My Little Shoe box.....

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view~until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.

                                                    ~To Kill A Mockingbird

                                                                    retrieved from pinerest.com

     Real empathy, have you ever taken the time to really think about it? What is it? Why is it important? How do you get it? How do you show it? Again, what is it?

                                                                                                       retrieved from coetail.com

     Empathy~what it means to me is the ability to feel another's emotions and feelings as if they were my own. 

Being able to put myself in someone else's shoes, knowing in my own mind how the situation that they are going through will affect me personally. 

What about Historical Empathy? What exactly is that?

     Historical empathy in my eyes is the same thing. It is imagining that I were someone else in their situation, and imagining how I would handle it, how I would feel or cope. There really is no difference to me. A situation is given and your imagination and heart is all that is needed to feel empathy for another, whether it be someone you know going through something, or someone that went through something one hundred years ago.  

The $64,000.00 questions are.....

1. How as teachers can we teach our students to have empathy for one another? 
2. How can we teach them historical empathy, for someone they do not know, that went through an event in our history long, long ago?
3. How can we make that historical event, and all that happened relevant and meaningful to our students?
4. How can we once again, bring our students into, and make them a part of our History? 
5. How can we bring History to our students?

     In our Social Studies class, we were asked to contemplate these types of questions. We then did a whole class activity to simulate how to get kids connected to historical events and to the people who lived through them. This activity simulated how these people had to make very difficult decisions when forced to flee from all that they know due to an event in our history. These events can be far back in our history, such as Anne Frank and the Holocaust, or as recent as the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The object is to help students foster empathy, which will then bring them into the History lesson, making it more relevant to them because it is now personal. 

The activity that was simulated in class was called 

the "Shoe-box Activity"

     The only materials required for this activity was a simple shoe-box......

and everything that we deem to be so important that we could not live without if we were forced to flee our homes and all that we know. 

The directions were simple and are as follows:

1. Before leaving for school on the day it is due....give yourself ONLY 5 minutes to gather what you can that you can not live without, because you are "fleeing."
2. However......everything that you grab, MUST fit inside your shoe-box, AND....your shoe-box must be able to close.

Sounds pretty simple right? 

WRONG.......

     This activity was much harder than even choosing the five artifacts that would represent who and all that I am to the world one hundred years from now. 

     How in 5 incredibly short minutes, basically just a fraction of a second, am I supposed to grab what is important to me, that I can not live without? Some of the things that were running through my mind as I was racing the clock were "Do I grab personal possessions, or survival things? Should I try and grab pictures? Identification? What!? What!? There is not enough time! This is impossible! How can I fit my entire life in a stupid shoe-box in 5 short minutes!?" 

and........there was not any panic involved, my life was not in jeopardy, and my worldly possessions would still be accessible at the end of the day when I returned home. In a real situation.....wow, that would be a real test I hope to never have to make. If I was feeling this way without any real peril, how my heart aches for those who have actually had to live this situation and flee from their life! 

Mission Accomplished

BINGO!

     I now know how to answer the 5 above questions, and a great way to teach my students empathy/historical empathy. I now know how to bring History to them, and be able to make it relevant and meaningful. I now know how to take my students into History and make them a part of it.  

      How? By creating a simulated event where my students have to try and have the mindset of those in history that have had to flee. 

     We brought our shoe-boxes in and then found our "Clock Buddies" and discussed why we chose the items that we did and their significance to us. 

      It was great to see the different strategies that my classmates used to determine what was the most important.

 

Some chose to be practical and survival....like my friend Kasey....

Some chose their childhood......Like my friend Lynnette because.......

     This holds true for my friend Maria below.......as she holds her shoe-box close to her heart.....

      This activity really put a personal twist on an abstract concept. Because of this personal twist, I became very interested in the lesson, I became a part of the lesson. It was easier to imagine myself in another's shoes and situation, and what they must have felt and thought. It made me want to know more....

My shoe-box.....

My Marriage License...Grandmothers Hankie....My Family's Birth Certificates

Journals....Pictures...My Art Pencils.....My Camera and charger...A Picture of my Family....

