Hands-On Teaching? Do THIS First!

I'm back!!! I haven't written since - (gulp) - July?????

Well, it's been a hectic summer and autumn, what with my new art center and other major changes in my life. The art center has gone well; the locals here seem to appreciate the fine arts and crafting opportunities I am offering here. Or, as one little girl told me, "My mom has been looking for art classes for me FOREVER!!!" (She's nine; forever is obviously all relative.)

In any case, I've held art classes steadily thoughout the week since May. The classes are just a few hours per week in total, but the PLANNING! Oh-my-gosh, sometimes the planning takes, well, forever! I've learned that "planning" means, after deciding what to do, doing it.

In fact, this is the number one cardinal rule for teaching any kind of hands-on lesson:

NEVER do a project with a class that you haven't done first yourself.

Ah, heck, why not? It's such a simple project. You did it when you were a kid, for God's sake! Well, there are many reasons, and believe me, I would know...

First, it forces you to assemble everything you need in advance, and so if something you thought you had (usually vital to the project) is unusable, like dried up paint or hardened glue; or missing, like colored chalk, green glitter, or black construction paper, you can run out and get it. Once you have everything in front of you, you can begin the project. Be sure to time yourself from beginning to end, so that you'll know in advance if a 1-1/2 hour project is really a 4 hour project.

The process of trying the project first will make you very aware of what works and what doesn't. If glue sticks don't work, you'll know you better substitute Tacky glue, and if that doesn't work, you can go for the glue gun! (Oops! No glue gun sticks!) If folding paper or tying twine or punching holes through cardboard is difficult for you, it'll be much harder for your younger participants. You'll know what you need to cut, measure, or prepare in advance. And finally, you'll have a finished product that you can use as a sample, which is very important -- students like to see what it is they are going to make, even if their results are very different.

So, planning and teaching classes. That's why I've been away so long. Well, in addition to personal changes in my life that I alluded to above. Maybe another time.

Pictured above is a life-sized papier-mache' snake created by Robert, age 11.