Long Practicum: Week 1

First week of practicum is complete! I had a lot of emotions running through me as I entered the school doors on that first day. I felt nervous, excited, enthusiastic, and anxious but overall I was ready to get the show on the road. As the week progressed I started to feel like I was getting my feet settled in the class once again. This week I taught art which to me at the time seemed like an easy task. Well I was completely wrong! I had my first taste of teaching art (something I have never done before) and I came to realize very quickly how much there is to manage during an art lesson. Especially with the younger grades as a teacher you have to realize that things are going to get messy and there will be spills. With an art lesson you really have to think ahead and try to think of all the problems that could arise and think of how you would deal with them. As well with art there are so many logistics to consider. I did an art lesson on cherry blossoms where the students had to use paint to create a background consisting of grass and sky, a brown tree with branches and then beautiful blossoms of white and pink on the tree. This lesson took place over two days. Before the lesson began I had to consider how to distribute paint smocks, paint brushes, paint, paper, and water containers to the group of 25 students. This is super daunting when you think about it. I started to think about how I can get all the needed supplies into the hands of the students in the quickest yet most efficient way possible. It was quiet difficult to be honest. For the first day of art I tried to do too much. I was trying to hand out everything and I did get a couple of students to help but I could have assigned more jobs to the students in order for it to run more smoothly. As well, I realize I need to make it very explicit what the appropriate steps are for students once they have completed the task. I had many students coming up to me asking me where to put the paint, the smocks, and their art piece. For next time, I could write these steps on the board and state my expectations better. For the second day finishing this art activity, I put their smocks, brushes, and half finished art pieces on their desks while they were on recess which helped reduce the amount of items needing to be handed out. This was my first opportunity to teach art and it was overwhelming. I am thankful for the help of my SA because she did offer assistance with little things such as putting the art on the drying rack.

To end the week I did another art lesson that involved tissue paper cut into squares.  Students would use the end of their pencil and the tissue paper to create a flower for spring. My goal was to distribute the tissue paper to the students in a timely fashion without making too much of a mess. After talking to my SA we came up with a solution. I told the students that everyone would be starting with their leaves first and then once they are done they can come to the back table where they have a choice of two colours for their flower. I think it’s important to set restrictions because it saves time and is more efficient. Every student finished their leaves at a different time so this game me a chance to distribute tissue paper at the back table. I gave them a spring word search to work on while they were waiting for me to circulate the room and hand out some green tissue paper. Overall this lesson was managed better however I have come to the realization that art is one of those subjects where things are bound to go out of order because there is so many moving parts. I hope as time goes on I will figure out strategies on how to manage an art lesson even better. Overall I’m excited to see what week 2 brings.