More Powerful Beyond Measure

If you have never spent a week with kids 5-7 years old who know they will soon be out of school for a week, then you ain't lived! For this art teacher spring break can not get here fast enough!!
Because it is Youth Art Month we are having Free Art in the art room. We've created Cylinder Sculptures using construction paper scraps, Stained Glass Eggs and recycled Tic Tac boxes into stained glass rectangles. We've painted; played with clay and used magnetic letters to spell art words that we see around the room. We've read art books, built with Abstack Blocks, built the Eiffel Tower from the tiny blocks AND used coffee cans, Styrofoam, sponges, and cardboard packing thingys to become architects. All of this with close to 750 kids for about 4 weeks and I am about to become well...a headline in some newspaper..."Art Teacher Seen Running from Art Room, Leaving Kids Covered with Paint!" News at 11!

There's been so much learning going on, and they have had so much fun! But enough already! While they have managed to be fairly productive, they have been on the ceiling with energy and talking. Not just normal, art room talking, but playground screaming and chatter, chatter, chatter.  I have barely been able to give instructions. These aren't bad kids, these are excited kids! 

Well, I'd had all I could stands and I can't stands no mo...so outside we went today. We painted on the school walls with plain water, and drew on the sidewalks with chalk...we had ourselves a little art party! I felt the feeling I had years ago when I first started teaching art...this is why I love my job, this is why I am an art teacher! The kids discovered so much about art today, they forgot about spring break and were actually only excited about art and their new found way to create. Who would have dreamed water in coffee cans, old brushes and chalk could sooth these savage baby beasts? It was a wonderful day in art!! And tomorrow is the LAST day before break!!