrait project inspired by Amanda Gorman's poem, The Hill We Climb, and art by Calligraphy Nerd Andrea Fowler. Art students can print some photos of themselves (maybe with a little help) - check out this short video for more info! Now you can gather up all your supplies and make some art! We can't wait to see your self-portraits, we'd love to see photos emailed to us at [email protected]. Before we start working on our lighthouse project, let's take a few minutes to learn more about lighthouses, and how they work! Lighthouses are so cool, and we are so lucky to have one in our own town! Lighthouses shine light into the dark to keep ships safe, and they remind us of Amanda Gorman's words from her poem The Hill We Climb: For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it If only we're brave enough to be it. Now you can follow along with this video tutorial to make your very own lighthouse art, and you can join one of our Zoom art lessons if you'd like a little more help - RSVP here! Get your supplies ready: You can download and print another project flyer here. Let's make some art! Want to learn more about lighthouses? Here are some more great resources!
How Lighthouses Work How Does A Lighthouse Work? Children's picture book by Roman Belyaev. Winner of 2019 STEAM Children's Book Prize for Best Information Book. Lighthouse Lamps Through Time Lighthouse Lens Rotation Female Lighthouse Keepers Women Who Kept The Lights Lighthouse Facts Mukilteo Historical Society - Keepers of the Mukilteo Light Station Welcome to our first ever online Art Docent Lesson! This lesson will focus on poetry, so you can start getting ready for our art project that we'll be working on next month! Watch the lesson video, and read more below! In the next supply pick-up, on March 31st, students will receive a piece of art paper attached to information about our Art Fundraiser with Original Works. We will be posting some art lessons online, as well as offering live Zoom lessons with an Art Docent. These art lessons were all inspired by Amanda Gorman's poem, The Hill We Climb, specifically the last few lines: The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it If only we're brave enough to be it. These beautiful lines remind us that there is always hope, and the promise of brighter days ahead, and that we each have the power within us to be the light, to bring light to others, and to look for the light in each other and all around us. What a powerful message! Our art students will be able to choose an art project to celebrate their unique light and highlight what these messages mean to them. In the meantime, our art lesson this month will focus on poetry, and all you art students can start to think about capturing your feelings and personality and experiences in words and poetry. World Poetry Day was a few days ago, and April is National Poetry Month, so this is a perfect time to think about poetry. And it’s time to make our art, we can choose whether we want to incorporate some of our words into our pictures! We don’t want to use Amanda Gormon’s exact words to make our art, but we can be inspired by them to create our own ideas on her theme. When I hear her words, it makes me think: There is always light. The light will always return. The light is always within me. I am brave enough to be the light. Now we can think about what kind of poem we want to write, like a haiku, an acrostic poem, a rhyming poem, or a poem with no rules at all! What is a haiku? A haiku is a kind of short poem, originally from Japan. A haiku has 17 syllables, in English we usually write haiku poems in three lines with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and then five syllables in the third line. Traditional Japanese haiku focused on nature, but now people all over the world enjoy writing haiku about anything. Here are some haiku that I wrote. You can use these in your art, or you can write your own! Because I’m always Brave enough to be the light The light is within I am brave and strong I am poetry and light I am joy, and love. I am kind, gentle I am fierce, resilient I wlll not give up. I am a leader. I will do what’s right and fair I can lead the way. I will share the light I will be an includer Together, we'll shine I am an ally I can make the world better Shine the light of love. An Acrostic is another kind of poem. You may have written an acrostic poem before. An acrostic poem is a poem where the first letter of each word or line spells something. From the Greek words for "highest/topmost" and "verse." Often, we write acrostic poems with just one word for each line, like mine below, which use verbs (action words) to spell "Mrs. Senge," and adjectives (describing words) to spell "Light." Motivate Raise Show Spark Engage Navigate Glow Exhilarate Luminous Illuminating Glowing Healing Triumphant Or, we can make an acrostic poem with whole lines of poetry. Like this one, which spells "Shine." Shine your light However you can Into the darkness Near, far, and Everywhere There are so many different kinds of rhyming structures and schemes, from very simple to very complex! If you have read or heard any books by Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein, you might have noticed that they use lots of different rhyming schemes in their books. You can write a poem that rhymes, or you can write a poem with absolutely no rhyme or rules at all, like some of my favorite poets and poems. E.E. Cummings was famous for his poems that didn't follow any rules of grammar. The poem above, [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in], is one of my very favorites.
