Wow. April did not feel like it lasted more than a few days. Looking back at my year, it's kind of insane to think it's really wrapping up for good. If I'm completely, totally honest, I feel like I've just started. So, what happened in April? Well, the first week was over break, so I spent a lot of time drawing and getting my art ready for APEX! I'm trying to have an animation done for my presentation and hopefully 8 comics to show off my art development and my experience teaching at Rootstown Elementary. It's taking a lot of work so hopefully I can manage to get it all done in time! All of the work and commotion has me scrambling to stay on top of life and keep motivated. Burnout is real but I'm fighting the good fight! Being back in the classroom was very much a hit-the-ground-running scenario, right back into clay, my personal favorite project! All of the students seem so happy and excited to be working hands on, and I love all the conversations I get to have with everyone as I'm helping them out with their creations. Here's a few of them on the drying rack! It's amazing the difference in authority and perspective I have compared to my first days at Rootstown. Now, if I see any kind of problem or person needing help, I jump right in and take charge without prompting, and it's done wonders for keeping things in check and running smoothly. As long as I put my mind to it, it's really a lot easier than it seemed to get the kids to listen and respect you, as long as you show that you're really listening to them and respecting what they have to say, too. I've done a few more mini lessons, put together a powerpoint on ancient pottery, and have been doing lots and lots of one-on-one work, which is my favorite. I know most of the students by name now, and it's been the highlight of my day to sit down with them and work through their ideas step by step and see them come to life. It can be challenging to work with the rowdier kids, even more challenging to work with the shyest kids, but I'm learning how to go about different dispositions and what they're all responding to. I'm really going to miss seeing them every day! It has me thinking I might be a good camp counselor, if I ever get the opportunity. Besides clay and the little side projects, we've also done some life drawing, yarn painting, and general comics and storyboards. It's been so sweet seeing them respond to the art I show them and having them come up to me with their own proud creations! I'm so shocked it's almost over and so grateful for all the lessons and skills I've learned throughout my project. Now all I have to do is finish up my art projects on the side, get my presentation ready, and keep doing my best in the classroom. May is going to include finishing illustrations in the classroom, getting all of the kids work tidied up and ready to either be displayed or taken home, and of course saying goodbye and moving on to whatever's coming next. I'm excited to graduate but I'll be so sad to say goodbye! As always, I've been doing art commissions for money on the side, here's this month's art and commissioned works! Thank you for reading and sticking with me as I learn the ropes and what it means to be a teacher in the real world. I hope May is just as good as April was as I move on to life after Bio-Med! Thanks and have a great day :)
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Spring break is here! March has been a lot different than the rest of our internship so far- mainly because we've getting ready for the art show! At Rootstown, there's an annual student showcase where parents and community members can come visit and see what the kids are up to- and this means a lot of work for me and my fellow intern. We've been rather busy sorting, classifying, framing, and hanging art pretty much everywhere we can possibly fit it, including classrooms, hallways and all the boards that can handle staples. It's been neat to see all the work from classes we don't always see, though! The biggest challenge of this month is staying organized with all the different classes, folders, and types of art to sort through. We've had so, so many drawings to look through and it's very important to keep them in their right place so the kids get their art back! We have to look through every class and every grade, and once we select the art show pieces, take them to a separate room to be framed and hung up for display. It's taken a great deal of collaborating and patience. Overall it's been fun though! I do miss seeing all the kids every day but we have had the experience of working with new staff members (mainly the librarian) and talking to lots of people about the showcase itself. I also re-organized the classroom and folded all the art shirts to make the space more manageable when I was there on my own, and it's made it a lot less overwhelming to navigate. Another fun thing about this month is that I learned something along with the kids! We started a sewing unit (I know, I was nervous about 5th graders with needles too but apparently they do it every year) and I got to learn a bunch of new stitches with the students, and I daresay I was even more excited than the kids. I want to make things now! The kids were having a lot of fun making little patches and pillows and whatnot- the only struggle has been threading the needles. I'm afraid my clumsy hands weren't much help in that department either, haha... Besides the sewing, the kids have been finishing their characters, making paper flowers to decorate the tables at the show, and writing about their future careers. It's all very fun to see! I love to talk to them about what they're doing and hear their thoughts about things- every one of them is so different and so unafraid to be themselves and it's honestly so refreshing. I can't believe I've been here for so many months! I feel like I just started and its made me have so much respect for educators and what they do. It takes so much energy, hard work and planning. I'll be so sad to say goodbye to the kids after this! I really am baffled at how quickly senior year has gone by and how much I've done and learned in this time. This month has definitely been more practical work and planning, but I think it's really good to be able to see the behind the scenes and be a part of what has to happen to make all the fun events