My first year begins!

I wish I could have started this a little sooner, but better late than never...right? I started this blog a few months ago for an assignment from my MAT program. As you can see, I abandoned it shortly after. But now that I have started my first year of teaching, I thought it would be a great idea to incorporate this blog into my “rewards system” for my students. I will post weekly (hopefully?) to let you know what we are working on and showcase some of my students’ work. It is my hope that this will be an all-inclusive website for fellow teachers and students. Once I work out the kinks, I will post my favorite art books that my kids enjoy, pins I love that pertain to art in the classroom (you can follow me if you click on the tab above!), and other fun and creative stuff I find along my way down this journey.
It should be noted that I am an art on a cart teacher, so I do not have a fabulously wonderful classroom to show you. I will post my boards as I go along...and maybe my cart (which is amazing!). So here are my boards for the start of the year...enjoy! 

Sorry the picture is at such a poor quality, but hopefully you get the idea. The two black pieces of paper will house my objectives for the week. I will keep y'all posted with that as well! 

I chose the quote "Creativity takes courage" by Matisse for one main reason: studies have shown that children will stop creating art by the age of 9 if they are not encouraged. ASTOUNDING! As an art kid, I never knew this. I am making a vow to myself (and my students) that I will always provide encouraging words to support creativity within my students. (Another reason I chose this quote is my love of Henri Matisse. He was an important artist in the foundation of my Masters thesis and I am constantly drawn to his use of color as expression.) 

My next board:

Inspired by many museums, but more specifically, the MoMA. I teach in an area where there are not many local museums (there a few when you get into the main city). So, I decided to make a museum they could see everyday. Of course, it is their artwork that will be shown. The black laminated papers serve as permanent matting for the future artworks. I hope that by displaying their artwork in a "museum" it will encourage them to do their best and maybe visit more museums in the future. Field trip, maybe!? 

So this is enough for now, but I will keep y'all posted!