For more about E.E. Cummings and his poetry, check out the beautiful picture book Enormous Smallness, by Mathew Burgess. Kate Baer is another modern poet who uses her words to paint her poetry on the page, like this poem above on the right. Read more about Ms. Gorman, and check out her books, including a special edition of the poem, her children's book, and poetry collection. And check out some more great lessons on Amanda Gorman's poem, The Hill We Climb. NY Times Daily Lesson - The Hill We Climb PBS - The Hill We Climb 826 Digital - The Hill We Climb Write your poems and keep them handy, and get ready for our next lesson next week!
We are so glad that we were able to send a journal home to every student in the December supply drop, along with a roll of washi tape - perfect for adding ephemera to your journal.
The journals sent home were made by hand. If you want to make another at home, you can do it easily with some staples and a few pieces of paper - any kind works! You and your student can make a new journal when this one is filled up, or make a journal for another family member to start a journaling practice together with your student. Making journals is a great way to reuse and recycle paper. 10 pieces of paper will make a journal with 40 pages. Add one more piece of paper for a cover. You can staple first - put two staples in the middle (cover-side up so the staple fold is in the middle inside your journal), and fold in half. Or you can fold your pages first and then staple. Or you can get a little fancier and recycle a cardboard box to make a journal with a sturdier cover and even more pages. You can even learn basic bookbinding and sew your pages in! Check out this video for some great ideas and inspiration!
The journals have a page for every day in December, through January 4th when school starts again in the new year. Throughout December, we will be sharing ideas and inspiration for your student and your family to explore art journaling together. Watch here as well as our newsletter, Instagram and Facebook pages for more!
Our Art Docent co-chair, Brynn Freal Lawrence has some experience and inspiration to share with us on how and why to start an art journal, and why gratitude is so important.
I’ve journaled since I was a child, on and off, and I’ve made more of an attempt at it as I’ve gotten older. I still remember the Christmas that I received two diaries with locks and colored pencils and markers to go with them. I spent hours adorning pages with stickers and magazine clippings, while writing down the ins and outs of my days, my plans and dreams. Later I started drawing in the journals as well, when my mom begged me to stop using so much good paper for single side drawings. Now, as an adult, I keep a traveler’s notebook with a calendar and journal for memory keeping and gratitude. Every time I finish one of the soft-sided inserts, I feel overwhelming joy and I have a record of the things that are important in my life.
- 10 Reasons to Keep a Journal - Medium Journaling has long been touted for its many positive attributes. Psychologists have long sung the praises of journaling. (83 Benefits of Journaling for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress from Positive Psychology) Some of the largest benefits of journaling are decreased depression and anxiety, improved sleep, decreased stress and aggression, and increased self-esteem and resilience. Once upon a time all the studies on the benefits of journaling were only centered around adults, but in the last few years there’s been a lot of research on journaling during childhood. Most of these studies focus on gratitude journals, and show the same benefits as have long stood with adults. In addition to things listed above, gratitude journaling also helps children feel happiness, protects their mental and physical health, and increases their levels of optimism. I know we all want to raise children that are resilient and grateful, rather than entitled, and gratitude journaling is a great way to do just that. It is especially important to remain grateful during times of stress...you know, like during a pandemic. Here is a great video full of wonderful inspiration and ideas to help you start thinking about what materials you can use in your journal, and what you can put in it.
In addition, journals are also a great way for kids to keep a record of their lives, what they like and don’t like, a good place for drawing and writing practice, and a safe place for art exploration. It can all be done in just one spot in just a few minutes a day. It’s also a great place to recycle items! Packaging and birthday or Christmas cards can be reused to make envelopes and “tip ins”, photos can be slid into washi taped pockets, stapled or taped to pages for memory keeping. Instax camera photos are a great small way to add photos to any journal.
Journals can also be a perfect place to practice sketching skills. Mixed media artist James Luke Burke has several free holiday themed courses on Teachable, called Merry Mixed Media, perfect for the holidays. He breaks down drawings into smaller shapes, and is clear and concise in his instruction with some fun characters, bound to make you smile this holiday season. In addition to James, there are many, many artists in the YouTube universe that are great resources for journaling, such as Ali Brown (Ali Brown Creative), Courtney Diaz (Little Raven Ink), Brie Hatton (Documented Journey), and Job Airam (Job’s Journal https://jobsjournal.org/). I strongly recommend taking a walk through their websites and Instagram rolls to help your student get some inspiration and ideas for their own journals. Here is a taste of their beautiful work.
