I had an unofficial mascot in my art room this year.
The story started ten months ago. Lots of chairs, tables and supplies from
other classrooms ended up in my art room so that social distancing could be
enforced in each classroom. It was decided that I would go to each classroom to
teach art, rather than having kids come to the art room so that COVID-19
exposure could be minimized. Between classes, I went to the art room to grade
art and do prep work. Over time, I became accustomed to the towers of chairs
and tables in the room. So when a second grader peered into the room recently,
his question surprised me.
“Mrs. Sarah, why is there an esophagus in your room?” He asked,
and so I glanced over to the mountain of chairs and supplies. Was there a
biology model tucked into the mountain? No, I don’t think so. And how does a
second grader even know the word “esophagus?” I was impressed.
“Oh! You mean the sarcophagus. That’s from the sixth grade
room, and they moved it down here. It took up too much room and they needed to
space the sixth graders out more,” I explained to my student. And how does a
second grader even know the word “sarcophagus?” Is he some kind of pint-sized Egyptologist?
I decided that Gus the sarcophagus would be my co-teacher. We
make a good team. Frankly, I feel like I do more of the work than he does, but
he brings a lot of style to the room. Gus and I cooked up some fun art projects
for the kids in the final weeks of the school year.
One of our spring projects was coloring chameleons. I drew a chameleon,
photocopied it, and the kids added lots of color to the critters. Bright colors. I
told them, “Show me how a chameleon changes colors. Add leaves. Add an
environment!” Some kids skimped on the leaves—I think they were worn out and
were counting the minutes until school let out—but some kids ran with it. I
gave the seventh grade scraps of origami paper to turn into leaves, and this
brought an extra dimension to their art. How cute are these?
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Next up: designing a fictitious package of food. It could be
based on a real food, I told the kids, but they had to change the name. I also
asked them to try to give the food unusual features. My example was “Growtoni,”
the rigatoni pasta that makes your hair grow extra fast. The kids used their
imaginations and really came up with some creative ideas.
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My youngest students, Kindergarteners, made 3-d sunflowers
last month. I did the prep work but the kids did cutting, gluing and accent
drawing to bring these happy flowers to life. They are inexpensive to make,
with paper plates from the dollar store, construction paper, pipe cleaners and
glue. Each flower is a little bit different, and I think they look cheerful.
And so, another school year has drawn to a close. I am
simultaneously shocked that it went so fast, and relieved that it’s June,
because it was a big, full year and I need a rest. Thanks for checking out my
wonderful students’ creations. Until we meet again, have a healthy and safe
summer.
I’ll see you soon, probably at the Dollar Store, where I’ll
be looking for things to turn into art supplies…