This activity put a lot of different things into perspective, as well as give strategies to make History come to life. As for myself, I realized that it is who we take with us, not what we take. I can see myself using these types of creative techniques to create empathy to entice, inspire, and engage my students in learning. 

Retrieved from pinterest.com

"What would you put in your shoe-box?"
                                                             Sydney Beauchamp

                                      

Artifacts....What story are you leaving behind?

                  “You know my name, not my story.                                                                                                                                        Jonathan Anthony Burkett, Neglected but Undefeated 

"What makes a good Social Studies Lesson?" 

This was asked of us during our Social Studies class.  So what does make a good Social Studies lesson? Our class did a little brainstorming and came up with the list of words to describe a good SS lesson below:

A Good Social Studies Lesson
 Contains, Involves, Gives, Creates.....

relevance

experience

music

poetry

interaction

integrating the Arts

field trips

acting out history

simulation

empathy

   Now I ask you, think about it, what do you think makes a good Social Studies lesson? Is it reading from a textbook, looking at a Power Point, watching a movie? What will make History and Social Studies content come to life? How can a teacher really bring her students into the lesson, make them a part of it, therefore making it theirs?

   These are questions I find myself thinking about not only for Social Studies and History, but for all subjects. The answer I have settled on is interaction, engagement and empathy. What better way to get a student involved in the lessons content than to physically and mentally bring them into the lesson? For Social Studies and History, creating empathy is one way to show a student what it may have been like. It gives the student a personal connection to those events of long ago. Simulating an event and making it personal creates connections to the content that students can't help but make. 

   One way this was done in my Social Studies class was to simulate a trade fair among us classmates. Everyone took a great part in this, and we had a lot of fun. This caused me to really think about currency "way back when." It opened up my eyes and generated more curiosity that I know I will follow up on. This simulation is definitely one I will incorporate into my own classroom.

   Another way we were brought into a lessons content was the Artifact activity. We were asked to think about what legacy we would leave behind if someone would dig up artifacts that pertained to us a hundred years from now. This seemed relatively easy, should be a piece of cake. All we had to do was collect 5 artifacts that would tell someone who we were if they were to find our artifacts a hundred years from now. If I created a time capsule, what would I put in it to represent me and all that I am? 

   After thinking about it for a while, I realized that it was not going to be "cake" like I had originally anticipated. This was really hard. How could I sum up my life, all that I am, was,have become, everything I believe in, and represent who I am in only 5 artifacts!?

   There are so many stages in my life, so many moments that have defined who and what I am. How was I to choose material artifacts that would accurately represent "ME?"

   Before the activity, we discussed "Artifacts" and what they were and what they represented. Again our class participated in a little brainstorming session and came up with the list below:

Artifacts, what are they,
 and what do they represent?

documents

authentic sources

they tell history

physical history

give perspective of:

how life was lived

what the culture was like

diverse culture

offers a concrete view of an abstract concept 

artifacts tell us about interests

roles in the community/tribe

migration

uses

luxury (wants/needs)

technology

   There it is, this is what I could use to determine which artifacts I would leave. Again, this should be easy right? After all, I had a list! NOT! This was going to involve some serious thought. After hurting my brain, these are 3 of the things I came up with that would somewhat represent "ME."

PHOTOS!! This is one way around my dilemma! This album contains many many photos of everything I hold dear!

My Marriage Licence...and a plaque about what it is to be a Teacher

 

My Journal, one of many that tell MY STORY

    The last artifact was a coffee mug that states "Everything tastes better with cat hair!".....and that should pretty much sum up that I am indeed a cat lover (or I just have a hairy house!) Really, I am just a cat lover :) 

   So what do my artifacts say about me? They say that my family, children and husband are what I hold most dear to my heart. They are my life, my very essence for being. I take my marriage to my best friend and hero very seriously. I am a teacher who likes to write and anyone reading my journal a hundred years from now, will learn all about me and my journey....and lastly....I love animals, cats in particular.

   After everyone walked around and viewed everyone's artifacts, we were asked to select someone and choose one of their artifacts. We were to write what we thought this artifact would say about about them to someone that may find them a hundred years from now.

       I chose Clare and focused on her family snapshot: What this picture says to me...