You can’t go wrong starting or ending the day with gratitude. We encourage families to find a few minutes a day during the holidays to simply take a deep breath and put a little thought into what they’re grateful for this year. You may even find some absolute gems and memories you’ll want to hang onto forever.
Here are some more resources to help you get started, and keep reading below for more prompts to help your student explore gratitude. - How to Start a Gratitude Journal for Children - Mindful Little Minds - The Power of Gratitude: 30 days of Gratitude Journal Prompts - Live Well with Sharon Martin Gratitude Prompts
Here is a list of gratitude prompts the entire family can get in on. Some of these can even be great ways for kids to connect to memories and tap into hope, as well. You can help younger kids by writing their answer or having them draw a picture of what they’re grateful for.
- Tell about a time you were grateful for something a friend did for you. - Tell about a time you were grateful for playing with someone - Tell about a time you were grateful for someone helping you when you were hurt. - Tell about a time that someone helped you solve a problem. - Tell about a time when someone helped you find something that was lost. - Tell about something you’ve learned this week. - Tell about a family member you are grateful for. - Tell about a pet you’re grateful for. - Tell about a toy you own and love. - Tell about a time you got to play with a toy that belonged to someone else. - Tell about a time you were able to help someone else. - What is your favorite place in your home? - What is your favorite place outdoors? - What is your favorite way to move your body? - What is your favorite activity to do? - What is something unique about your family that you are grateful for? - Talk about all the people that worked to bring food to your house. - Talk about all the people who had a hand in making the clothes you wear. - Talk about people who work in your community. Who are you grateful for? - Talk about the ways a family member or friend makes your life better. - Choose three people to say “thank you” to today. - Who is someone you have a hard time getting along with? What are three positive things you can say about that person? - What is one thing you are grateful for today? - What was the best part of your day? - Who is someone that really helped you this week? - Who is someone that lives far away that you are grateful for? - What is a sound you’re grateful for? - What is a smell you are grateful for? - What taste are you grateful for? - Which of your five senses are you most grateful for? - Which season are you most grateful for? - Talk about the ways you are healthy. - Talk about the people that keep you safe. - What wild animal are you most grateful for, and why? - What is your least favorite type of weather? Think of three things to be grateful for about it. - Pretend you are writing a thank you card to yourself. What are three things you can thank yourself for? As a working artist, part of my job is to fill my own well of inspiration from other artists, artworks and the world around me. That sure looks a little different these days. I used to find inspiration by going to concerts, plays and musicals, watching a ballet or traveling Cirque du Soleil show, and walking through museums and galleries. I also got inspiration from the art lessons curated and taught by our wonderfully talented art docents and the beautiful creations of our Mukilteo Elementary students. Now would be the time of year that the beautiful fall lessons, packed with sugar skulls, pumpkins and leaves would be filling the hallways, library and office with their seasonal flair. Like all of you, I am adapting to this new terrain. Now my inspiration comes now from the painted rocks we find on our walks, the blooms and leaves in gardens we pass, and meandering virtual visits to museums near and far....and sometimes what seems endless scrolling through a carefully curated Instagram feed. In May I fell down the Instagram rabbit hole of hysterical art history gold when I found the account Tussen Kunst & Quarantine; a Dutch account, translating to Between Art & Quarantine. People were recreating famous artworks with what they had on hand, at home. A little bit of art genius was born. The Getty Museum in Los Angeles gave more life to the challenge, with instructions. The instructions are simple: Choose an artwork to recreate, find three (or more) items around your house to recreate it. The results are unique and often giggle producing. And who doesn’t need more laughter in their lives? With that, we are calling ME staff and students to participate in our very own Between Art & Quarantine-or BAQ art show-until we can be back, in person, ourselves. This also gives students a great fall time opportunity to do a little fall time dressing up as someone else! It gives us a way to see all the fabulous creativity in costume that we would see at our Boo Bash. We invite you to join us!