at school a reality. Definitely a new perspective. Well, that's it for this month! Thanks again for reading, and have a good day, night, or whatever it is you have right now. Here's the art from this month! Hello again! We've made it through February, and I'm not dead yet. Success! Jokes aside, it's been a good month- more or less the same protocol, but I was able to make my own lesson plans this month with their own print out! It was so fun to see the kids work on them. Before we get into that, here's this month's art. I gave the kids a mini lesson on story-boarding and sequential art- as well as jobs that have to do with it and the types of things that need storyboards, like movies, cartoons, and video games. They seemed to enjoy it and I got a bunch of questions, so we ended up having a little bit of a discussion before I handed them a storyboard sheet I made and let them make their own! Take a look at some of the examples. ...And we're back. And wow, is it cold. January's been rather hard to get hours for actually in the classroom due to weather, my weak immune system, and other scheduling conflicts, so I've taken to doing a lot of research and planning at home, too. Overall, though, it's so, so good to be back! I'm going to be honest and say that by the last few days of winter break, I was seriously itching to get back into the classroom. Once you get used to being around little kids all day, everything else seems, well, kind of boring. Getting back was definitely really, really fun. As always, here's January's art! My art's been a lot simpler this month because it's mostly been commissions! Now that I'm 18, I'm able to sell my art online and it's been an awesome experience that I'm able to talk to the kids about too- showing them that if you're responsible and motivated enough, art is something that people can turn into a living- or at least another way of making money. It's so cool to get paid for what I love. As for the time in the classroom, we are finally finishing up the mask unit! I am beyond impressed by their skill and imagination with these masks. Every single one looks unique! They've all worked so hard and honestly, the kids that we thought might be 'trouble' have been the ones begging to be able to make another mask. I'll add pictures as soon as they're all displayed! (I try not to take pictures while class is going on just because of the kids' privacy). As we move the mask project along, we're bringing in character design, aka one of my very favorite art concepts. We're making characters or drawing characters from American history or that represent what makes our country great and will be displaying them in the library! This project is combining life drawing (with real live models- the students! They love posing at the front of the classroom, and it's really funny) and character design exaggeration. I've been doing drawing lessons on body language and body shapes to show the viewer what kind of character they're looking at. The biggest challenge is honestly just winter. I'm one of those Seasonal Depression people and I haven't reached my peak of it yet, but I have been noticing a drop in my focus and overall mental health so I'm trying to keep on top of everything as I handle that, and I get sick a lot in winter! I've already missed about 3 days in January due to the flu. Not to mention the snow days and icy roads. Winter is not my friend, reader. Winter is not my friend. But that doesn't mean I'm not trying my absolute best and putting my best foot forward! No matter what's going on in my life I've promised myself that while I'm in the classroom, I'm going to be present, and the only thing that I focus on is being someone for the kids to lean on and look up to. I think that's exactly what I owe them. Other happenings have been pretty mundane! I've been exploring new parts of the school on missions to copy assignments and deliver supplies, using new materials and tools like a loom and a giant paper cutter, and helping kids one on one with all their awesome personal projects. One day I was watching the kids on my own while Ms. Horvath was needed somewhere, and I heard a kid crying. So I turned around as fast as I could and asked the class "Who's crying?! What's wrong?" and I see that one of the girls had made these GIANT fake tear drops and was holding them in front of her face, fake crying. She even made some for her table mates and an entire symphony of (very convincing) fake sobbing ensued. I wonder what our neighboring teachers think I was doing to the poor kids, haha. You never know what's going to happen in the classroom! Hannah, Ms. H and I are also working on a personal project together! We haven't quite decided on what direction to go in but it's all very exciting- I'm sure I'll have more to write about next month once we get it set in motion. February should be a lot of fun- hopefully not as cold! I'm looking forward to whatever the next moth will bring. Thanks as always for reading! Ahhh, it's finally winter break! Senior year is basically halfway done. With accelerated term and all, December was a lot different than the previous months, though difficult in its own regards. We've been dealing with some very squirrely students and working with the messiest stuff possible, and my paper thin immune system means I've been missing days here and there, too. This month was all about masks. We've been making paper mache creations, and boy has it been an adventure. From mixing paste, sculpting cardboard, pouring paint and doing constant damage control and advice, mask season is in every sense a time of anarchy. That being said, this has to be my favorite thing I've seen them do so far! Not a single student has a mask identical to the other. We've seen everything from deer, Santa, and pop culture icons to rhinos and rainbow unicorns. This is really a project that brings out every individual's personalities and strengths! It's great seeing them work together, too. The biggest struggle for me this month was avoiding burnout. Between being sick all the time and the promise of winter break around the corner, it was easy to lose sight of what I'm doing and why some days. It only takes a few drowsy minutes in the classroom, however, to remind me that teaching is an all-in field. You really can't give it anything but your best when you're in charge of kids and helping them along, and I owe it to my supervisor and the kids in my class to be doing my best, no matter what. Always working harder to be present, active and positive in the classroom! Here's some of the art I've done personally this month. So, yeah! This has been a very simple month. I took Sci-Fi and Archeology, and have been thinking about the future (accepted into Kent!) lately and what I'd like to apply to my career moving forward. In the classroom, it's really just been briefly teach a lesson, and then just a matter of regulating supplies, talking to the students and cleaning like a madman so we can avoid accidents and clutter. Very easy stuff this month, though it takes a lot of energy. I'm stoked for the long break, hopefully I can crank out some lesson ideas and recharge a little bit before we jump back in.
