Bequest Report

MUSIKGARTEN:

• Sarah doing a great job!!!!

• Gifted teach, good rapport with children and teachers

• Teaching Thursdays and Fridays

• I observe occasionally to keep abreast of what she’s doing so I can sub

• Materials have arrived: jingle bells, drums, hoops, resonator bars, scarves

  • Noticing children absorbing music, and teachers reinforcing songs and fingerplays.

  • Children singing parts of songs

  • Acting out motions… bouncing and tapping

  • Teachers singing the songs and playing the CDs

  • I assume CDs have been sent home to parents with a letter from Sarah about Musikgarten

  • Interesting to watch some of the non-verbal children beginning to say single words 

• ART GARDEN:

  • With babies and possibly toddlers on Tuesdays

    • Beginning to recognize some gifts emerging even in infants:

      • Damien loves to put things inside other things and will try to figure out how to get things out of a box without asking for help

    • Most successful times are working with manipulatives

      • Paper tubs, boxes, baskets and bags

      • Clothespins in bottles

  • 3 and 4 year old and PKs on Wednesday

    • All of them have opportunities offered by their teachers to paint and color

    • Some variation depending on when children go outside 

    • Delighted to see teachers doing a lot of creative things on their own…. Pinterest probably 

    • Several days with spiders, read Be Nice to Spiders, Are you a Spider? and Seaver, the Weaver

      • Made spiders, made webs, made webs…sort of…

Have been ncluding different media: Clay, shaving crème, Craypas, as well as paint of various kinds. The teachers do a lot with paint and playdough I am reluctant to use the term “lesson”, since that implies the children will learn something. Most of the classes are experiential, as you would expect with Process Art: 

• ​Process art allows children to engage in creative expression that focuses on a student’s exploration and experience: 

  • ​There are no step-by-step instructions.

  • There is no example for children to follow.                           

  • The art is entirely the children’s own.                                        

  • There is no right or wrong way to explore and create          

  • The art focuses on the experience.                                        

  • Art is about the exploration of techniques, tools, and materials.  

  • The art is unique and original.                                              

  • The art experience is a child’s choice.

(This article claims that art is relaxing… I find this not to be true with every experience…. Sometimes it’s too exciting to be relaxing.)

Some classes work and some don’t: 

• Sometimes it’s because of the way it’s presented 

• Or the mood of the children…or me, perhaps

• Or requires more development than all the children have

• Some children will be really engaged and could continue for another 10-20 minutes… some never enter in

• Need to always have something for everyone

Hopes for the future: 

• Installing Little Library this month

• Having a designated art space in each room

• Introducing a Friday music event with Theresa Ehrlich

• Introducing Artist of the Month (Maybe in January)

• Developing playground… adding art and music… and maybe a road for tricycles 

• Chalk board inspirational quotes for music and art

Being here at VICCC with dedicated teachers and staff and surrounded by the most amazing little ones continues to be a gift.

Thank you.