G reat things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. -Vincent Van Gogh W elcome to my small steps in teaching children visual art so far…..

My first Art Director Position 1993 Summer Playground Program C hildren individually painted each section of this Matisse creation and were pleasantly surprised to see this fun “puzzle creation” turn into one large unified piece of artwork. Afterwards, we spent time paging through other pictures of Matisse’s artwork and the children gained a much richer appreciation for his artwork.

Camp CANN-EDI-ON This was a very exciting season for me and the campers. We did lots of earthy and fun art work that the traditional art classroom can not always accommodate- plaster face masking, splatter painting, detailed nature drawings, mixed media collages, tie-dye shirts, etc. And of course the traditional…………………………..

Camp CANN-EDI-ON Totem Pole The American Indian Symbols tell the story of the campers’ summer.

The Challenge I was given the task of creating the annual totem pole with in 13 weeks. Wow! I was to design and create the totem pole while cooperatively involving all of the campers in the creation process. The campers and staff did an outstanding job. The scrapping of the bark, sanding down, carving, sanding some more, painting and sealing was an enormous amount of labor. I gained a deeper understanding of the idea of teamwork.

My student teaching experience at York City Elementary Schools Here I learned the skill of “Art in a Cart”. These are some of my Learning Boards and the students’ artwork.

Learning Boards and artwork from York City Elementary School students

Student Teaching at York Suburban Middle School Eighth grade students demonstrated their increased drawing skills by applying the contour drawing method and three- dimensional shading techniques to their artwork.

Spring Art Show The sixth grade students and I transformed a supply room into a “rainforest showcase”. It was completed with a smoking mist machine, black light, and rainforest sounds for parents to enjoy while viewing the students three- dimensional rainforest creatures. -So fun!

Finally, my much anticipated first professional teaching experience with students at West Frederick Middle School.

8 th Grade Visual Art Students were challenged to create a year long portfolio in the areas of Critical, Cultural, Production, and Aesthetics.

Three dimensional Art by Eighth Grade Visual Art students Students demonstrated the ability to create an original mixed media architectural model by applying two architectural styles in history.

Sixth grade visual arts students creating paper mache sculptures to demonstrate a greater understanding and appreciation for the rainforest creatures and their environment.

Sixth grade students created functional coil pots by applying their learned knowledge of the Native American Coil Pottery method.

Fabulous artwork by one of our treasured special needs students at West Frederick Middle School. This was my first opportunity to learn from a special needs student, helping me to become a wiser teacher.

Eighth Grade Field Trip The Drawing Room at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. We were given the opportunity to do microscopic observations, fine charcoal drawings, ink stippling, and contour drawings.

Leib Elementary. Students demonstrated the understanding of symmetry by creating wooden symmetrical insect sculptures.

Now, I am learning new teaching tools for the classroom. Wikispaces Google Art Project Animoto Edmodo Ning Delicious Graphic Organizers Student Success Through Resiliency

Thank you for viewing my many small steps as an art educator. Jacquelyn Sengia mrs.sengiasartspot.wikispaces.com