Opening Projects - Goofing Up

Starting in new district presents its own challenges in a variety of ways, and I think a big one is setting expectations.  I am a firm believer in developing creativity and a positive relationship with art and ideas in my classroom.  I teach skills and techniques, for sure, and certainly see the value of teaching the elements and principles, but I stress to my students that what I'm most interested in is their ideas, originality, and effort.

So to start the year, our very first projects with each grade had lot to do with taking ownership of their artwork and problem solving.  The first and second graders fixed "mistakes" that I made for them by walking around the room and making marks on their papers.  Their job was to turn that mark into something else that made sense with their pictures.  

The third graders drew a portrait with their opposite hands, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders drew portraits of their classmates without looking at their paper.  The point being that we understand it's okay to make mistakes, as long as we don't give up on our artwork.  

My students are probably tired of hearing me say it, but in the art room, we don't mess up.  We just give ourselves new problems we need to solve.