Here’s what you need to know: -all recreations must be age appropriate-no mature content (even though classical art can be a little racy!) -send submissions to [email protected] no later than Oct. 31st. -please include a photo of the original artwork with your submissions, as well as student name, grade, and teacher. Take some virtual trips through a few museums, and find a work of art that speaks to you, or that you can recreate. Here are 12 Virtual Museum Tours for Kids You Can Do Right This Second, from Pure Wow. Here are some tips from behind the scenes at Getty, to help you in your creative quest. We can’t wait to see what you come up with! Stay tuned for our virtual ME BAQ gallery! Additionally, the art docent program at ME was getting a face lift, and we had planned to start rolling out a new, more standardized program this fall. As the summer days came to a close, lessons were built in hopes of returning to classrooms. 2020 had other plans for us, and that’s ok. We will bring the new lessons into play when we can gather again. Until then, we are working to get some lessons and practical art resources to students. There are many art resources available online, and we have included some below. We are working toward ways to bring more arts education to students while we are in digital learning, so stay tuned! We all need art. Art is everywhere. Art is not cancelled. https://www.weareteachers.com/online-art-resources/ https://www.kitchentableclassroom.com/best-art-museum-websites-interactive/ Smithsonian for kids: https://www.si.edu/kids/ Our volunteer Art Docents have been busy bringing art history and fine art lessons into the ME classrooms! Here is a round-up of just some of the great projects and beautiful student work created since the beginning of the year! Mrs. Rickey's 3rd Graders learned about George Rodrigue and The Blue Dog, and created these pieces with oil pastel. Mrs. Bade's 3rd Graders learned about Georgia O'Keefe. The students chose either one of two pieces, Crab's Claw Ginger or Pineapple Bud. They traced with pencil, outlined with fine sharpie, and colored with oil pastels. Mrs. Trent's 1st Graders and Mrs. Rohrich's 4th Graders learned about Frida Kahlo and the symbols and traditions of the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead). They used oil pastels on roofing paper to create Las Calaveras (sugar skulls). Mrs. Wolfe's 5th Graders went Into The Spiderverse! They studied images of spider eyes by Spanish macro-lens photographer Javier Rupérez. They used acrylics to paint the background in warm harvest colors, then they created their own amazing arachnids using roofing paper and oil pastel for great hairy texture, along with cool-toned watercolor in a wheel design, and dimensional gloss to make giant, surprised, hypnotic eyes. 3rd Grades studied Yayoi Kusama and created polka dot pumpkins in a fun lesson incorporating geometric/organic shapes and color values. The students loved seeing her wide-scale installations in this book. Mrs. Bade's 3rd Graders learned about Vincent Van Gogh and made their own beautiful Starry Night paintings. Ms. Wise's 3rd and 4th Graders learned about Georgia O'Keeffe and experimented with blending oil pastels to create beautiful pieces inspired by O'Keeffe's landscape paintings. Have you heard about our Art Docent program at ME? The Art Docent program is one of the most impactful line items in the PTSA budget because it directly benefits every ME student with hands-on learning opportunities. The Art Docent program is run entirely by volunteers and entirely funded by the ME PTSA. Volunteer art docents bring fine art into the classroom by planning age-appropriate presentations and projects. These lessons are more than just crafts or directed-drawing, they introduce students to famous artists and works of art, contextual world history, art movements, different artistic mediums like tempera, acrylic, and watercolor paint; chalk and oil pastels; charcoal; and collage, as well as teaching art concepts like under-drawing/foundational drawing, color theory, perspective, negative space, texture, shading, blending, and more. It is amazing to see the beautiful art these students produce! Students also learn about the process of making art, how different artists work, and how artists study and sketch and practice and refine and repeat their work until they are happy with it. This hands-on learning teaches students resiliency and a growth mindset as they learn the value of “happy accidents,” how to work through “mistakes.” Marc Chagall - Paris Through The Window, 1913. Original on left, student work on right. Georges Seurat - The Seine at La Grande Jatte, 1888. Original on left. Students learned about Seurat's technique of pointillism, and made dots of color with q-tips and fingertips. One second-grader petitioned for a lesson on Artemisia Genteleschi after reading about her in the Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls book. The class learned about Renaissance painting by studying sections of Genteleschi's self-portrait. Pictured above is the original painting, the painting divided into sections, and then the student's work compiled into a (mostly) whole piece. The Art Docent program is entirely funded by the ME PTSA. The program Chairperson maintains the supply closet, ordering and replenishing materials. For several years, the Art Docent program has operated with a yearly budget of $1,500. That translates to $63 per classroom, or $2.50 per student FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR. It is a joy to see the students' work displayed on the walls of the office, the library, and the halls, and students should be proud of the amazing art they make! Below are just a few more examples of some of the wonderful projects our art docents create. To see more of these projects as they are shared, just follow ME PTSA on Facebook and Instagram!
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