   I focused on one artifact The family picture is very relaxed. It is just a snapshot in time, but by looking at Clare, and looking into her eyes, it is very apparent, and so easy to see the love she has for her family. It is not a formal portrait, and looks like it was taken at the spur of the moment. It is real, not staged, or posed, but rather an authentic glimpse of her, and the love she carries for her family. When we then discussed our findings as a group, she reconfirmed what I already thought about her, as well as confirmed what i thought her family pictured portrayed.

   All of our artifacts as a class were collected and put in one place. What would this tell someone a hundred years from now about us?

      This table of artifacts holds so many stories about us, and what each of us has determined will represent the very essence of who we are, as individuals, and as a community the best. 

                                                       Image courtesy of pinterest

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature, it will never fail you...Frank Lloyd Write

     Nature, nature is full of so many artistic possibilities and challenges. Every form, whether it is broad such as landscapes or individual forms such as trees or flowers, presents its own set of challenges. Nature includes all of the Elements of Art and is its own blank canvas of possibilities.
     For my last Visual Arts piece, I selected to do a watercolor in the style of Georgia O'Keeffe, a brilliant artist who began her legacy in the early 1900's. She was a painter that is well known for her paintings focusing on nature, which include, landscapes, trees, leaves and flowers. O'Keeffe believed in self-expression which led to the exploration of Abstract Art. She, like any artist, experimented with several different types of mediums. She explored these mediums in stages that began with charcoal, moved into watercolor and then oils. 

"I have but one desire as a painter – that is to paint what I see, as I see it, in my own way..."

            Georgia O'Keeffe

     Water color was a new medium that I had not yet tried. I was a little apprehensive about it because I had always heard that it is a very unforgiving medium to work with as once the color is down, down is where it stays. I have always been told that if a mistake is made with water color, that mistake remains. There is no time like the present to dive in, so it was time to try something new and see where it led.

http://shop.fablevisionlearning.com

Peter H. Reynolds: Vashti and The Dot.

    My favorite flower is the Cone-flower, which I have everywhere in my gardens surrounding my home. It is delicate, but an incredibly sturdy and long lasting flower. It graces my gardens in midsummer all the way to late fall. The beauty doesn't stop there as I leave the flowers up all throughout the winter as a source of food for the birds. This flower not only gives me gorgeous color, but brings wildlife right to my door.  

Below is a picture of a purple cone flower taken this summer with my phone (for some dumb reason, it will not go through to my email so I can download :/ ) and the cone-flowers now....brrr.

Georgia O'Keeffe was famous for her water color paintings of flowers. 

image courtesy of pinterest

    It only made sense to paint a flower if I was going to try and do it within her style. Why not celebrate her style with attempting to paint a flower I dearly love? I began the process and became very involved.

    I used water color pencils for my first go around. I figured since water color has been said to be so unforgiving, it would be easier for me to control.

 I will have to say I loved it! I did have more control and since I am comfortable with pencils, I was able to use different hues of the same color to provide shading. After coloring with the pencils in different hues, I would add water. It was at this time that I fell in love with water color! It was actually pretty easy and the more comfortable I became, the more confident I became. When this happened, I began to experiment with color by adding additional colors that I would normally NOT think would be present. The addition of these colors actually enhanced the painting giving it depth and the illusion of texture. 

The results of playing with water color pencils....

 I was very pleased, yet I still wanted the flowers to stand out more, so I decided to add a light yellow background. I do not particularly care for this, so I will tweak it and add more colors until I get it the way I want. 

 After this painting, I wanted more! Georgia O'Keeffe also painted trees! She mainly used oils for her trees, but still, I was excited. 

image courtesy of pinterest

     I decided to have another go and create my own watercolor tree painting. I am not done with this piece as of yet, but I am very pleased with how it is turning out thus far. Again, I played around with colors that I wouldn't normally think belonged. Again I was pleased with the results. Oh the places I will go with this!