Thanks as always for reading! Here's to a good break and good holidays, and continued adventures in the classroom with our crazy art projects. Hello again! I can't believe it's basically December. Months tend to go by fast, but this was kind of unreal! It has been chaos. Between trying to get my volunteer hours in (I had to chase my church supervisor down), hosting events, and being in the classroom, it's just been a really wild ride. I'd be hard pressed to tell you all of what happened in my personal life this month- it just went so fast! As always, here's the art I made this month. This month in the classroom was a lot of chaos. Two words for you: puppet unit. I'm talking hot glue, buttons, and mutiny for a solid week and a half. I've been snipping, gluing, re-building and evaluating sock characters of every shape and size. I learned that I'm definitely going to have to learn how to be more assertive with some kids if I do pursue some sort of education career. I've had to stop a kid chopping a marker in half with a pair of box scissors, dealt with a massive paint spill on a creepy doll in the classroom, and had to take a lot of fifth-grade sass. That said, they're not all too bad and seem to understand when I explain that it's in their best interests to just... chill out for a second and do the art. Just look at what we got done! The highlight of my month was the community mural! someone from Kent State had us assign a giant mural to the whole art class of Rootstown- so everyone had an opportunity to work on it. I sketched out a big part of it and it was so great watching them bring their ideas to life. We had a few bumps in the road (a couple bombs, some fire and a massive fluorescent orange Donald Trump to name a few), but it came out so good and everyone had a blast coming out to the hallway to paint the big sheets of mural paper. Even the most infamous for trouble making were really psyched about the project and had a lot of fun! Other things that happened were the mask unit- I did a big demonstration on possible designs and helped some kids make templates. Some of the masks are already so funny, I'll be sure to photograph them once they're finished! We've also been doing winter scenes with the 3rd graders, and Hannah and I have the job of displaying and organizing all of the kids' art projects once they're done. The biggest challenge aside from managing the chaos and the occasional renegade fifth grader is making sure we're doing what Ms. Horvath wants us to be doing- I think sometimes she forgets to elaborate on exactly what she wants so our work often has to be altered or explained. She has a different lesson for every individual class on the four-day rotation system for each grade, so it's tricky to anticipate what she's going to want or need, but I think I've gotten the hang of it! I'm looking forward to making my own lessons- I've decided to work hard over Christmas break so they're actually polished and engaging, but it's going to be awesome. I'm so excited about what's next, and my meeting with Ms. Hammond made me feel a lot better about everything, too. November has been pretty manageable in the grand scheme of things, though! I'm still really happy with my internship and always look forward to seeing the students. With 2019 around the corner, I'm sure there's still a lot more to do! See you again next month. Hello again! October has come and gone so fast, I have no idea where it went. It's been... a bit of a stressful month for a lot of reasons, and I spent about a week of it in Texas, so I've been playing catch-up for a bit. Here's my personal art from this week! Trying to get better at design and composition, so I made a lot of very stylized things and it's been a lot of fun experimenting! Not as many detailed, finished pieces this month, but I'm still happy with what I've been able to create. The internship has been going... pretty well. I think we're starting to get into the swing of things! It's been kind of hard sticking to the ever changing curriculum and making sure that all the kids are getting the same amount of engagement out of their art class, and we had a few communication issues, but overall the kids are a blast as always and I'm learning how to be comfortable talking to and teaching just about any class. I've even been able to meet a whole new group of students in the 4th grade! I do my internship alongside another student, which is always a lot of fun and keeps me sane throughout the chaos. Together we've been organizing the art, helping each other keep track of what needs done, and helped supply the kids with their paints and other tools. I'm trying to show initiative by paying close attention to the students and making sure that they can get the supplies and the extra help they might need, as well as remember what they like so I can help keep them interested and feel listened to! I've been getting ambushed with hugs and high fives and it totally makes my day. I also participated in Inktober, an online drawing challenge, for about a week. There were prompts that they posted for anyone to draw using only ink. Here's what I came up with! The highlight of my month (besides, you know, staying in Texas) was probably working with the fourth graders, which I've never really had a chance to do. It was a lot of fun meeting a whole new class and seeing how creative and excited they were about their projects! My friend and I also were given cute little drawings from one of the third graders. So. Precious.
