Reflection 5: Bringing 2-D to life

Drawing and the visual arts in general have always been dear to me ever since I was in 2nd grade and our teacher would have a daily competition to find a way to change a squiggly line of some sort into a true picture. We would all work hard on our drawings for about ten minutes and then put them at the front of the classroom. From there we would all vote for our favorite drawings, slowly narrowing it down, and for the sake of fairness none of us would know who drew what picture. This was a favorite activity of mine since occasionally I would make it to the top and it gave me confidence to think that I was a good drawer even if I struggled with my other school work.

I can't say I am an excellent artist now unlike some of my friends, but I still enjoy taking a pencil to paper or a brush to a canvas and showing what only I can see. This is something that I think visual arts gives to almost everyone if they are willing to give it a try, and it is absolutely essential to make sure that its part of the classroom. Drawing seems to be the most basic of creative arts to me, as children start as soon as they have a crayon in their hand. Some how it is a way to connect thoughts in ones head, and represent something that words sometimes fail in.

Reflection 4: Finding the Rhythm of the Classroom

Music has always been something that I have loved and been interested in but never really been able to learn to my dismay. It has lead to me feeling as though I have very little music in my bones except for enjoying listening to it and occasionally making up my own songs when I am bored in the car. Yet, when we discussed music in class this last week I discovered that maybe it wouldn't be so hard to include music in the classroom even though I myself am not quite as musical. For instance the idea was presented that on someday's a teacher could just have students sing all that they wanted to say. This simply delighted me as its actually a game that I already play with my brother occasionally when we are bored in the car or at work. Additionally the musical practices that were presented weren't nearly as difficult as I would have originally thought.

I think in my own classroom I am going to try and find what will work best to incorporate music with what I am teaching, as it might be hard to just do straight lessons on music since I don't know as much about it. I do kinda want to try and learn how to read music so that I can teach it... maybe I could include that with math at the lower levels. Also I really like the idea of making new lyrics to old music, something I also sometimes do with my brother :) It definitely needs to be a familiar tune though because in class when we tried to do it I could not hold on to the tune for the life of me, and I think at least some of the students in my own classroom of the future which have the same issue. Either way I definitely want to continue thinking about how I can include music in the classroom :)