    These projects have been wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed stretching myself and trying new mediums. It is a wonderful feeling when something is tried and success is felt. I have never had "homework" that I have enjoyed more and was actually sad to see complete. I am once again inspired through these assignments where I was forced to "play" to meet the assignments requirements. Without the assignments, who knows when I would have the time to delve back into my art, let alone take the time to play and experiment. I do not think I will put my art away now that I have revisited how much I enjoy it and how it takes me to another place where the stresses and deadlines can't reach. It takes me to the place where their are no limits on my creativity. It is my happy place :)

    I found that I enjoyed not only the process of the art assignments, but I also enjoyed sharing my art with others. My art is something that is unique to me, and I like to hear it attached to who I am when others speak about it. I am an artist, mostly in my own mind, and always evolving, but none the less, I am an artist. 

Image courtesy of pinterest.

Salt Dough..What Can Be Done With Salt Dough?

This is the beginning of anything you want....

                                                    Quote found on inspiration.entrepreneur.com

And it is....I was excited to work with salt dough. I mean, it's like clay right? Who doesn't like to work with clay? I have always wanted to take the time to actually make Christmas ornaments with this stuff. You know, the cute little ornaments that my kids and I would make together and then paint together. Except....I just couldn't ever find the time to actually "do it," but rather would just buy the pre-made white clay ornaments that were just waiting to be painted. 

For this project, I originally thought "Ah, now I can finally make those ornaments that I've always wanted to try!" I had great intentions of doing just that when I signed up to have Salt Dough be my third visual arts piece. After completing my Aboriginal piece with my Tree of Life, I realized that 1. I just wasn't done with trees, and 2. I wanted to stretch myself and do something more original. I wanted to try and do something that I haven't done before, nor seen done (even though I'm sure it has been done by somebody somewhere).

My kids are grown and there isn't a chance that they would be able to sit and paint ornaments with me now anyway, right? Besides, it is still October and I am not in the mood for Christmas yet. So....I began to think of something I could do with the dough that was different. Since I had such a good time making the tree for my last piece, I started thinking about how I could incorporate trees into this project. 

I gathered the materials and made the dough. Easy enough, it is exactly what you see in the picture. Grabbed my canvas board and sat down to work. 

I wasn't sure exactly how to start, so I just started rolling out thin pieces of dough and placing them onto the canvas board. I had decided to make a tree of course. I figured I would try to make a 3-D picture, that was my overall idea. I anticipated having to glue the dough to the board after the tree had dried. I wasn't sure how everything was going to go together yet at this point, or even if it would. I made the tree and was surprised that it was actually quite easy, and after it dried, it stuck! (That was a little plus.) Being that it is October, I decided to paint the tree and background to make it spooky. It's Halloween, let's have some fun! I was playing around with different techniques and discovered that this was going to be the practice run because I had an entirely new and better idea!

I don't jump into anything and I thought about this for a couple of days. I somewhat had an idea of what I was going to try and do but had to think about it. As I was thinking, the idea once again started to grow even bigger. It was time to roll!

This time it was going to be a continuous scene I was going to sculpt on three different canvas boards. I learned from the scary tree trial run that I needed to paint my background first. This will make my life SOOOO much easier. I used a sponge brush and wet the canvases down. After that, I selected the colors for my background/sky and began to paint. The colors bled perfectly with the pre-wet canvas and I couldn't be more pleased. I was so happy with the way my sky/background was turning out, I wanted to paint everything!

Next I began to construct my scene. I wanted to make a pond scene with trees and cat tails. I had some issues with my dough and had to make another batch, which again created a completely different set of issues. Because I had the first batch stored, it became too wet to work with, I couldn't get the ratio right when I added flour, so... I scrapped it. The second batch was probably too dry. At least it was by the time I was done sculpting. It just didn't go as easily as the scary tree. I was really hoping I wouldn't pick my pictures up after it dried only to have it fall off in pieces. One thing at a time....

I used a butter knife as my carving tool. I don't own any tools....yet, so what was I to do but try to improvise? 

Anyway, I tried many different ways to sculpt the dough just how I wanted it. I was doing detailed work and nothing was working before the discovery of this little gem...butter knives aren't just for butter... I found it was easier to put some dough on the canvas and carve it around the way I wanted it to be with this magical little tool. It worked like a charm. 

I then took my work to class and touched up the background. I was becoming concerned because parts of my trees and cat tails were starting to "flake off." What to do, what to do... Well, I wanted to paint the dough first before anything else. Thought about black, but decided white would look best with my "stormy sky." So I painted all the dough, waited for it to dry, and then crossed my fingers that it would stay together. It was still a little "flakey....." Okay, it needs something to make it stick together... it needed some glue! Mod Podge is really glue right? 

