Who's on Your Boat? - Art Teacher
This is my second post in the Who's on Your Boat? Series.
School counseling is a lot like navigating a boat. Bringing school staff and other key people "on board" can lead to smooth sailing for you and your school counseling program.
In each post of the Who's on Your Boat? series I will focus on one person or group of people to get "on board" and how they can be beneficial to your role as a school counselor and your school counseling program.
Art Teacher
My second position after graduating from my school counselor masters program was as a long-term substitute K-8 school counselor at a charter school. I had the pleasure of working with the most amazing art teacher I have ever met, Alison Babusci. I am so fortunate that I was able to work with someone as talented as Alison! The artwork that she makes with her students is seriously out of this world. You can see her amazing work at her blog: Propel Studio 101.
One of the many things that I loved about Alison right from the beginning was her willingness to connect with others. Shortly after I started, she invited me to co-teach a lesson with her about rumors and gossip. Alison introduced me to one of my all-time-favorite books to use with students, The Secret Olivia Told Me by N. Joy, which is now, unfortunately, out of print. In addition to our discussion about the message of the book, Alison spoke about the artistic elements of the book such as how the illustrator drew all of the children in the book as silhouettes.
Alison and I went on to collaborate in other ways. I told Alison about a lesson I did using the book the The Colors of Us by Karen Katz. Working with Alison, we were able to do a The Colors of Us lesson where the results were above and beyond my wildest expectations.
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Because we were able to do the lesson in Alison's studio, we were able to use the fancy art materials such as paints, smocks, drying racks, scissors, construction paper crayons, etc. Students loved using paint to mix their own unique color. We displayed the hands as a bulletin board so that others entering the school could see their beautiful colors.
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Lastly, but definitely not least, Alison helped me to construct an Anti-Bullying Machine, which was based on the book Good-Bye Bully Machine by Deb Fox. Students in the after-school group I facilitated got to use Alison's studio and fancy art supplies, including all kinds of interesting things to trace to make the cogs and pieces of the machine, construction paper, and construction paper crayons.
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The students had a blast making the Anti-Bullying Machine and I had a blast collaborating with Alison!
I highly recommend inviting an art teacher on your boat! She or he will surely make the ride more colorful!
Art teachers can:
Comment below, tweet, contact Danielle, or share on the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page!
School counseling is a lot like navigating a boat. Bringing school staff and other key people "on board" can lead to smooth sailing for you and your school counseling program.
In each post of the Who's on Your Boat? series I will focus on one person or group of people to get "on board" and how they can be beneficial to your role as a school counselor and your school counseling program.
My second position after graduating from my school counselor masters program was as a long-term substitute K-8 school counselor at a charter school. I had the pleasure of working with the most amazing art teacher I have ever met, Alison Babusci. I am so fortunate that I was able to work with someone as talented as Alison! The artwork that she makes with her students is seriously out of this world. You can see her amazing work at her blog: Propel Studio 101.
One of the many things that I loved about Alison right from the beginning was her willingness to connect with others. Shortly after I started, she invited me to co-teach a lesson with her about rumors and gossip. Alison introduced me to one of my all-time-favorite books to use with students, The Secret Olivia Told Me by N. Joy, which is now, unfortunately, out of print. In addition to our discussion about the message of the book, Alison spoke about the artistic elements of the book such as how the illustrator drew all of the children in the book as silhouettes.
.JPG)
Because we were able to do the lesson in Alison's studio, we were able to use the fancy art materials such as paints, smocks, drying racks, scissors, construction paper crayons, etc. Students loved using paint to mix their own unique color. We displayed the hands as a bulletin board so that others entering the school could see their beautiful colors.
.JPG)
Lastly, but definitely not least, Alison helped me to construct an Anti-Bullying Machine, which was based on the book Good-Bye Bully Machine by Deb Fox. Students in the after-school group I facilitated got to use Alison's studio and fancy art supplies, including all kinds of interesting things to trace to make the cogs and pieces of the machine, construction paper, and construction paper crayons.
.JPG)
The students had a blast making the Anti-Bullying Machine and I had a blast collaborating with Alison!
I highly recommend inviting an art teacher on your boat! She or he will surely make the ride more colorful!
Art teachers can:
- inspire and fuel your creativity! There are so many books, lessons, ideas that could be made more amazing by collaborating with an art teacher!
- educate you of appropriate mediums or technique to use for a lesson or activity.
- help you brainstorm how to make something better than you ever imagined!
- inform you about art supplies that will rock your world, like construction paper crayons! (I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy these! They are great!)
- help you to showcase students artistic talents.
- co-teach lessons or units that align with ASCA standards.
- and much more!
How do you work with your school art teacher at your school?
Check out other posts in the Who's on Your Boat? Series:
Who's on Your Boat? - School Librarian
Who's on Your Boat? - Art Teacher
You can also check out my live Google Hangout where I discuss the school counselor/boat concept with +Andrea Burston.
Check out other posts in the Who's on Your Boat? Series:
Who's on Your Boat? - School Librarian
Who's on Your Boat? - Art Teacher
You can also check out my live Google Hangout where I discuss the school counselor/boat concept with +Andrea Burston.
Comment below, tweet, contact Danielle, or share on the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page!
Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at School Counselor Blog, a place where school counselors share innovative ideas, creative lesson plans, and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via email, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.
