Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

Hi! I've pored over a few books this school holiday. The NLB OverDrive app is so convenient to borrow ebooks and read on the go. My first choice will still be a hardcopy but if I can't borrow it in time then I will go digital.

My favourite read has to be Made in China. It's especially telling especially when our goods are mostly imported. The mere thought of walking down the aisles of Daiso, Target or Hundred Yen shops excite me. Since we stay mostly indoors now and virtual shops are accessible in a click, who wouldn't like a good bargain? We have no lack of e-commerce platforms in Singapore. With the pandemic, even physical retail stores have online presence or making the shift towards it. There is everything we want but very little we need. This book helps me to think more critically about owning cheap commodities.

Artventures: Teachers Conference 2021

Hi! Teachers attended a conference in Term 2. I particularly like this keynote about emotions and learning in children. The standards of lesson planning in SG starts with a tuning-in (about 10min), keeping the lesson objectives in mind. Instead of diving straight into the learning outcomes, learning is deem meaningful if children understood the purpose of learning what I had intended.

A friend once told me that young children will not know anything about planning for their future but they do enjoy learning if they like the teacher or the lesson. Perhaps that's where emotions come to play.

I remember a Modified Language Experience Approach (MLEA) to writing from years ago on sandwich making. The level teachers had to prepare peanut butter and jam, bread slices, plastic knives and plastic gloves for the lower primary children. It's such a simple snack to make but the children had a blast! A child had offer me her sandwich but I had to politely declined 😁 Then, they ate their sandwiches in the canteen and returned to the classroom to do class writing. The experience was to develop emotions in the fun activity in order to engage children to reflect on the common experience. It was sensorial. How difficult is it to forget about what was taught and the post-learning activity? Was the preparation for the sandwich-making activity a waste of time? Could the teachers have just dive in straight to writing? Can we assume that all children had made sandwiches under similar conditions before? Will the children remember the experience for years to come and have common topic to discuss with their peers?

Never associate teaching with pouring knowledge into empty vessels but rather provide positive learning conditions and trust the learners' ability to make meaning. But of course, we do not equate teaching with learning so assessment comes into place but that's another story for another day. 

References:

https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/the-brain-basis-for-integrated-social-emotional-and-academic-development/

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may20/vol77/num08/Building-Meaning-Builds-Teens'-Brains.aspx

Art Class: Places of Interest in Singapore

Towards the end of Term 2, my youngest students learnt about the places of interest locally. They were all excited to share about the places they have visited and I conclude that a high percentage of the children have visited Universal Studio and Sentosa whereas there is less awareness about our historical sites.

We discussed about the activities that happened at Singapore River and the Cleanup that took 10 years. I showed them some black and white photographs of Singapore River in its dire state. Paintings by pioneer artists which is related to the Singapore River were also discussed. Some children volunteered to do a role play on what they would do if they live by the river while the rest guessed. 

We spent a lesson drawing and cutting the river out from our painted paper made in the previous art class. Then, the children pasted them in their sketchbooks. The rest of the details were drawn in markers.

Art Class: SG75

Hi Teachers! We had our Child-Teacher-Parent Conference just last week and now it's the start of the school vacation. This month, my students are participating in SG75, an arts-based competition. In 2040, we will celebrate 75 years of Singapore. According the website, SG75 was chosen because it is far enough for us to envision and to make good plans - yet near enough for us to see these plans take shape. It calls for thinking about and preparing for future challenges. I designed worksheets for different levels and made a video to go with the activity.  You can check out sg75.sg for more details. 

Art Class: Cardboard String Art

Hi Teachers! Have you watched the video about true cyan? Last few weeks, the students went through the lesson unit on Optical Illusion. It's a hit with children because it offers weird and interesting truths about the nature of perception and colours. You can search Youtuber Zack King's videos for some brilliantly-stitched videos that are quite magically. I brought string art artmaking back due to popular demand its accessibility. I'm quite surprised to hear that many students do not have strings or threads at home. We have been doing mostly solo work or work that don't requires a lot of movement in the classroom. Thus, the materials used are quite economical. It's light and handy in case students need to bring them home to complete. 

On another note, Singapore schools moved online last Wednesday. The press release was on a weekend so we had time to prepare and distribute materials to our affected classes on the first two days of the week. The students were just tidying up their artwork for Term 2 and it seems like I can only see their final work in Term 3. When school term ends this month, we will still be in the midst of Phase Two. I'm working on something for the students to participate during the school vacation. Please check back!

Housekeeping: The Indispensable Tool

Hi! We all have that one (or countless!) essential tool in the art room. I use the scissors quite frequently and I can't imagine depriving the children of the opportunity to practise cutting just because we want to 'protect' them (from getting hurt). I shared about a scissors safety lesson and I'm happy to say that most of them do remember the rules. 

Recently, the scissors are re-arranged to not just to appear neater but to track their whereabout and ensures that all scissors are returned after use. This layout allows me to see at a glance that all tools are in place. It's especially useful if you need to run to another class and counting all forty takes time. 

Art Class: Painting Routines

Hi! The children have started painting with water. I like using the coloured crepe papers for this lesson to talk about the painting routines. So when we are ready to proceed to using the actual paint pigment, the children are familiar with the routines and movement:

• clutter-free desk
• half-filled water container
• water container placed in the top center of the desk
• given only one paintbrush
• must place recycled paper underneath the watercolour paper
• tear the 'magical papers' and keep them under the water container
• hold the recycled paper lengthwise with both hands and bring to the drying rack
• rinse the paintbrush and water container

Instructions such as the amount of water to use is learnt through practice. Some children need more reminders so rest assured after a few practices, they will remember the routines. Take swimming for example, you can listen to explanation after explanation and watch many swimming videos. By not getting into the pool, how would you learn to swim? When all the children are in their painting mode, you could hear the pin drop! But the silence doesn't last long. 😹