Something that we tend to forget to do as teachers is to SHARE OUR SUCCESSES! We are always so focused on the times that we fail that we don't take time to celebrate the times that we win.

I had one of those moments today in a 2nd grade classroom! This grade can be pretty tough sometimes because they are just starting choice in the art room. It's new, it's confusing, and it's a lot of responsibility. They LOVE making their own choices, but they don't always love following our expectations. This can lead to quite a few headaches.

But I had a moment today that absolutely blew me away! I was sitting in class checking some sketchbooks when I overheard a conversation between two students. Student A had wandered over to Student B's work area to check out what they were doing. I encourage them to do this if they are having trouble coming up with ideas or if they need a small brain break. It gives them the opportunity to share what they are doing with their classmates (and maybe even do some spur of the moment critiquing!).

Student A was asking about Student B's clay project and what it was going to look like when it was done. Student B was having some trouble explaining what his vision was for the project. I listened to him struggle for a moment with finding the correct words (wanting to step in and help, but also wanting to give him the space to work it out by himself). But he couldn't seem to get the words out. So in a moment of TRUE ARTISTIC THINKING he said "Here, let me show you my plans!".

Student B proceeds to whip out his sketchbook and turn to his plans for the project! He then takes a couple of minutes to walk Student A through his drawings, his material list and his vision for the finished product.

WOW!

The whole exchange couldn't have taken more than five minutes, but it made my entire day! I love that this student chose to use their plans as a tool to communicate their ideas.

If every day could be like this one, I would be one happy art teacher!

What successes have you experienced in your art room??

This is an example of what planning might look like in my classroom. This particular sketchbook is not the one from the story above, but it gives an idea of what my expectations are for their sketchbook planning. They do not all need to look the same, but I need to be able to tell that they spent time thinking through the process of their project and what they want it to look like when it is finished.