Adding Art into the Curriculum

I wanted to share one of the ways we are trying to work the arts into our curriculum.  We are concentrating on the letter "A" and the sound it makes.  So we thought we would pick an artist whose name started with the letter "A".  Who better than Ansel Adams?  We showed the children some pictures of Ansel Adams work.  Here are a few of his pictures.

After showing the students the pictures of Ansel Adam's work, we then took them outside with a digital camera and let them look for what they thought would make good subjects for their pictures.  They were then given the digital camera and were told to snap away.  These are some of the pictures they took.  I did use PhotoShop to increase the contrast, crop and make the pictures black and white, but the pictures were taken by the children.  I encourage you to give your student's the camera and see the world through their perspective.  Don't forget that the camera is a powerful form of artistic expression.  I included one or two color pictures they took for the before and after effect.

going buggy

the other day a student brought in an insect he found at mcdonalds (outside not inside).  the class was very excited!  as teachers we had to be able to adjust our day away from our lesson plan and take advantage of this wonderful learning opportunity.  the insect came to class complete with the bug box (you can tell this little guy catches lots of bugs).  the students took time to study the insect closely.  the student who brought in the insect was able to be the "teacher" for one of the daily activities.  he glowed!  he was confident.  he was the envy of the classroom.  now, as teachers what could we do to make this lesson even richer?

one of our goals is to add more literacy to the class and to make journaling more relevant to the students.  so out came the journals and the scientific journey continued.  students began drawing what they were seeing.  they dictated words and sentences to the teachers.  some worked for a long time on their documentation. some where not interested.  as early childhood teachers who want to be developmentally appropriate we have to embrace the fact that it is ok that every child is not wowed by insects.  but, for many children the chance to take something cool like an insect, and want to write about it, well, that is how a love for literacy starts.  when writing is a joy, and not a chore, children develop a desire to write, a desire to participate in the process of scientific discovery, and begin to learn how to research.

so, next time your day takes an unexpected turn, embrace the opportunity.  if i had not participated in some wonderful workshops, networked with other creative teachers, and if i had not started reading The Intentional Teacher i don't think i would have been prepared enough ready to enrich this  learning opportunity for the children.  so, moral of this blog entry, keep learning just like we want our students to do!