I've learned to be open to criticism as I'm still learning how best to organize a classroom setting and lead those younger than me, and I'm learning about things that kids don't respond well to from the teacher (like frustration, lectures, and disorganization), and ways to keep the kids on track (working with their interests, talking to them on their level, and creative freedom). I'm trying to get better at voicing my ideas as I'm not very good at confrontation but I'm learning more about the kids and how we can best help them, so here's to planning and improving that, too! Challenges this month have been just trying to stay sane as our internship details got a little bit confused, college applications come up, and life keeps happening in a lot of ways personally. I'm happy the month is ending and I hope I can stay afloat as we keep moving forward! I'll have to keep on keeping on no matter what. Here's to a good November! Thanks for sticking with me. Hello again, reader. So, obviously teaching hasn't killed me yet! It's been so fun so far- I'm getting really comfortable in the classroom and have already gotten permission to lead and present my own lesson. I think I have some really solid ideas on how to get the sleepy, antsy class to get more excited about what we're working on. I've also been hard at work with my art. Here are all the pieces I've finished this month! I'm really excited about how much art I'm able to make now that my schedule is so open. This month has been one of really settling into what it's going to be like at my internship on a daily basis. I've learned that this class is much less... organized... than I originally expected, but it's a lot of fun and I feel like I am definitely learning and also honing my art! I've met so many kids and have been hard at work trying to figure out how they learn best and what makes class fun and exciting for them. We've been doing project prep, class management, and our own art (as well as being a bit of a distraction sometimes), and I'm really enjoying what we do! Our teacher is a bit... wild, so I'm learning a little about ways I'm not sure I personally would run a classroom, too. That said, her class is still a lot of fun. The highlight of my month was actually a few days ago. My heart just about melted completely. I came into the school late, because I had an interview with my guidance counselor, and was heading down to the art room. Out of nowhere, a girl from one of my third grade classes bolted out of her classroom to give me a huge hug! It literally made my week. It's the third hug I've gotten from the kids this month, and I'm living my best life. Another highlight was teaching! I've taught about 3 little mini lessons all on my own, without any planning. Sometimes class gets out of control or the kids get kind of bummed because the teacher can be a little strict, and I've taken to just standing up, grabbing a marker, and doing a lesson interacting with the class. My Bio-Med speaking skills are finally being put to the test! It's all really wild and fast paced but I really enjoy what I do and I'm just super thrilled about all of it. This month, I learned that I have a lot more ability than I thought I did when it comes to taking charge and just doing what needs to be done. Like I mentioned earlier, our teacher is sweet but sometimes really disorganized and strict with the kids. I've started getting things ready when she's not here, keeping the class settled down, and planning my own lessons (with her permission, of course; I'm not staging a coup) and it's really... empowering? I don't think that's exactly the right word but I'm starting to trust my gut a little more. I also learned COMICS ARE HARD. I'm so behind my original plan for my webcomic! It's so frustrating. I've made the first page, which I'll post a preview of below, but I really thought I'd have more of it done. Most of the sketches are still in my notebook. I've spent so much time writing about it and thinking of the ideas while practicing my other art, that I really haven't moved as fast as i wanted to. That's okay, though, I'm going to make it! I just have to work harder and organize my time better. Fixing my sleep schedule should help. My biggest challenge this month was taking charge and making the class a fun experience for the kids and working on my comic. The art teacher has a tendency to get really frustrated outwardly with the students, and it ends up taking a lot of time (and fun) out of the class. It's hard with more difficult students, and I'm still learning how to get them both excited about the current projects, while still being able to enjoy the art class, and also not being disrespectful to my supervisor, because it is her class, not mine. So sometimes, I'm just going to have to go along with it. The comic needs more work, and I think I have to STOP being such a perfectionist, or it will never, ever get done! I've re-done this first page so many times that looking at it makes me want to scream. Here are a few panels from it. Overall, I'm loving my internship. I love the kids, the teacher, and the whole experience. It's just so interesting and engaging, I never know what to expect (one day they all came in dressed up, we had a Tom Petty, an Alexander Hamilton, and a Joan of Arc). The kids are adorable and so funny to talk to, I'm able to push myself with new supplies and materials, and I can do it all in walking distance from my school! It's such a blessing, honestly. I feel super lucky to have this internship and I can't wait to see what happens in October.
