Artist or Not, I Teach Art

I wish I could claim a gift in the arts, any of them, but I can't. At the very least I have an interest. So when the school needed volunteers to help teach their art curriculum I was willing and nervous. " What if those little kids see right through me...would they boo..or refuse to follow my instructions and walk out in protest?" These are the kind of thoughts I let keep me up at night, that and how would I rescue all of my children if the house were on fire...actually the list is pretty long when it comes to thoughts I let ruin my sleep. 

I did my best to prepare, I studied the schools art packet and then did my own research. I learned some interesting tid bits about Vincent Van gogh that I thought would be appealing to 6th graders, so I added those in my lesson. Like, Starry Night was painted while Vincent was in an asylum. Vincent checked himself in to the asylum after an adult sized temper tantrum ended in voluntary ear removal . I was glad to know that he was well aware that that is pretty far from a normal reaction to having your roommate no longer want to live with you. He would look out his asylum window and sketch the view during the day, then painted from his sketches in the studio that the asylum provided. Paint wasn't allowed in his room. The village in Starry Night wasn't there in reality. He added it as his vision of an ideal home.

 

Then...I had to sketch, with a dry erase marker. I feigned confidence in my white board sketching skills and got the kids started with a half way decent outline. I was so grateful that no child asked if I was a real artist. Then their creativity with oil pastels took over and I just offered praise and encouragement. I really loved it. I think I found one of the best volunteer opportunities in the whole school. 

Morgan came up to me before I left to let me know I did a good job. She said she couldn't even tell I was nervous, except for when my voice kept shaking. Lovely. 'Till next month 6th graders!