Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade Art
Welcome back K, 1, and 2 families! My name is Amanda Mesenbring. I was the art teacher for TCU Montgomery K8 last year and I am returning with a lot of excitement and vigor.
I am writing this blog post to give you a bit of background on the art room and how it works. I run the art room a bit differently than past art teachers and art teachers in the area. I teach with a style that is called Teaching for Artistic Behavior, or TAB. TAB is a pedagogical strategy where students are the artists, design their projects from planning, to creation, to completion, and include their own choices or decisions within the process.
In K, 1, and 2, I mainly focus on exploration of art materials and basic art concepts. When students walk into my room, they use their creative drive to create their artworks while I take the stance of a coach and give advice or talk to students about their artistic choices.
This year, the art room will run a bit differently than past years. I will see K, 1, and 2 for 25 minutes at a time, but twice per week. Each unit will be split up into four of these class periods, or about two weeks of work. Here is a general explanation of the four class periods:
1. On day one of the unit, students will meet me on the carpet and we will explore an art concept through a guided demo. This can include a process or a new material. If time, students will get to practice that process or use the new material.
2. The demo day will be followed by two class periods where students can create artwork. We will start with basic materials in bins at our tables such as crayons, colored pencils, and markers. As the year goes on, new materials will be put out a tables and students will have choice in what materials they want to use that day. New materials may include cutting and pasting paper, painting with tempera circles/cakes, modeling clay, and legos or blocks for architecture.
3. On the fourth day of the unit, students will meet back on the carpet and share their creations from the last two class periods. Students will start by simply explaining their artworks to the class, but as the year goes on we will add in how to complement an artwork and how to ask questions about an artwork.
I am excited to meet the new kindergartners in our building, any new students in first and second grade, and reigniting relationships with previous students.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me!
Best wishes,
Amanda Mesenbring
amesenbring@tcu2905.us