And hey, thanks for sticking with me! Until next time. Senior year?! I'm a senior?! Wow. This came up fast. It's the final stretch, and I've gotta admit, I'm ready for it. Despite all of the hype and anticipation, this month has actually been... rather relaxed, overall? It's kind of baffling. I'd had a few meetings with Ms. Horvath, my supervisor at the beginning of the month, but classes didn't start at Rootstown Elementary until the 28th. To fill in the meantime, I have been hard at work doing project planning, research (so much research...) and art! A major component of my senior project is the online comic portion, which requires a lot of work on my downtime. I've been planning the layout, character design, art style and general message that I want to maintain throughout the comic. It's hard to completely plan things out as it's based on what I'll be doing at my internship, but I think I have a solid start. It's definitely a lot more complicated than I thought it would be! I've overestimated myself a little bit, but I can definitely catch up and do this well. What other choice do I have? Below you can see some other drawings I've completed this month to practice natural poses. It's been a little... tricky coordinating getting from Neomed Campus to the elementary school in 90% humidity, but I think I have the timing down- I've just been leaving earlier so I have a second to catch my breath and stop melting. I guess another way I've shown initiative is the fact that I've gone ahead and prepared the comic designs and characters before the beginning of the actual internship experience, that way I can jump right in to the comic process on my first week of September. On that note, I've been doing a lot of research on working in a classroom, making comics, and art teaching. All these things are my way of doing my best to be an engaged learner so I can learn as I am actually doing things and interacting with the kids and the teachers. The extra research has been helpful in informing how I approach the classroom. Another way of engaging has been to just get in conversations with the students themselves and make them feel welcome. I've already met a few students, and it's been fantastic! They are so funny and charming! We've been drawing together and making jokes already, which is so, so encouraging. I really want to be someone the kids can be themselves around and ask for help. This age is such an important part of growing up, I want to as much of a resource as I can. The highlight of my month was probably getting to meet the kids and using the art supplies! It was really exciting (albeit really really humid) to be in the school and see who I'd be working with this year. It's going to be a big adventure getting to know them more. I've already filled a couple sketchbook pages with requests from some of the classes, and was even gifted a cute (albeit kind of morbid) drawing from a girl in the 5th grade class! They're seriously wonderful and I want to adopt all of them. Hannah and I have been able to use all of the art supplies because Ms. Horvath is super cool. We've made display art for the classroom to demonstrate different types of shading at a basic level, so we're already starting projects. We also built some looms for weaving. There is just so much going on but it's been right up my alley so far. As for struggles, it'd have to be between getting the comic work done and ready when I'm so tired after school, and just... dealing with the heat, actually? It's been a little daunting planning out my entire comic and figuring out where to host it (I've decided on Webtoon) and finding the time to make it happen. On the other side, the classroom doesn't have AC, so it's pretty hard to feel super present and alert when I feel like I'm a puddle. It's pretty bad. But nonetheless, it's gonna be okay! Fall is coming soon, and I have a better grip on comic stuff. Next month should be a lot of fun! I'm looking forward to getting past the intro stuff and doing some 'real' projects, as well as launching the first page of my own comic! That's so crazy and exciting. Hopefully it all goes well! It's DEFINITELY chaotic but it is absolutely the internship for me. Thanks for stopping by, Kara |
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November 2018
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