TADA! It worked! I painted only the dough with the Mod Podge. I covered it thickly and made sure it was underneath as well to seal it to the canvas board. TADA TADA TADA! It stuck it stuck! So happy with this piece! I will be doing other scenes in the very near future. It was very relaxing, and I had so much fun watching it evolve. Who knew I could accomplish something like this?! 

Aboriginal Art....Hmmm, Looks Like Fun....

       Play is the highest form of research.                                                                   Albert Einstein

The next item I chose to explore on the list of Visual Art Project choices was Aboriginal Art. This looked to be fun and I couldn't wait to explore it. I had heard it is very relaxing to do and most that have done it loved it. Well that is exactly what I needed at this point in the semester! I had visions of not using paint, but rather using dried beans, peas, corn and any other kinds of seeds that I could get my hands on. My plan was to select a super cool image, sketch it out, gather my materials and have at it. I saw myself happily selecting seeds and gluing them down and I couldn't wait to get started. 

I began to research Aboriginal Art and the further into my research, another idea began to form. I discovered that this type of art was actually used as communication and storytelling for the Aboriginal people. Some of the canvases used were rock walls and tree bark. The stories told about what was around them at the time, where water was located, what type of animals there were, every day camp life, where they had been or traveled from as well as much more information. I was tickled to discover that they also used their art to embed hidden messages. This intrigued me as well as the symbols they used to tell their stories. Each symbol had one or more meanings depending on how it was used in the art. I was curious about the symbols and the hidden messages, so I dove further into my research and watched the idea that was beginning to form evolve. 

As stated, the Aboriginal People used many symbols in their artwork and story telling. Below is a sample of some of the symbols I found and used in my story.

                                                           

Above image found on www.aboriginalartonline.com 

I found that as I learned what the symbols meant, I wanted to know if I could figure out what was going on in some of the images I found on Google Images. It became a game and I was able to actually make sense of some of the paintings and get the general gist of what was happening. I could also make out some of the stories which was a lot of fun. Again, the idea that was evolving for my piece became more clear and it couldn't have been farther from what I was originally thinking with the dried seeds. I was going to use paint after all. 

Since story telling was what I was getting out of my research, I decided to tell my story through the use of Aboriginal Art, also called Dot Painting. The use of circles was heavy in the Aboriginal artwork and was a lot of the times in the background of the pieces that I viewed. Since it was my story that I was going to tell, I incorporated the use of circles as well as some of the different symbols that were used in my piece. 

My family is my world. I love trees and decided to use a tree as my main symbol and central focus of my piece. I looked at it as my own Tree of Life as it is my family tree and again my family is my world. The circle around the tree stands for my family being the central most important thing in my life. 

The tree is enclosed in the circle of my family. Each "petal" on the outside of the circle stands for a member of my family. The four elders, which are my parents and my husbands parents are at the four corners of the circle. One set on top and bottom and one set on both sides,  The elders are represented with two half circles. Each half circle "petal" represents a member of my family, even the two babies are represented "small petals."  These symbols for elders and people in my painting are the same symbols that were used in the Aboriginal paintings. 

The symbol for a gathering place is a circle with rays extending on either side.

I incorporated this into my painting with the rays extending from either side of my circle, as our Tree of Life is central to our family.  

The larger blue circles in the background that surround our Tree of Life, are stars.

My family has always looked to the night sky and admired the beauty and wonder of it all for as long as I can remember. My grandmother used to tell me stories how she would look at the night sky filled with stars with my older brother. My older brother would then wake me and my little brother up in the middle of the night to go out and view the stars. I now do the same with my children. It is one of the times when we have wonderful and meaningful conversations. 

As I was completing my painting, I did not realize that the way I was adding dots of paint to my tree was actually forming a heart at its center! This was purely accidental, and I couldn't have been more pleased as it truly fits with the theme of my story. 

"My family is my heart."

