Rachel Holle

Child Art Club Reflection

 

To the left is an image of the project sample I made for the lesson I had planned to teach. Since it was taught during the Asian culture lesson, I had each student make his or her own handprint dragon. 

 

Working with children is something I have been doing my whole life. Since I was about thirteen I would help my mother out with her preschool class and taught a Sunday school class to Kindergarteners. Having a steady nanny and babysitting job throughout the years has also influenced my decision to become a teacher as well. Although I had been surrounded by kids my whole life, it was sometimes scary due to the fact that children are so unpredictable. Now, being in college I have been presented with the opportunity to work with kids in a way different than previously experienced. Working in the Child Art Club opened my eyes to a different kind of interaction. It was an experience that changed my life in a positive way. Being there opened my eyes and assured me that working with children is what I am meant to do. Through the positive atmosphere from the art education students to the teaching process,

The first week of attending Child Art Club was themed around the Asian culture. It was my turn to teach an art lesson to a group of first graders. Before it started, I was a nervous wreck. I did not know what to expect. Once the kids began filing into the classroom, my nerves were suddenly calmed. The energy of the classroom was so positive and uplifting and it made me excited. I realized that the art education students created such a positive atmosphere for the kids. Each person there had such an encouraging attitude and made the learning and creation of art much more enjoyable. What I’ve learned through this experience is that the students in the art education major have a certain spark about them that is truly inspiring. Each has a constant smile on their face when working and teaching the kids. It was fun to be a part of the optimistic energy that was clearly present. I knew that teaching these kids would help me learn and grow as a person and a teacher.

As I prepared to teach my group of first graders how to make handprint dragons, each kid was so excited to start the project. They were to trace their hand four times and shape it into a dragon. I had pieces cut out for them to trace for the head, tail, and legs. Each child was able to choose the colors to use for each handprint. Overall, the kids did an exceptional job tracing, cutting, and assembling it. I had previous knowledge as to what collaborative learning entailed, but it was nice to see it happening in front of me. Each child was learning as a group. By helping each other out and asking questions, there was no doubt collaborative learning was taking place.

Looking back at the experience as a whole, I can confidently say I learned a lot about myself, and the teaching profession as a whole. It demonstrated the reality that children learn differently and at their own pace. Realizing this, it was certainly helpful to have multiple teachers at each table to help each individual student complete the project to their full ability. What I especially loved about the whole experience was the fact that there was an overlying theme: traveling around the world. It was a good way to educate the idea of multiculturalism by traveling to a new part of the world each week. Before the kids got broken up into groups determined on their age, there was a short presentation giving background information about that country or region being studied. This was a great way to prepare the students for the projects they will be doing. Previewing the material and giving background information is an idea that I will be incorporating in my future classroom. The Child Art Club has greatly impacted my life in a positive way through the atmosphere of the students and the learning happening, I am very pleased to have had this wonderful experience.