Andie Carpenter on thu 21 jun 01
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!! I got DOZENS of responses within 24
hours, and everything is back on track. I am so dependent upon this
group for moral & educational support - I really wish there were a
better way than words to thank everyone.
Several people also wrote asking for a summary of the answers I got.
Here goes:
Ideas for Teaching Kids (in general):
--Mix it up: putting a teenager or two in the room with younger kids
gets the kids motivated (they like to impress the older kids, and the
older kids are flattered by the attention)
--Don't be too strict: give the kids a general theme, and let them go
with it. If they don't finish the project, that's okay. If their piece
blows up in the kiln (as I had happen this morning), bring the pieces in
a bowl, because most of them will think that the explosion is as cool as
the piece they made
--When in doubt, PolyClay. Today I handed out blocks of polyclay, and
the kids were thrilled with mixing the colors & making patterns in it. I
told them to make something they've always wanted, and got everything
from a polyclay guitar to lions to "diamond" rings to a little girl who
made miniature birthday cakes (see budget time for therapy, below.)
--ALWAYS HAVE EXAMPLES (clay books with pictures are good, too)
--Budget time for therapy (the kid who wants to make gravestones for her
dead cats and the kid who bursts into tears every time something isn't
perfect can probably benefit from a little extra attention.) Also: stay
away from the "family" projects. The printmaking teacher at this camp
was having the kids make prints from leaves and build a family tree; she
will now be in therapy herself after a week of dealing with questions
like, "where should I put daddy's new family?" and "what if my mommy's
in jail?" and trying to help the kids sort through a maze of
grandparents, step grandparents, mom's boyfriend/dad's girlfriend, step
silbings, etc.
You've only got a week, so don't go there. Think light & fun & imaginary
worlds.
Ideas for 6-8 year Olds:
--plan several small projects, as they may have short attention spans
--read a story or poem, and them let them make the characters as they
imagine them
--anything with a hole in it can be a windchime
--bring a snack
--take lots of breaks
--use drape molds for slabs and coil pots
--mancala (a slab board & clay marbles)
--games: I got this week's kids back on track by helping them make
polyclay checkers shaped like ladybugs, butterflies, and spiders.
They're all happy, and regardless of the outcome of their "real clay"
pieces, they have a game to take home. If I were doing it over, I'd
suggest checkers to begin with, and see what kinds of shapes they could
come up with for the pieces. I do think they got overwhelmed by dreaming
up their own games and then trying to put them into practice in such a
short time frame. Several of them can't remember what they were trying
to make, etc. The checkers kids, on the other hand, have gone a really
creative direction with the colors and patterns on their boards, and the
checkers shaped like animals, etc.
I've decided, based on your recommendations, to read next week's six
year olds some Shel Silverstein poems, and have them make the characters
as tiles, these will be strung as very simple windchimes. While the
bisque fires, we're going to make air-dry clay chia pets, and if I can
find seeds, plant some alfalfa sprouts in them. And yes, I'm bringing
juice boxes and animal crackers, as well as some paper and paint for the
kids who finish early or get bored with the clay.
What To Do Before You Show Up To Teach (Business Stuff):
Thanks to your recommendations, I got this taken care of, too. What I
now have in writing is: my pay, my class minimum & maximum, the exact
times, the supply fees & who buys them, the fact that they have
liability insurance and intend to be held responsible should anything go
wrong, and emergency contact cards with any allergies/medical conditions
on them. That should do for now - I can add things the next time around
if new things come up.
My New Mantra:
I won't say who, but someone wrote to say they'd love to sympathize,
were it not for the fact that they'd been suckered into a classroom full
of 3 & 4 year olds! Misery loves company, and now my new mantra is "at
least they're not eating the clay!" I tried to come up with something
worse than being tossed in with kids that young without alot of
professional
training, but that's about as bad as it gets. You know who you are, and
I'm pulling for you.
Thanks again for the help -
: ) Andie
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