The 10 things I learned from my college teacher prep program : A Reflection

As of Friday, December 13th, I am now no longer a student teacher. After dozens of semesters, thousands of dollars, and countless stressed out sleepless nights, I can apply for certification and become a professional educator. My last day was wonderful, I'll make a post about it in the next few days, but I wanted to write a little something in the meantime.

The seminar that is tied to student teaching requires a reflection on our time at the college and our journey through teacher certification. At first I was really excited to write about my experience, but then I was given a rubric with various points I had to touch on in order to receive a good grade on the paper. So, in the end, it wasn't a true reflection of my time there and what I learned.

Instead, I decided to share what I learned with the rest of you. Maybe they will help some of you have more realistic expectations than I did, or maybe it can give you a little laugh, but here it is...

The 10 things I learned from my college teacher prep program :

All teacher prep programs are a bit different, so what I say may not specifically apply to you and your journey, but hopefully you can relate...

Student Teaching Signs

Being a teacher you start making signs for everything. Here are some of mine!

Just a sign to show new students where our finished artwork folders are for each period.

A simple sign for no-name papers. The elementary art teacher has a fun saying on her's, "No name, no fame." I love it, but it was a little too immature for high school students. 

After we started painting I tested out this student grade "acrylic." Why is acrylic in quotes? Because I am 99% sure this stuff is tempra. No way is this acrylic! It covers NOTHING. So I though I better let the student know.

This sign is one of my favorites. Now that we are painting we only have primary colors available, and students constantly ask how to make brown. These are just some of the many options. I explained that everything opposite on the color wheel will make a brown, but these were some of my favorites.

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I got 99 problems but setting up paint palletes ain't one!

 How do you set up paint palettes for each class of 25 high school students? Find out how and read more about my painting adventures in student teaching under the cut!

Student teaching update and ATC examples

It’s been a while since I have posted my own content, and it feels good to be back.

Student teaching is almost over! It’s both a happy moment and a sad one. I am happy to find a full time teaching position that will actually pay me, but I am going to miss my current students like crazy. They’ll be fine without me, but I’ll feel sad knowing they are making art and I won’t be able to see it.

These are some example ATC (artist trading cards) I made for an assignment. I gave each student a blank card and asked them to create an ART in honor of the artist Vincent van Gogh. My examples above are for Salvador Dali and Claude Monet.

The students had to use at least 2 different mediums on their cards (collage, paint, pen, etc). and the finished works of art were really interesting!

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PokéPaints

Making fun paint colors and names kept me sane during boring days in the classroom. The students got a kick out of them too. Full disclosure, I haven't played Pokémon since the original gold and silver on Gameboy Color. (I had a bright yellow one!) I only know the newer stuff because my sister and my boyfriend both play.  ♥ etsy ♥ facebook ♥ deviantart ♥ sometimes foodie ♥

Vincent van Gogh Lecture

This is the last presentation in my Impressionist Unit, but this one is absolutely my favorite. I love Vincent van Gogh and his works, and a lot of kids sum his life up as beautiful paintings and an ear joke. The tortured artist was so much more. Again, this is just a breif look at the presentation. The finished lecture is 18 slides long.

Georges Seurat Lecture

Another one of my powerpoint presentations. This time we have George Seurat, and his unique painting technique. These slides are just a short introduction, the full presentation is actually 21 slides long!

Happy Birthday Claude Monet!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAUDE MONET

Check out my Monet lecture slides HERE

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Claude Monet Lecture

Here is most of my presentation on Monet that I will be giving the kids in Art I tomorrow.
These slides are just a short introduction, because I will be lecturing and showing biographical videos.

I’m very happy with how things turned out.

If you want to view the whole lecture, or use it for your own class, you can view my listing HERE on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Color Study

Just a simple color study using watercolor paints.

This semester I am student teaching, and I am currently in a high school art room. I have been cleaning the room a bit to see some student work and I found tons of stuff from over 15 years ago. (From the previous teacher.) In that pile were some really beautiful watercolor studies, and the color related ones really caught my eye. I decided to make my own as a reference.

I showed the original studies to the current students and they seems to like the work. Most of them commented that it resembles fruity pebbles. (It really does!)

Watercolor WIP

This is a little watercolor I whipped together using student grade paints and  a magazine page as a reference.

Check out the image under the cut to see the finished piece.

Spooky Etsy Thank You Cards

This is my favorite of all the cards.

I'm so sorry that it has been so long since I have updated this account. I've been busy student teaching, which hasn't left me with much free time, and this blog has definitely been neglected. (I have been spending too much time on my Sometimes Foodie Account.) 

To fix this, I'll be updating with art and other goodies every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

To kick things off, here are some fall themed thank you cards. I add one to every etsy package that I ship out. If you have bought anything from me in the last month or so these might look a bit familiar...

My Daycare Art Lessons (Cheap art lessons for kids)

I have been teaching art at a daycare for over a year with a budget of $10 a class. I teach two classes once a week (one for kids age 2-3.5 and another for kids age 3.5-5+) which averages out to be 30 kids total. I'm sure you're all aware of this, but $10.00 does not buy a lot of art supplies, especially ones for 30 very small children.

I made this video to share a few of my art projects with you. If you have little ones around the house these might make for some fun weekend art projects, or if you're in a similar daycare/preschool situation with a limited budget this can help you stretch those dollars. 

This isn't all the lessons I have taught, these are just the ones that I still have examples of.

I plan on making another video with even more art ideas, so stay tuned.

Polymer Clay Lollipop Tutorial

Not too shabby for my first time.

A BLAST From The Past - My old poly clay work

We all start somewhere.

These are some of my older clay charms (5+ years old). I have been doing this for a very long time and I wanted to show all of you my humble beginnings.



Check out some close up shots under the cut!

Simple Summer Drink Recipe: Iced Honey Lemon

Iced Honey Lemon 

~ A simple and refreshing drink for summer ~

- 2 Tablespoons of honey*

- The juice of 1 large lemon

- A bit of boiling water 

- 5 cups of cold water