I truly enjoyed learning about the Aboriginal Culture and how they used their art to tell stories. I am very pleased with my piece as it tells my story. To the ordinary eye, this may look like just a picture with many different designs, but those who knows about Aboriginal Art and their use of symbols, they will see there is a story here that contains multiple layers. It is the story of my.....

                                                                                                      Quote found at http://www.babble.com/kid/quotes-for-mothers/

Introduction to Visual Arts Projects.....

Art from Nature.....    

          "Life is about using the whole box of crayons."                                                                                                                                        ~RuPaul

We began a series of Visual projects in Art. As the list was coming around, I found myself worrying about which project(s) to choose. We were able to make our selections for the upcoming four weeks. For me, I felt the pressure of making an uninformed and split second decision. That is not how I roll. I usually research everything before making decisions that I feel are important. I know, you're probably thinking to yourself "It's an Art project for Pete's Sake! What is there to decide about, pick something and move on!" 

The list of choices was plentiful and each project we were to choose something different. Some of us were looking the different projects up on the computer, others were randomly choosing by what sounded fun, easy, interesting, etc. To answer the above question that I am sure some have thought as they read this, Art is a huge deal to me. I put my whole heart and soul into my Art. While I have my fingers in several different "craft pies" I tend to stay within my comfort zone for art, which is typically drawing or light sketching or something crafty. I have not sculpted, used pastels, water colored to any extent, and have only used acrylic's under strict instruction (U Can Paint 2). The assignment of having to choose something both intrigued me as well as gave me cause for concern. "What if I chose something that will  bomb, or turn out to be a total disaster? This is for a grade. My name is going to be attached to this. My feelings and expressions will be poured into this project...." These are some of my initial thoughts....

                         

                 

When the list came around to me, instead of the concern I had originally felt at being graded for my interpretation of Art, I felt like a little kid at Christmas! There were so many choices and different avenues that I could go! I wanted to do it all, and after selecting and completing the ones I have thus far, I think I just might try my hand at everything on the list as a personal challenge.... 

The first Visual Art Project I chose was Art from Nature. I love nature and figured "How hard could it be?" I already was beginning to form a plan about what I wanted to do. I thought I would make dried flower/weed bouquets glued to rustic picture frame. I had done this in the past for Christmas presents and it was a huge success.

But then I thought, "Why? Why do something I've already done?" Now was my opportunity to stretch my creativity a little bit, so I began to think about what I liked in nature. "Hmmmmm, I love pine cones and rustic things, love flowers, and dearly love the season of Autumn." I Googled and Pinterested for a bit and found it! I was going to try my hand at pine cone flowers! I did this, but wanted to do more...

So I continued to Google and Pinterest a bit more for things I could do with pine cone flowers and hit "pay dirt!" I was going to create a sunflower out of corn husks and pine cone flowers! I could not wait to get started!

"Lucky" is great company for these types of adventures....

I went out and collected my materials (Thank God some of the farmers were on the ball and planted corn early so the husks were brown and ready for picking!) I picked several tiny pine cones from a tree in my yard and collected other pine cones from my craft supplies. 

It proved to be a little more difficult at first than I anticipated. I thought I would be able to knock out the pine cone flowers in no time. That was not the case. Dismanteling the pinecone took time and then constructing it took even longer. There is a trick to it to make it look natural and actually like a flower. Once I got the hang of it, I was off and running. (I took one day at home and constructed all of my flowers so I could construct in class)

I made one sunflower in class and was quite pleased with how it turned out. It went together rather quickly and I only had one serious battle with the glue gun which I lost. I made a sunflower using the pinecone flowers for the center. I glued the husks down first on a plastic lid and then added the flowers. While I am very pleased with how it turned out, I found myself wanting try something different. The next flower I made was smaller and I split the husks in half and tried turning them this way and that when gluing them down. Instead of the preconstructed flowers for the center, I used the tiny pinecones that I picked off of my tree. The result was fabulous! I love the way the second flower turned out!

I learned that as I create, the ideas start to flow and I find myself wanting to use not only "every crayon in the box" but several outside the box as well. In Art, there is no right or wrong way. It is an expression of an individuals creativity. Having that freedom of being able to explore and create in a safe and supportive environment is an amazing feeling. I can only hope to create that type of environment for my students that our professor has created for us. 

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